Spring is always full of advice to that years graduating class.
My advice to the Class of 2016 is simple:
Stop Asking For Permission!
As an Adjunct Professor, I have the pleasure of meeting some of the brightest business students in the country.
I often sit down with them one-on-one to discuss homework assignments, but more often our chats are about their careers and future. These are my favorite conversations.
One of my students this semester wasn’t sure what she was going to do upon graduating and returning to the Bay Area, so I asked her what she’d love to do.
She told me how much she loved healthy living, mindfulness and yoga. In addition, she had shown top quality writing skills, a photographer’s eye and a love of user design.
I told her that if there was anywhere in the country where a whole agency (or a section of one) would be dedicated to this field it was the Bay Area and if she couldn’t find one, she should start one.
That is when I heard a phrase that I keep hearing from my own kids and my students:
“I can do that?”
Yes, yes you can.
It won’t be easy. It won’t be what you were told you should do growing up. But, yes you can do that.
I’m not sure if it is all the participation trophies, helicopter parenting or babysitting via technology. But, the youth don’t seem to know that in todays world they are empowered to do what they want and don’t have to seek out permission to do it.
Technology allows us to work from anywhere and with anyone. Borderless collaborative working is the name of the game. Digaboom exists because of this.
Want to be a freelance photographer and vegan cookbook author traveling the globe? Go for it!
Have a desire to start your own clothing line while volunteering at a therapy dog clinic. Sounds like fun!
Thinking about taking a year off after graduation to explore the world and determine your next step? Safe travels!
You don’t need permission to do what you want to do.
You need money to pay your expenses, shelter to stay warm and a good meal every so often.
The career and life you choose might not be the easiest road to travel. You might have to work harder than your fellow graduates to earn the money you need. Life isn’t easy in case no one told you.
So, as you are handed your diploma this spring, I hope you’ll realize that it is a great big world out there, but you get to choose what you do on it.
Don’t ask for permission. Don’t seek forgiveness.
Go find the career path that is right for you and then work as hard as possible to be successful at it.
If freelancing is part of that path, be sure to create a Digaboom profile to help you get where you want to go.
Best of luck!
Photo Credit – US Army under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic
