FOR the past weeks, my email and Facebook inboxes had been so full of messages from fresh graduates seeking advice about what to look forward to in the next phase of their lives.
Is this the digital version of doing a commencement exercise speech? If yes, it would definitely be my pleasure!
If you're freaking out right now, it's all good because no matter how good you were in school, it's totally different when you're about to enter the "pro league."
Look, I have not been in the workforce long enough compared to your parents---who probably at this moment, are passing their ladders for you to climb on. Be grateful!
But you have to realize that you need a much updated version for yourself---higher and wider. Some 20 years ago, who could have thought that companies will hire 'Search engine optimization' Social Media Strategist, App developer and call it a career?
Years after I graduated, I realized that chasing a career and following your passion could be the same and different at the same time. Being born in this great time of technology and "self-entitlement," I'm happy to have cracked codes earlier than the people older than me could have ever imagined. And this is what I would like to share with you all.
First, look for something you're insanely good at. Or something you know you have the capability to be. What skills have helped you thrive? What makes you feel strong? Or what made you stand out as a student? All too often, you’re unconscious of your strengths. When you do something reflexively well, it’s easy to overlook it.
Open your mind for compliments that you habitually dismiss, not to be coy, but because this thing feels as natural as breathing. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking and don't settle...
Second, find something you really love doing. People say you have to have a lot of love for what you do. And it's totally true because it's so hard that if you don't, any rational person would give up. Remember, you'll be doing it for a sustained period of time. It does not matter if you're good at it, if you're not having fun, you'll end up quitting because you're too sane. You'll soon realize that it is your family and friends who will talk you out of greatness because of practicality and they want to keep you safe. This is where grit and grind comes in.
Third, do something the world needs. Sounds ambitious? Definitely. Most people end up on number one and two because these are enough to make a prosperous career. But it is here where passion comes in. Does the world need my job? It's about creating impact and making a dent in the universe.
As Steve Jobs puts it perfectly, when we grow up, we tend to get told that the world is the way it is and our lives is just to live our life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money. But life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it. Once you learn that, you'll never be the same again.
So stay foolish, stay hungry, idealistic and insane. Remember, the people who are crazy and "self-entitled" enough to think they can charge the world, are the ones who do.
Cheers to good life! Stay active until our next chat!
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Reach me at inspark.people@gmail.com