ADVICE TO GRADS:
What I Wish I Knew Then
In June I often walk past crowds of grads milling outside the theatre in my neigborhood as they head into their graduation ceremony. It had me thinking of what I wished I knew back then…
And then I met a teacher who shared with me that he had this fantasy about slipping his class a “cheat sheet” about life (like, “this is what you really need to know”). How many of us feel like this, but never share it?
So here’s my list, if you have a grad in your life share this list with them, or better yet, one of your own.
I love re-visiting these ideas from time to time.
1. The only thing you have is the deep uniqueness of who you are. So do you.
2. Seek out mentors. People who are ahead of you on the path can see your blindspots and cut your learning curve in half (at least). Success leaves clues.
3. If you want to be a pro, work for professionals for a time to see how it’s done.
4. You are coming out of a system that was designed to produce factory workers. If you aspire for more time and money freedom, seek out those who have it and learn from them.
5. Your network = your net worth. “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” – Jim Rohn
6. Don’t seek advice or approval from those who don’t have what you want. Health, relationships, business, money. (i.e. stop asking for directions from people who have never been where you’re going).
7. Your family wants what’s best for you – their advice is coming from their own history, experience and sense of self worth. Your future can be different.
8. Your growth is your responsibility.
9. When you go for a job interview remember: you’re interviewing them as much as they’re interviewing you – ask smart questions and feel out the vibe of the place. Also realize: filling the role is another task on their list of to-do’s. They want you to be great, so relax.
10. Don’t compare yourself to others. Just try to be superior to your former self.
11. “Follow your bliss” means pay attention to the stuff that makes time fly – this is where your genius is, in the flow. And if you can’t figure out your passion, look at what you’re curious about.
12. Be aware of your input as well as your output: consider what you watch, listen to, read, the people you hang around, how you spend your time. This all effects your energy, your mindset, your emotions, your spirit and your physical health.
13. “When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.” – Alexander Den Heijer
14. If you don’t know what you’re here to do, then just do some good.” – Maya Angelou “You don’t have to move mountains. Simply fall in love with life. Be a tornado of happiness, gratitude and acceptance. You will change the world just by being a warm, kind hearted human being.” – Anita Krizzan
15. “Your profession is not what brings home your weekly paycheck, your profession is what you’re put here on earth to do, with such passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling.” – Vincent Van Gogh
16. Don’t be a perfectionist. Perfectionism is just fear disguised as you having high standards.
17. Enjoy the journey, it is the destination (all we have is NOW). “You are constantly rewriting your future based on how you spend your time now. The present moment is your portal to the future.” – Kylie Francis
18. Your mindset = your life. The biggest design project you will ever work on is your life. You are a creator. You create your life with your thoughts, your energy and your effort.
19. If you can imagine it, it’s because on some level it’s meant for you (not everyone imagines the same future).
20. “The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe.” Einstein said this and he was asking us to examine our core positioning, our beginning point. From which everything else grows.
21. “We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are.” – Anais Nin
Question where your beliefs came from.
22. It’s ok to build a life that doesn’t look like anyone else’s. “Had I not created my whole world, I would certainly have died in other people’s.” – Anais Nin
23. Don’t let your successes get to your head. Don’t let your failures get to your heart.
24. Travel as much as you want. It’s not indulgent. It’s educational.
25. Give back and carve out time for priorities that aren’t work: family, friends, your health.
(From the newsletter Summer ’19)