What NOW?! Life after Graduation in a COVID-19 World.
What NOW?! Life after Graduation in a COVID-19 World.
You said WHAT?!
It was the last week of finals and I was asked to get on zoom and speak to the students on the cusp of graduation. Not just any graduation. But a virtual one shaped by our new COVID-19 world.
There was this awkward silence with stunned faces. I actually thought my internet had frozen for a minute there. But no, it was real time shock.
So there we were talking about the usual fears and anxieties about life after graduation, particularly around career development.
And out came the words…. “I actually envy you all.”
YUP. I said that. (Face palm. Gah! Enter foot.)
So there was no other choice but to go forward and explain myself.
YES, we are in terrifying time of a global pandemic and financial recession. And yes, this is a time of unprecedented disruption, uncertainty and challenge. The fear, overwhelm, exhaustion and uncertainty is intense. And the news is overwhelmingly discouraging and anxiety producing with no clarity or certainty in sight.
*AND*
WHAT A TIME OF EXTRAORDINARY OPPORTUNITY.
Some of the most phenomenal contributions, products, services and ideas have emerged from chaos, not to mention businesses like these.
I am in no way minimizing the pain and suffering that people are experiencing. But I simultaneously see an opening for change that I haven’t witnessed in my 45 years on the planet.
There are so many things that WEREN’T WORKING. And now we have an opportunity to adapt and evolve with innovation and creativity, designing a future with new possibilities. This kind of change was not possible in the Pre-COVID-19 world.
For the graduates of 2020 and all those leaders, mentors, advocates and support teams who are guiding a path forward, I offer the following:
Start with self-care. Put the oxygen mask on yourself first. High quality sleep, hydration, a healthy diet, exercise, getting outside, meaningful relationships and filling your mind with high quality, inspiring content: these can not be underestimated.
Know yourself. Now is the time to focus on self-awareness and self-assessment. Clarify and discover what lights you up, what shuts you down. Pay attention to what works and what doesn’t. Being yourself and investing in YOU is one of the most efficient and effective pathways to achievement.
Take charge of mindset. What you think and believe becomes so. If you see these times only as tragedy it’s impossible to see opportunity. Rather than seeing it black and white, embrace the two. The Yes, AND. YES, it’s overwhelmingly challenging AND there is opportunity for change. Put your focus on what you want more of. Train yourself to ask high quality questions. Have the discipline to be solution focused.
Embrace entrepreneurship no matter what path you take going forward. This means taking charge of your life and creating your own opportunities instead of waiting for someone to give them to you or tell you what to do. Listen deeply to the people around you and pay attention to their burning pains. One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is what problem(s) does the world have that I am inspired to solve? How is what I love doing going to help others? This is a service focused mindset.
Master your relationship to money. Take a basic course on finance and read books such as these: I Will Teach You to be Rich by Ramit Sethi and The Money Tree by Chris Guillebeau. You can get both these e-book on amazon for $20 (as of this writing) and you’ll have a 6 week course in basic finance and a immediate action plan for side streams of income. Mastering money requires mastering your psychology. Doing that frees your art and creativity from the pressure of survival.
Study sales. Learn how to articulate fair exchange through conversation, proposals, negotiation, interviews and more. Fair exchange is an equation that is balanced between need and solution. It is value based, not price based. Care enough about yourself to know what you need so you can do your best work and care enough about others to make sure you can help them solve their challenges. SELF WORTH + OTHER WORTH = NET WORTH.
Embrace failure. There’s no such thing as creation without destruction. Mastery involves success AND failure. BOTH are there to teach you what works and what doesn’t and are there to help you grow. Right now is the time to dissolve the fantasy that success feels good. It’s only half of the picture. True achievement is mastering the balance of that support and challenge, and seeing those challenges as on the way, not in the way.
Learn to rest. There are times we all need to be in the slump, to NOT be productive, to NOT be achieving all the time. To feel the uncomfortable feelings, to accept what is, AS it is we must know when and how to slow down, pause, reflect, feel and discover what’s really going on inside. Doing this is NOT a sign of weakness.
Remember that it takes a village and you do not have to do this alone. There are people who will challenge you, try to overpower you and shut you down. This will painfully force you to grow and evolve. There are people who will support you, nurture and celebrate you. This will encourage you to keep going. You will always have both that support and challenge. Every problem has a solution. There are already people throughout history who have tackled what you are facing. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Success leaves clues. And there is only ONE YOU. You matter. Your voice is important. The world needs what you have to bring forward.
Your life is what you make it. What will you create?