Can I graduate?

Contents

College is just the beginning. ⬦ Start, restart. The reality of modern careers. ⬦ A collection of the most salient questions. ⬦ Looking back @ seventy.

6 minute, 5 second read

Which side does the tassel lay?

Commencements. Tassels and gowns. These elements mark the finality of a coming-of-age chapter. The realization that the late study nights are over, fond coffee moments with friends, will suddenly coalesce to be promptly registered as memories in time. 

May denotes the end of academia & the start of a new life for many. “I’m so ready to be out of here!” We say, glancing back at the high school entrance one last time. “No more school. Done.” We murmur, viewing the quad with a smile.

We’re so ready to start our life that we may forget we don’t know where exactly we’re going. High school & college are metaphors for life. The learning never stops. 

Personal development deteriorates when we stop exploring, questioning, dreaming. We no longer are reaching for our best selves. Acquisition of knowledge is a life-long process. It’s what we’re designed to do.

College

What do I do with my life? We ask. Should I go to college? 

Yes! Clearly, I have a bias here. Terminal degree programs are required for traditional careers. Think⸺doctor, actuary, biologist. Baccalaureate degrees are almost always expected professionally, so it is a good idea to be working towards a bachelor’s at a minimum. 

Our society is engaged with questioning the need for extensive education or if college is needed at all. Similar to high school, the collegiate environment is an important developmental period in a young person’s life. Intellectual discourse challenges inherited world views, foisting us to re-examine our beliefs about others and ourselves. 

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Trade schools provide the necessary tools to enter an occupation more quickly. Yet, forgoing the collegiate experience may hinder future horizontal & vertical career movement when education has been concentrated into one area of expertise. 

It’s important to have serious discussions about academic pursuits with family & friends before making a decision. Education consumes a significant portion of our youth. It’s worth devoting deliberate time to consider your future educational aspirations.

Ideas merge with knowledge, passion

As we create our lives each day, working towards goals & making plans, we may find that we’re not quite as content as we once were.

Gone is the shuffling of syllabi. We’re now proudly dusting our hanging diploma yet thinking, what’s next? 

Or predictably, we eagerly applied to the top firm of our choosing and obtained the coveted job complete with paid parking. Maybe we have a title adjacent to our name. Or maybe we’ve grown dissatisfied with the nature of what we do.

There is a high probability that many professionals will have several careers. A product of innovation and accelerating tech. When we discover the ending of a project, we may access an impetus moving us to a new opportunity. Chapters will end. This is the place to reinvent ourselves by asking the most salient questions.

What am I good at?

Some of us have natural gifts that when nurtured will become careers. Yet talent, education & opportunities alone aren’t significant measures of success.

Focused, deliberate, daily practice is what develops a marathon runner. You may have the athletic frame for a runner. So what? Subscribed to multiple runner’s digests on your phone. Okay. 

It’s the commitment to run in 42 or 96 degrees. 15 or 47 percent humidity. Being indifferent to both clear skies or cloudy with a drizzle. When you suggest that you’re not a runner because you currently can not run a marathon is completely ridiculous. Start with dominating a half-mile-a-day first before disregarding your running life.

Remember, we can become good at anything when we’re disciplined to master a subject. This takes time.

What can I become good at?

Technology presents new opportunities each day. It seems that because we’re so connected that there’s an innate ability to discover new ideas to pursue constantly. It’s plausible from a combination of life experience & hobbies, that we obtain insight into a problem we have the potential to solve. Maybe we want to exploit an expanding new field and become a key contributor based upon our existing talents.

Take inventory of what makes you⸺you, & explore what new information can be acquired to dominate another project.

Passion

Passion is often romanticized. Many have attempted to define it and some have even offered great insight into what it is & where it originates. Here are a few key questions to ponder when entertaining a potential new career, another path.

What problems can I solve in my current situation?

The wellspring of entrepreneurship is found here. Normal folks solving existing problems they have. The simplicity here is that the problem may have also presented itself to others, yet no one took action to create a solution. 

Can I solve a problem for someone else? Create value?

Maybe we’re not entrepreneur material. Maybe we can assess a better workflow for another professional. What expertise that I have that can provide a workflow solution for someone else? Creating value for an organization and other professionals in itself is a fulfilling project.

All things equal, why would someone want my creativity, service?

Competition can be fierce. After the degrees & career laddering, we must identify what makes us truly special. What is the value I bring to others that can’t be easily replicated? What is the extra I give that comes from me naturally.

2 AM Dilemma

A reality of adulting is you will absolutely be forced to work late to finish projects throughout your lifetime. The simplicity of this is, wouldn’t you rather be working that hard for yourself? If you aren’t 100% committed to your dreams, you will be 70% committed to someone else’s with 100% of the effort.

Additionally, unknowingly becoming lost in work is the concept of flow. That when we’re completely focused & engaged with an activity a state of ‘flow’ develops. Persons in flow states lose track of time. Work until a stopping point whenever that may be. Think, trance-like, full energy, with no concept that work is being performed. The activity becomes you. We perform the best work in record time inside this focused status. What excites you so much that you find yourself in a flow state at 2 am? 

I think about [ ] when I wake up

Is volunteering at a German shepherd rescue organization four hours a month enough for a passion? Possibly. Passions, hustles, careers, hobbies are great but what if it isn’t enough? 

What keeps me manic at night, unable to sleep because of my idea? Or conversely, what makes me jump out of bed eager to begin [ ]? 

Take note & listen to what we magnetize to. We may be on to something great when we allow ourselves to explore these ideas.

Monetization

The power of tech now allows us to monetize what we love in just about anything. We can reverse the traditional educational models that suggest education comes first then a career. 

If the traditional route isn’t for you, become an expert in your passion then monetize it. There are many platforms & channels to do this. It’s important to focus on what makes you special & go for it.

Looking back @ seventy

Jeff Bezos notably coined ‘The Regret Minimization Framework’ which states,

“By 'X' years will I regret not doing this?”

When we consider an academic career at the University of North Texas over Baylor, a fintech startup over a coveted trade advisor position at Myrle Lynch, consider this mental framework whatever your juxtaposed paths may offer.

I think I’m happy now, but will I regret not choosing to do this passion ten years from now? Moreover, ‘Will this path define the best of my life looking back at seventy?’

Life resume

We all usually start with ‘What am I good at?’ What value can I give? What do I want to do with my life?

More importantly, consider,

Will I be proud of this?

Who am I & what do I believe?

We can do anything but not everything is worth pursuing. We may have gifts but this alone isn’t a marker of future success. We may ask when I look back on this moment will I be proud of this? Will the momentum of these passions align with my values, beliefs? Will the residual effects of my projects humiliate me or my family?

Let your passions speak freely for you. The process of doing & competing should definitely make you proud.

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Whatever you do in life, go all in. The world is yours but remember,

“To thine own self be true.” ⸺Shakespeare