You’re 22, just about to graduate in a few more months and you’re thinking of what you should do after college. Your focus is to make some money, since you’ve been deprived of it for the last 4 years, and get started with “living life”. You’re open to whatever comes at you so long as the pay is decent. This is a template. And, by definition, this is mediocrity because this is what other people do and you should be afraid of it.
I’ve heard many recent grads echo this view, especially in this job market. I understand this thought process to an extent, however, it’s the motivation behind it that concerns me.
I’m concerned that students and young people in general don’t challenge themselves enough. Maybe it’s your parents who are pushing you to get into a job with decent pay and start your life. Maybe it’s your personal / family situation that is driving you to settle with whatever comes your way. Maybe it’s a combination of various factors. However, as harsh as it may sound, there are always too many “maybe’s”. The bottom line is you’re young. Don’t settle for anything as a result of your situation. You have interests. Pursue them to the highest degree that you can think of. Don’t worry about not being qualified or having no work experience. No student really does. You’re undergraduate degree doesn’t mean anything anyway. It’s merely a signal to show an employer that you were able to commit yourself to a 4-year goal and achieve it with a high level of success.
Whatever you do, you should aim really high. These are the years to hustle. Find that “thing” you want to do and begin positioning yourself towards it. Pursue your interests, even if it has to be on the side. Create a position for yourself if you have to. Have you thought about that? “What if they don’t pay me?” So what? During these years, your pay should essentially be your learning experience. Position yourself to focus on something you WANT to learn.
Here are some short pieces of advice that a mentor of mine gave me when I was graduating to ensure you shoot for more than mediocrity:
1. Take risks — you really have nothing to lose at this stage.
2. Think big — shoot for the moon, and you may land on the stars.
3. Be confident — at a minimum, be confident in your ability to learn.
4. Push limits — the difference between those who do well and those who don’t are sometimes marginal. Are you willing to extend yourself a little bit?
5. Surround yourself with smart people — be in an environment with people who are smarter than you. It can only make you better.
6. Be uncomfortable — always put yourself in challenging situations; it’s almost a certain way you will grow as a person.
7. Compare yourself to the best — don’t just compare yourself with peers in your class or school. Look outside of your world and try to compare yourself to the best.
8. Have others take credit in your success — latch on to influential people who will want to sponsor you and support you in a way that they will bank their name on you.
Most successful people didn’t have a template. They made their own. I encourage you to do the same.
I wish I had read this 4 years ago 🙁
I graduated college with extreme pressure from my family to get a job and maintain a template. Sometimes I think that I am still suffering for that now. But this website, my blog, and others around the web have inspired me to begin thinking differently. This post is a great reminder of all the things we can’t forget about the dangers of being pressured into a template.
Generally, I think it’s never too late to do what you want to do. Many people make excuses that they will do it later, or they should have, but can’t now, etc. In a way, those following in your footsteps need an example and I would encourage you to somehow someway, make it happen now.
There’s a great book by Seth Godin called “Tribes” that I would recommend you read to help inspire you to help make a difference (not saying that you haven’t already btw :). I think that the “untemplate” lifestyle is actually about leading in some respect. And, some people think that leadership is only for other people, but Seth Godin and others have tried to inspire people that they’re wrong. We actually need YOU to lead us.
Thanks for the comment Beth.
It’s worth noting that “mediocrity” in this case is when you’re living the normal template life.
It doesn’t mean you have to be earning millions of dollars a year and traveling all over the world. It’s relative to your life, your dreams and your goals.
For me, mediocrity is not having enough time to spend with the ones I love and do the kind of things I love (like write on a blog or make money through internet marketing). For you, the life that I aspire to live might be your version of mediocrity.
Whatever it is, those 8 points will help you get to where you need to be to live YOUR ideal life.
Great point Ian! That’s a very important perspective to add. Essentially, “mediocrity” needs to be considered relative to your life goals.
Thanks very much for sharing your comment.
No problem, Andre! I’m really glad to be taking part in this community. 🙂
Everyone I know who is in a successful career has taken some risk along the way to get there – whether moving to a new city without knowing anyone or leaving a regular corporate paycheck to start a business. Good one.
Very true. We should tell young people that in order to be successful, you should ask yourself, what risks have you taken lately?
Haha, considering that I should be graduating when I am 22, I can totally relate. 🙂 (I’m 21 now.) Of course, I know I have to get some sort of job, because I have a lot of student loans that will need paying off… Not happy about that, but it’s better for me to get my degree now and finish with the debt than to stop and have nothing to show for it.
Having said that, I’m not planning to sacrifice myself for too long to do this! I know I want a life different than the “norm,” and I won’t let my dreams suffer just because I made a not-so-smart decision early in my life. (To go to school with no idea of what I wanted to study.)
Funny thing is, one of my management professors always talks, “We as managers….” Makes me cringe a bit, because I definitely do not want to be doing that!!! (Even if I am going to get a degree in HR.)
I guess it’s only fair to disclose that I have both a B.A. and an M.S. degree…and I believe that if I hadn’t been through those experiences, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I grew up in a super small town in Alabama and was the first in my family to go to college. If I hadn’t gone to school, I wouldn’t have such high expectations for myself, and I wouldn’t have discovered the other options that were available to me.
I think the option of NOT going to college is actually much more feasible for those kids who grew up thinking that college was a given. They typically come from more affluent families…are better traveled…and are more educated in general than those who are first-generation college students.
Awesome post and great advice.
Doing something great when you are good is more difficult than rising above adversity or extreme lows.
Can’t wait to see the rest of your posts! Keep it up.
So true. Thanks for the comment buddy.
This is such great advice. I think that the years between 16-22 are probably the most “templated” of all. I even question the necessity of college for developing an untemplated life. I think it helps to develop social skills, but it can also have a stalling effect on big-thinking individuals.
True. Very interesting. Our schooling system is probably one of the most influential forces during those years that set us up potentially for mediocrity. I think schooling is important, however, being to able recognize what it really means, is important.
Thanks for the dialogue.
Lauren, you took the words right out of my mouth. As an undergrad, I too am questioning the necessity of college. With fees increasing and the value of education decreasing, I’m wondering if it’s worth all the sacrifice.
Schools, especially with all of the standardized testing and blanket methods used in public secondary schools, suffer from the ‘template,’ failing to focus on students who have trouble learning and making things too easy for the brighter students.
Hey Dariane,
As much as the schooling process may be less valuable than it was many years ago, I still believe it’s important to ensure that you have a degree. It’s an important signal to future employers. As I mentioned in that link to my blog post, I think an undergraduate degree helps prove that you were able to commit yourself to a 4-year goal and achieve it with a high level of success. There are potentially other ways to prove this, however, in the society we live, unfortunately, or fortunately, graduating with some sort of degree is definitely 1 sure way to prove that.
What I would encourage students or those considering to go to college is to ensure that you choose a degree that is challenging, somewhat practical as it relates to your interest, and do the utmost best that you can.
It’s important to prove that first hurdle to the real world.
I agree. It’s tough to get out of your comfort zone. That’s why it’s especially important to attempt to earlier on in one’s career, rather than later.
Thanks for the comment.
It’s easy to just be average, because it’s what 98% of the world is already doing. But to not be mediocre and to actually excel, that requires getting outside your comfort zone, and some people are just to busy being comfortable.
Great article Andre, and I love your bio. Amen brother.