PR Start by Nick Lucido

I’ve spent the past few months since graduating from MSU thinking about my college experience and things I enjoyed and wish I would have done differently. I know it’s stressful to keep up with school bills, jobs, resume development and still find time to relax and have a little fun. The best advice I can offer is to say yes to the things you want to wake up tomorrow and work on and no to the ones you don’t. Plain and simple. If it’s more stress than reward, cut your ties.

You have a strong resume already. Focus on getting additional experience from the projects you’re passionate about. Use these opportunities to network. This is SO IMPORTANT once you graduate and are instantly thrown into a world where everyone isn’t within 4 years of your age. Work as much as you can without going crazy and without sacrificing the things you love. If you feel burned out on work or a commitment, make a change.

You have a bright future, you know that. Do what you need to do to get your bills paid and a GPA you’re proud of, and whatever else fits in that you can get excited about, do it. To employers, your experiences in student organizations, volunteering, internships and leadership matter a lot more than anything else, so keep post-graduation in mind when choosing what to take on and what to pass on.

And even you, the quintessential “yes man” are allowed to say “no” sometimes!

It’s tempting to believe that it’s a simple battle between passion and reality. That passion usually wins and that reality is when you pick up the tab. In fact, in my experience (20 years working in law and finance), passion and reality are, or should be, twin aspirations. But that’s for later. For now, your aim should be to master your chosen skill or discipline to such a level and with such complete command that it’s impossible for anyone else to do it better. If it’s a skill you really enjoy, so much the better but it’s not essential at this primary stage. Plainly you need to get paid but it need not be a king’s ransom. Just enough to pay the bills.

You have to get stuck in, put in the hours (see “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell for details) and work so hard that you sleep the sleep of the dead at the end of every day. Eventually, at some point, you will be there. Ready to make your choices. It may be three years from now, maybe five, maybe ten, but one sweet day you will get to the place where you are the master of your trade, where no-one does it better and you are no stranger to dedication, hard work and the achievement that goes with it.

When that happens, on that day, you can choose how to blend true passion with reality. At that point, you get to decide how you are going to earn your wages in a way that delivers all those things that you crave today – passion, fulfilment, vision, even fun. That’s the path, and you can walk it knowing all your heroes did the same.

Becky, thanks for the comment. It’s great advice for all those in my shoes. Onward to take your advice!

Thanks for stopping by, Dawid. I guess it’s easy to forget sometimes that I’m young enough and do need to put in my hours before I find something I really believe in. I guess it’s a tendency to always look forward and not focus on “right here, right now.” Thanks for the advice!