A random text message session with a friend last night got me thinking on why I know I will succeed tomorrow. I wrote this article in May for a friend and thought it'd be worth a read.
Break the mentality...if you can destroy it - even better
No matter how different the various education systems might be, schools across the globe follow the same template - it's less about us getting work done and more about them teaching us how to do work. Exams, assignments, sweet talking seniors - decide our fate at the end of every term; if we play our cards right we're placed right at the top, we're told how talented and gifted we are. We get to university - the same story but with a little more intensity. We finally land a job - stoked and excited, looking for a change - BUT its the same story again...just way more intense than the previous two phases. Exams and assignments are replaced with deadlines and sweet talking our seniors is replaced by ass kissing our bosses.
No matter how much you tell yourself you're going to stick to a job and rise up the ranks, its not going to happen. You're going to work 2 years, switch jobs...jump companies maybe every 4 years and industries every 6 years. Statistics show that most individuals (starting with college all the way till their 40th birthday) would have had atleast 11 jobs. We're taught to literally live our life as bees.
We buzz through life with slow yet steady progress - the word 'steady' makes the previous sentence sound good, but its not. A majority of you would be following the same slow yet steady progress, which translates to the same level of competition and limited growth. Our education systems lay emphasis on the skill-sets that are becoming increasingly irrelevant.
It's your map - scale it right
Right after you graduate and you land your first real job, you realize that forward push you got all through life until this point vanishes. As talented as you might be, truth is you are despensible. There are a 1000 other people just as capable as you are (if not better) -you could be replaced in a heart beat. Your employers will not map your success in life, you need to do this on your own. You need to sit down, think out-of-the-box and understand your terrain. With every turn you need to get ahead and figure out your next step.
If you don't settle on what you want to do in life and you don't "give" yourself a sense of purpose - you're not getting anywhere. Its quite easy to succeed when the assignment is provided to you...the ability to create assignments (your own personal agenda) and succeed at them is what seperates you from the slow yet steady lot.
Figuring out what you're best at, what your innate skills and aptitudes are, how can you use your "talent" to add value to today's world - thats where your focus should be. Stay real, live real, keep real - understand the reality around you, tune in to it and you'll never be at dearth when it comes to finding new ways to apply yourself across the ever increasing broad spectrum of jobs and industries.
Your true compass is your mind. Let your mind be your personal roadmap for the world. Think of yourself as a bottle of wine - with time your abilities will mature and the experience you gain in terms of diversity will only add to your flavor - who would want to refuse such a fine glass of wine? You'll be invaluable wherever you go.
Get creative!
I know of too many professionals who invested way too much time in mentoring fresh minds, only to find out they fine tuned their own replacements. Screw ego. It's not goining to get you anywhere. You may have skills, but you're not the only one with it - the same skills can not only be acquired elsewhere, but also cheaper.
Education today teaches us skills...skills that helps us work in a linear fashion...skills that enable us to work in a linear fashion...skill that let us deduce based on known patterns (just like the majority of our generation). Great for memorizing and thinking like the rest of the gang, but completely inept at coming up with new ideas.
To set yourself apart from the competition, you need to work on your own creativity and inspiration. Starbucks, Nokia, Virgin, Twitter, Google, Craigslist, the American NFL, the Indian IPL - assets that come from the mind of an innovator. These brands and their blueprints can be easily copied, but can never be replicated.
The point
Stop thinking about life and start living it. Tap both hemispheres of your brain and along with experiencing life, you'll come up with new ideas. This creativity is the jet fuel for our generation. Look at the world around you today - it has never been easier to put a new idea in motion.
Yet you have been discouraged from doing so at every step. You have been trained to lessen the pain inflicted by your weaknesses instead of building on your strengths. This creates mediocrity, not excellence. At the end of the day you're a replaceable employee - not a visionary.
Our generation today is being trained for a world that will soon cease to exist. Understand yourself, break your mentality, work on your roadmap and embrace your own creativity - you'll make your mark.
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I agree with the over-all points of this article: traditional education doesn’t teach us everything that we need. However, knowing about this shortage, we can self-educate in a way to fill in those gaps.
Currently, I’m a college student. Aware that my education won’t adequately prepare me for the “real world”, I am actively pursuing my education outside of the classroom: I attend lectures, sit in on classes that pertain to neither my major nor minor, read books about business and creativity, and meet as many people as I can. Overall, I feel that I have a well-rounded education that will help me in today’s business environment. However, I couldn’t feel that way just through classes that the university requires I take.
I think I know you friend by the way. The one you wrote this article for.
I really enjoyed this piece. Interesting take on the disconnect between education and careers. Doesn’t really give much indicated how to go about breaking free from the beehive, but I like your style and your approach.
Creativity, as you say, and problem solving, people skills, leadership, basic financial intelligence are all sorely missing from the education system creating a graduate that are all set for success in the industrial age even though now we are very much in the information age and the rules have drastically changed.
Couldn't agree more. I read some of your previous work at the Fox School of Business. I really enjoyed your take on the importance of design when building a brand. Maybe you could do a retake on the same for my blog Social Pollination?
@ Lindsey I'm not going to ask! Let's just leave his name out =)
@ Jonny - I agree...I'll put more emphasis on the breaking free bit in a follow up post.
@ Monica - Prof. Fastow's student eh? We should talk =) . You can email me at ankit.samal@gmail.com