It’s that time of the year again.

It’s the time when young people, and despite the fact that they are fortified with baccalaureate degrees, begin to learn just how very little they really know about business, life, and people.

It starts with the interview process. This is when new graduates first begin to realize that all of those salary surveys they’ve been reading --- you know, surveys showing that a brand-new graduate holding a B.S. degree in economics will begin his or her professional career earning $75,000 (plus bennies) --- are true IF you graduate from Carnegie-Mellon, IF you have a 4.5 G.P.A., and IF your father just happens to own a piece of the interviewing company!

All others start at about half of that number. No bennies.

This is not a criticism of the college/university system. This merely “is what it is”. Few employers are going to open up their pocketbooks for an untried and unproven rookie. Whatever monies they intend to spend will much more likely go to more experienced players. This is because experience truly is the best teacher.

Every year at about this time I try to help my graduating seniors by telling them the kinds of things they probably won’t hear from counselors and job placement types. (Note: I am NOT, and in any way, criticizing these folks. The counselors and jobs people at my University work very hard at giving the best advice and getting students the best jobs they can. Its just that many of these folks are sometimes a bit “distanced” from the real world --- and as such, their knowledge of what is happening in today’s job markets can oftentimes be a step or two removed.)

So, here goes. If you have a graduating son, daughter, nephew, or niece, I suggest you send this column to them. After all, it comes from a guy who keeps one foot in BOTH worlds (academic AND “real”) and from a guy who is both an employer and an employee.

For starters, I always advise my students to first use their commencement exercise as a time to step back and look at the big picture. By this, I refer to looking at “life goals” first. Here are just a few thoughts to ponder in this regard.

• What is it that you REALLY want to do with the rest of your life? - And while some students have already figured this out (I from time to time find senior music or pharmacy students taking my “Intro to Entrepreneurism” course as an elective --- keep in mind, these people have had at least four years to study their life’s work --- sometimes this reinforces their original choice and sometimes they cannot wait to leave this concentration. It goes to show that concentration at an early age is not always the answer.)



• Make your work your DREAM! - This is the only time in your life when you’ll have zero baggage and responsibilities. Therefore, it is the absolute best time to pursue your goal of matching your work to something that you already love. Very few people get paid to do something that they would probably do for free … the trick to life is to be one of those people.

  Notice that I’ve not once suggested “getting a job”. That’s what most of the world does --- they let their destiny be directed by others by merely taking whatever “job” is offered --- instead, you must control your density. You choose how you’re going to spend the rest of your life and your career path - not someone who came into your life that very same day.




• Do your RESEARCH! – Now that you’ve chosen what it is that you want to do with your life, it’s time to begin talking to guys who have already done exactly what it is that you want to do. Ask these people whatever you feel is important. For example, you might ask them what mistakes they made along the way, and why. You might ask them to talk about the details of their work. Remember, this is all about making absolutely sure that the path you are choosing is indeed the path to your dream.

  Ask people from your “Dream World” what they would do differently. Ask them who THEIR role models are. You’re no threat to them anyway at this point, so feel free to ask away. (And by the way, maybe you’ll impress them enough that they may choose to bring you into their enterprise. It happens.)



• Set other goals – Finally, don’t overlook the most important part of your life, the part that really matters: family. Now here, I’m not at all advising someone to, “Make sure they’re married by the year 2022 and make sure the first child comes by the year 2023.” That would be silly. But it is more than OK to set the goal, “have a family.” Remember, life’s journey is a lot more fun when you’ve got friends and people who love you in the boat with you.




• You also might wish to consider corollary goals such as “places in the world you’d like to see,” where you might want to live someday, and, what your second (or third) career might be.  I would also consider throwing in goals related to the continued expansion of your mind. In our knowledge-based economy, this is essential.

  As Mark Twain once said, “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” So along these lines, there’s nothing wrong with setting reading and learning goals. (It wouldn’t hurt to set “Listening Goals” either. A good goal might be to make sure you hear The American Entrepreneur radio show on a regular basis!)

Make sure that you also make time in your life for the arts. I never thought about this when I was graduating from college, but I get more joy out of going to the symphony and the Robert Morris Speaker Series than I do any sporting event. Why? Because the speakers and the artists help me to grow my mind.

• Find a mentor (or two, if you can) - Remember, a mentor is someone that’s going to teach you not only about your chosen field of interest, but also about life and character.

  A mentor does not have to be some old guy. I actually have a mentor that is right now just 26 years old. I learn so much from him because his personality is the bipolar opposite of mine. So, he makes me sees things I don’t normally see and think about things that I don’t normally think about.

Remember, in this world there’s a “right way” and a “wrong way.” One of the primary purposes of having a mentor is to find someone who can help you make sure you’re headed the right way.

(Of course, this won’t always be the case.)

• Hang with winners – It’s time to clean out your “loser closet.” Get rid of these people. . All of them!

  How do you recognize a loser? Do I really have to answer that? A loser is someone that is constantly looking for short-cuts and ways to escape the real world. You should be able to tell these people by sight.

  Remember, it is possible to “accumulate” losers as we go through life and not even know how they got there. Regardless of how they got there, get them off your team. You don’t even need to send them a good-bye card.



• Build your foundation – Some day, and I swear this will happen, I am going to write a book specifically for brand-new high-school graduates. In this book, I am going to advise them to do the following:
  1. Spend 6-12 months in banking
  2. Spend 6-12 months in insurance
  3. Spend 6-12 months in health care
  4. Spend 6-12 months traveling to the Far East, India, and Europe

I don’t care if you work as a teller in a bank or a file clerk in an insurance company. I just want you to spend time in these industries, learning the fundamentals of money, insurance, and health care. These are the building blocks of our society (there are others, but I don’t want you to spend your whole life building your foundation).

Once you’ve completed your foundational stuff, you can decide for yourself if college makes sense. One thing is for sure, college will become a hell of a lot more interesting once you’ve gone through these experiences.

• Finally, find a great woman/man that you can trust – I don't care what they look like. I don't care how fast they run the 40-yard dash. And I don't care if they have money. What I DO care about is ... a.) Were they raised RIGHT? b.) Did they learn how to survive on their own?, and, c.) Did they learn the foundational things? This isn’t hard - just try to meet his/her parents early on in the relationship so you don’t end up spending too much time with someone who won’t work out in the long-run.

There’s more than this, but this is probably the best advice I can give in less than 2,000 words. Above all, have fun. Yesterday, I was 20 years old. While today, I’m 60. I have no idea where those other years went. But I sure as heck had one helluva great time along the way.