Hey grads, your learning days are not over . . . not by a long shot

Bill Sniffin
Posted 5/25/17

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Hey grads, your learning days are not over . . . not by a long shot

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I am not afraid of tomorrow for I have seen yesterday and I love today.  – William Allen White

This is a message for 2017 graduates – there are just two times in your lives when you feel you are done with learning and just do not want to learn any more.

First is when you graduate.  Enough already! You have had your poor brain filled with so much stuff in your young life, that you are ready to just go out there in the working world and start using all that knowledge.

The second time is when you reach a certain mature age and you are tired of having to learn how to use all these fancy gadgets. This is when you find yourself having your grandchildren program your smartphone or show you how to use the remote on the your new TV.

This column concerns the first situation. I have given talks to graduates before and this is my annual message to high school and college graduates as they finally head off into the working world.

This year, new grads can expect like never before to face careers of constant learning and re-learning.

The pace of technological breakthroughs today is breathtaking. There is barely a business today that isn’t heavily invested in the internet, cloud computing and even artificial intelligence.

Today, we live today in a 24/7-information overload existence.

It used to be that social skills were a great asset for workers. Today, you need to add the word social media skills to that phrase.

A favorite quote: “The problem with our times is that the future is not what it used to be.”  How true.

So, to you new grads, what can you do about it?  How can you make a good future for yourself in the face of such uncertainty?

As a person who is even older than your parents, I can stress your number-one advantage in coping with all this is your youth.  However this all turns out, if you work hard and pay attention, you will be a better person because of all the uncertain times you will live through.

A sense of responsibility and good character often do not come from an easy life.  They come from overcoming adversity and surviving tests that are often unpleasant.  The real definition of maturity is where a person ends up after dealing with a series of problems and solving them. You do not mature by running away from or hiding from your problems. Or having someone else solve your problems.

It was free enterprise, capitalism and rugged individualism that made this country great. I hope you grads can grasp these concepts and realize how they can make a big impact on how you will be able to survive these interesting times.

My parents and grandparents used words like “gumption” to describe someone who worked extra hard to try to get ahead.  What your generation of graduating seniors needs, to cope with what’s ahead, is gumption.

I hear it all the time that, among you, is a group of immature adolescents, who sleep too much in the morning, know nothing about history and spend most workdays texting, emailing and playing video games.

No doubt there are a number who fit this description.  Hopefully the majority will want to create a better world through the good works that you intend to do.

If that happens, perhaps you can drag along those others who want just a handout. Now here are four secrets about what you should do to get ahead:

• Although working hard is a virtue, working “smart” is genius. 

• Education is the key but I am not talking about advanced degrees here.  I am talking about identifying a field you would like to work in and then learning everything you can about it. Best way to do this is by talking with people in the field.  Or volunteering to work in the fringe parts of that industry.  Scanning the internet for everything you can find out about trends in that field helps, too.  Honestly, you can never learn enough.

• It is not whom you know or what you know that counts in getting a good career going.  It is whom you know AND what you know that will make all the difference. Locate and cultivate mentors.

• Timing is the single most important thing in getting ahead.  You must stay on top of trends and always, always check which way the economic winds are blowing.  You must be a man or woman of action.  Jump when you need to, but look before you leap.

Earlier I said that your youth is your greatest asset.  You sit there at your graduation as an unformed human being.  Your whole world is out there ahead of you.

Although scary, this is the most exciting time to be alive. Approach these times with optimism and love for your fellow human beings (plus gumption) and you should turn out just fine.

Check out Bill Sniffin’s columns at billsniffin.com. He is a longtime Wyoming journalist from Lander who has written six books, which are available at fine stores.  His latest is Wyoming at 125. His books are also available at wyomingwonders.com.