With graduations upon us, I’ve been thinking what advice I would give if I could go back 25 years and and give advice to myself as a newly minted college graduate. I’d like to share the top 10:
- Don’t work for an idiot. This sounds obvious, and yet it happens a lot because of the Peter Principle: People rise to their level of incompetence (to the point that they’re beyond their skillset and thus, can’t advance further), and then make the rest of us miserable.
- Don’t let anyone else set goals or limits for you. You will limit yourself enough on your own…don’t let others heap on. The person who has the time to tell you what you should be doing with your life isn’t minding their own responsibilities.
- Don’t believe what anyone else tells you about yourself—good OR bad. Everyone else—your parents, spouse, friend, neighbors, etc., all have their own angle and their own prejudices.
- Don’t always be the person in the relationship who gives the most. This goes for business, too. I used to kill myself doing things for people thinking they would appreciate it. Guess what? They do appreciate it, because now they don’t have to do it. See how that works?
- Take public speaking courses. I’m horrible at it, and it’s perhaps the most important business skill.
- Know when to talk about money, and when not to. Most people talk about money when they shouldn’t (my publisher paid me this much for x number of books) and don’t talk about it when they should (let potential business partners know how successful they are).
- Get a passport. And use it. It’s something everyone should have and get stamped regularly…period.
- Don’t do things for free. I cringe when I hear writers say they’d keep writing even if they weren’t being paid. Keep talking like that and you’ll never be paid. Bottom line is that no one should do anything for free. Not even for family members, unless a barter system is in place. Your time is simply too valuable.
- Work smarter, not harder. Figure out the biggest time-sucks of your day and what kind of return you’re getting from them. Adjust accordingly.
- Delegate to experts. Spent more time doing what you do well, and less time doing what you don’t do well. Farm out work to experts (technical people, accounting people, service people) and protect your time like it’s twenty bars of gold that get doled out to you every day.
Q: If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be? (I’m traveling today, so I won’t be able to comment much!)
Stephanie Bond walked away from a corporate computer programming career to write fiction full-time. To-date she has over 60 mystery and romance novels to her name, including the Kindle bestselling humorous mystery OUR HUSBAND and the Kindle bestselling romantic comedy STOP THE WEDDING. Look for the first book in the new TWO GUYS DETECTIVE AGENCY mystery series, available now. Stephanie lives in midtown Atlanta.
Great advice, Stephanie! I especially like #5 about public speaking. I think kids are doing more and more of this in school now. And I love #7. Makes me want to travel!
I think the only thing I would add is to listen well–so many things you can learn if you open your ears and your mind.
And then, savor every moment, good and bad–they are each the building blocks of your future self and the foundation of your memories.
Travel safely…
Um, “don’t go to graduate school and end up with a Ph.D. you’ll probably never use for its intended purpose and will instead make you ‘overqualified’ for many of the jobs you’d actually like to do”? Answering the “So you have a science Ph.D. from Harvard; why do you want to work at Starbucks?” question is always good fun :P.
[I jest–I’ve learnt plenty of useful things during graduate school. Like what I’m never willing to sacrifice for the sake of any job again. And how to pipette ambidextrously– that’s a life skill, right there]
#7 is definitely something I recommend to everyone!
Take risks, Don’t just stay in your comfort zone. If possible, take some of those risks while you are still physically able to do so.
Have fun and be silly with friends whenever you can.
Make and cultivate a few good friends-that is a forever thing.
Great advice I found on a tweet I’m following. I identified with number 1.
All great advice. For me, #10 has saved my butt. I wish I’d learned that one a long time ago … I would add or expand on #4. LEARN TO SAY NO. It’s not easy, but it’s a necessary skill.
The ‘don’t do things for free’ is so important. My husband has offered his skills for free and the clients assign his work no value. And then he has a hard time asking paying clients for money they owe him. He hopes they’ll pay him on their own initiative. It’s insane. I guess that applies to #4, #6, & #8.
I’ll add never burn your bridges. No matter how hard of a situation you have to deal with, smile and say thank you. You never know when you’ll need those people.
Definitely never burn bridges! Good one!
So much great advice. I love all of it!!
My father was a strong believer in travel and its educational benefits. I always have been too. Experiences are priceless.
My advice to my self would be to travel (Europe, etc) while you are single.
Love #4!! I’ll add–Less said the better. Answer the question, don’t go on and on and on ……….