Graduation 2019

This year’s graduates are enjoying a healthy economy, a growing job market and rising wages.

The vestiges of the hard and deep recession that hit more than 10 years ago are finally fading into history. That means most graduates will have a smoother start to their careers than those who went before them.

Still, most of those earning diplomas this year will find that their work and their life will not go as planned. More than a few surprises – some good, some bad – await them on the road ahead. Here’s advice I picked up from colleagues, family and friends that aided me along uncertain paths.

It’s not about you

We live in the Selfie Age. Everywhere, everyone seems intent on feeling special and admired – or at least the focus of attention.

But if you’re looking to make a difference instead of a splash, the best course of action is put others first. Consider what they need, rather than what you need. Figure out what can you do for your boss, your colleagues and your customers.

I’m not suggesting that you become a doormat or a yes-man. I am suggesting that you can accomplish a lot more if you focus on what you can do for others, rather than what they can do for you.

Pick your yardstick carefully

In measuring success, most of us think about how much money we make.

Having enough to pay the bills is important, but it shouldn’t be how you define your worth or your contribution to society.

After all, a college football coach in this country can make about a hundred times more than the doctors who have done the most to slow and halt the plague of AIDS. Similar glaring disparities will often mar your view of the world.

It worthwhile to draw attention to how wacky such socioeconomic values are, but it’s counterproductive to apply them to our own lives.

Be accountable

In virtually every job I had, nothing irked me more than colleagues, bosses or subordinates who made sure they got credit for every victory, award or achievement, but who ducked responsibility for any problem.

All of us make mistakes. We misjudge, we make assumptions, we misunderstand. The ways in which we can go wrong are numerous. True, we need to continually work on ways to reduce our mistakes. But that doesn’t mean denying them.

Blaming others for problems of our own making, or for which we share responsibility, is dishonest and a shabby show of selfishness.

Rely on hard work, not luck

You might win the lottery. But it’s not smart to count on winning it to pay next month’s rent.

Through life, you will see many people get ahead through connections, family wealth and lucky breaks. Some will even have the audacity to belittle you for not being as successful as they have been.

You can’t discount the fact that some people get lucky, but you can’t count on luck to do the same for you. The key is to focus less on how unfairly riches and luck are distributed through the world, and more on the opportunities that exist for people with determination, diligence and discipline.

Hard work doesn’t always pay off, but the odds are far better than relying on luck.

Live the Golden Rule

Treat every person you encounter the way you would want to be treated: with dignity and respect.

Live the rule every day. On the job, at home and all the other places life takes you.

Never stop learning

If they ever existed, the days when you could learn a craft and then make a living with that knowledge are gone forever.

Virtually every profession and job – regardless of pay – now requires that we keep learning as we go. It’s not just technology that is continually remaking our jobs, but also our expanding universe of knowledge, whether it’s better understanding our galaxy or learning more about microbes that inhabit our body.

Most of us, understandably, resist change. And not all change is good. But only if we keep learning can we not only adapt to an ever-changing world, but perhaps do a little to shape it into a better place.