Reflection Upon the Eve of Five Year College Reunion
This originally appeared in the weekly newsletter ‘The Push’ which aims to bridge laughter and learning. Sign up to stay in the loop!
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As this is my ninth newsletter, a special Friday edition, and nearing my five-year college reunion, it seems as good a time as any to reflect on the past few years.
In many ways, I feel like I have lived another lifetime since college. Yet at the same time, senior year feels as if it could have been last week.
There are two quotes about time I have grown to love…kind of opposite angles attacking the same underlying truth:
“People over estimate what they can do in one year, and underestimate what they do in a decade.”
“The days are long, but decades short.”
Perception of time is fluid. Although passing moments can feel different in length, making the most of each day, will make the most of a lifetime.
With time in mind, here’s one man’s perspective and some counter-intuitive lessons learned in my five years since graduating:
1)Fun times and living a productive life are not mutually exclusive.
I truly believed the end of college was the end of fun. Graduation signified that it was time to grow up and I could no longer be a jokester. No way could you live a professional, successful life and still maximize laughs!
I have come to realize, without a self-defeating attitude, that life after college should be the exact opposite.
People of all ages enjoy being around fun energy. Because so few people take this approach, it can be a competitive advantage to take on the professional world with a childhood zest for life. And, speaking of those people that are too serious to laugh with life, do you really want to work with them or for them anyways??
2) Learning has just begun.
I was under the impression that most of my dedicated learning periods of life had passed. Obviously, certain skills would improve and industry knowledge would increase, but as far as major learning breakthroughs and growth… that time had passed.
More so than learning being put on the backburner for the remainder of life, in fact, Winston Churchill’s quote “My education was interrupted by only by schooling” resonates deeper.
I rediscovered my love for books and learning.
The funny thing about learning is the deeper you dive, the more you realize how much you do not yet know or understand.
That is exciting!! So much to explore.
Beyond just learning, I have just begun understanding how to think.
3) Be mindful of your environment.
The energy, the people, and the surrounding ideas play a significant role in how you function. This can be a positive or a negative.
Since college, I have closely interacted or worked with all sorts of people from many walks of life. Find people that have the attributes and ambitions you want for yourself. Let the best of everyone influence you and become a super human!
4) Take the time to evaluate the landscape.
Many people just dive into the first opportunity that presents itself and end up with a limited scope of possibility.
Take the time to explore.
This is not wasted time. Exploring different areas will help you understand what you do not want (which can be most vital), as well as lead to many connections made from exposure to a wide range of people, knowledge, and skills.
5) The best way to do more in life is to focus, and in the short term, take on less.
I have wide ranging interests, ambitions and ideas.
Trying to take on too many projects at once leads to none of them being successful. (I can tell you this first hand.)
Less leads to more. Not just talking success on a given project, but a wider variety and higher quality of future opportunities.
6) Structure and process is key.
With structure and process come great possibility (said Uncle Ben from Spider-Man).
If you are deliberate with what you do and build on things day over day, results begin to show.
There are many days or weeks that go by where I think “Wow, I have not accomplished much.” And because I stay the course, at the end of that same month my thinking is often “Wow, I have made serious progress this month.”
I struggle because I love spontaneity and the best things that happen in life tend to be random and unpredictable. But building in a certain level of structure allows for productivity and exploration. How much structure, however, is in the eye of the beholder.
7) Being an outsider can be beneficial.
Although I’m interested in a wide range of industries, over the past few years I have become completely immersed in fashion — an industry that not even a psychic could have foreseen in my future.
Having had a somewhat homogenous upbringing, being a true outsider was rare.
To many, being an outsider sounds like a bad thing. But I have learned it can actually be the opposite. First off, being a clear outsider makes it is easier to play the novice and ask important questions others may overlook. Secondly, differing experiences can lead to profound connections, thoughts, and added value. Finally, standing out and being remembered can be accomplished with greater ease.
Bring positive, friendly energy and being an outsider can be a major advantage.
8) Best way to have less competition…take a unique path forward.
Building on my previous thought, if you are constantly progressing in a different way than your peers, you end up having significantly less direct competition or compatible skills and experiences.
If you take a more linear route forward, in many ways you are working to become a commodity. When the jobs available do not equal the potential candidates, a career bottleneck ensues.
The alternative is to be one of one and compete only against yourself.
9) Showing up can be the most important part of the battle.
I took a more traditional job out of college.
Although quickly realizing that I wanted to build businesses, I did not know the first place to start.
Where to start turned out to be less important than just starting.
When exploring an unfamiliar environment (whether that be a new industry, city, etc.), you are unlikely to initially see the full picture initially. Therefore, showing up is key.
Keep showing up and talking with people and you will ultimately find your way.
A great analogy I heard as I began this entrepreneurial journey focused on building businesses (but is true to many new things in life): It starts with crawling into a fully furnished room that is pitch black. Initially, you have no idea how the room looks, what is in the room, or where things in the room are located. Over time, as you feel your way around, the room begins to slowly light up and becomes clearer.
Show up! Start exploring!
10) Business is people.
The world is not just people and most instances are completely outside of human control.
However, the business world, now that is all people.
Every interaction in all businesses…the stakeholders are all people.
Learn to understand how people work. Learn to love interactions with people. But most of all emphasize empathy.
Do this and not only will you find material success, but you will also live a more fulfilling, enjoyable life and create a better world of people.
Regardless of where you are in life, the journey has just begun. Now let’s go win the day!
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This originally appeared in the weekly newsletter ‘The Push’ which aims to bridge laughter and learning. Sign up to stay in the loop!
