To All the Graduates & Parents of Graduates….
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
The feeling of graduating from high school is exhilarating, but if you are like me, you might have some trepidation about what college will be like. For me, I was going 10 hours away leaving three siblings, the youngest of which was only 7 years old. I felt like I needed a process to gain confidence, so I researched options (with no internet) and found an 8-day seminar that I attended with my parents. It was a transformational process and I certainly felt more prepared to start the next season of life strong. It was until years later that I realized that program was led by Dr Phil! Needless to say, I was in great hands!
As a student, you might not have time for an 8-day process, but you might be open to some lessons learned. Here are some great takeaways from some seasoned leaders that may help you take advantage of the opportunities in front of you (and these lessons took a lot longer than 8 days to learn).
BE A LIFELONG LEARNER – Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan CEO
“Learning is a lifelong pursuit. Regardless of what you do in life, to be successful you need continuous learning and endless intellectual curiosity. You can learn more from speaking to someone in 15 minutes than spending your life doing something.”
NEVER STOP NETWORKING – Laszlo Bock, CEO HUMU, human resources software firm
“If you have the opportunity to meet more senior people, take it. Treat building those relationships like a job, especially if you hate politics (like me) and are basically introverted (like me). There are people less capable than you who will invest in those relationships and be advantaged as a result. Building those relationships is part of the job.”
BE PATIENT, EVERY JOB HAS VALUE – Bill Nash, CEO CarMax
“Even in a job you don’t love, you can learn something. If I could go back I would tell myself to focus on learning everything you can by listening and observing your surroundings. Do the best you can do in the job you have, even if it’s not your dream job.”
BE A GOOD LISTENER – Ian Siegel, CEO ZipRecruiter
“Good listening is the best technique to become someone others want to work with. There’s a simple hack I call the two second rule. In important conversations, wait two full seconds before you respond to whatever your conversation partner is saying. It allows your brain to process all the information they gave you and makes it apparent you’re really listening.”
FOCUS ON GAINING SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE – Eugena Delman, CEO Ava James NYC
“I wish someone had told me to learn as much as you can from every job you get in your career because you never know where it leads you. Every job I had, I added another tool in my tool kit of skills and experience that eventually helped me launch my own startup.”
CULTURE MATTERS – Diane Dietz, CEO Rodan + Fields
“Follow your passion and find a company that aligns with your core values. If your passionate and the company’s culture matches your values, you’ll be successful.”
PERSEVERE – My personal favorite.. from my former boss Ross Perot, CEO of Perot Systems.
“The most successful people in the world aren’t usually the brightest. They are the ones who persevere. Failures are like skinned knees, painful but superficial. Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success.”
If you are thinking you want to get a head start on preparing for your next season, then maybe you would be interested in a process like Enneagram Coaching. Here is my seasoned advice…
“The Process takes the pressure off the person. Trust the Process.”
I have had so much success using the enneagram with young adults who are ready to take the journey of understanding themselves. I wish it would have been available for me as a graduate. You can get transformational keys in a matter of six hours versus 8 days! If you are interested, I would love to help you unlock your potential.
Exciting times are ahead…savor the journey!
Your Family Coach,
Cristin Parker