I
am not afraid of tomorrow for I have seen yesterday and I love today. – William Allen White
This is a
message for 2017 graduates – there are just two times in your lives when you
feel you are done with learning and just do not want to learn any more.
First is when
you graduate. Enough already! You have
had your poor brain filled with so much stuff in your young life, that you are
ready to just go out there in the working world and start using all that
knowledge.
The second
time is when you reach a certain mature age and you are tired of having to
learn how to use all these fancy gadgets. This is when you find yourself having
your grandchildren program your smartphone or show you how to use the remote on
the your new TV.
This column
concerns the first situation.
I have given
talks to graduates before and this is my annual message to high school and
college graduates as they finally head off into the working world.
This year, new
grads can expect like never before to face careers of constant learning and
re-learning.
The pace of
technological breakthroughs today is breathtaking. There is barely a business
today that isn’t heavily invested in the internet, cloud computing and even
artificial intelligence.
Today, we live
today in a 24/7-information overload existence.
It used to be
that social skills were a great asset for workers. Today, you need to add the
word social media skills to that phrase.
A favorite
quote: “The problem with our times is that the future is not what it used to
be.” How true.
So, to you new
grads, what can you do about it? How can
you make a good future for yourself in the face of such uncertainty?
As a person
who is even older than your parents, I can stress your number-one advantage in
coping with all this is your youth. However
this all turns out, if you work hard and pay attention, you will be a better
person because of all the uncertain times you will live through.
A sense of
responsibility and good character often do not come from an easy life. They come from overcoming adversity and
surviving tests that are often unpleasant.
The real definition of maturity is where a person ends up after dealing
with a series of problems and solving them. You do not mature by running away
from or hiding from your problems. Or having someone else solve your problems.
It was free
enterprise, capitalism and rugged individualism that made this country great. I
hope you grads can grasp these concepts and realize how they can make a big
impact on how you will be able to survive these interesting times.
My parents and
grandparents used words like “gumption” to describe someone who worked extra
hard to try to get ahead. What your
generation of graduating seniors needs, to cope with what’s ahead, is gumption.
Now here are
four secrets about what you should do to get ahead:
• Although
working hard is a virtue, working “smart” is genius.
• Education is the key but I am not
talking about advanced degrees here. I
am talking about identifying a field you would like to work in and then
learning everything you can about it. Best way to do this is talking with
people in the field. Or volunteering to
work in the fringe parts of that industry.
Scanning the Internet for everything you can find out about trends in
that field helps, too. Honestly, you can
never learn enough.
• It is not whom you know or what
you know that counts in getting a good career going. It is whom you know AND what you know that
will make all the difference. Locate and cultivate mentors.
• Timing is the single most
important thing in getting ahead. You
must stay on top of trends and always, always check which way the economic
winds are blowing. You must be a man or
woman of action. Jump when you need to,
but look before you leap.
Earlier I said that your youth is
your greatest asset. You sit there at
your graduation as an unformed human being.
Your whole world is out there ahead of you.
Although scary, this is the most
exciting time to be alive. Approach these times with optimism and love for your
fellow human beings (plus gumption) and you should turn out just fine.
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