"He Doesn't Apply Himself"

You know he's smart.  
You know he's capable.
But you also know he isn't going to land a respectable job at this rate.  He's stuck.
'Stuck' is a place we live.  Far too often and far too frequently, we find ourselves in a rut - again.  There might as well be a sign on the side of the road:
WELCOME TO STUCK - POPULATION 1 BILLION
We aren't happy here.  We try to get out, but our wheels just spin.  We aren't proud of it, but we're stuck.
Failing to find traction is usually related to fear, in some way.  There are many ways out of the bog, but none of them work when we are paralyzed by fear, especially if the fear is nebulous and unnamed.
Sometimes we can find it: "I'm afraid of the shame of failure."  And we can address it for what it is.
Other times we can just make a good guess: "I'm probably afraid of ending up like [so-and-so]."  And we can begin moving again, even just to test our assumption.  The key is to own the problem.  This is yours.
​Mind the gap, friend.