
Today we attended our daughters college graduation! It was an opportunity to see young people living into their goals and launching their
new careers. It is so great to witness peoples greatness and share in the joy of achievement!
As the ceremony got underway, the president of the college and other "dignitaries" were seated on the stage. Several got up to speak their words of "wisdom". This was the most uninspiring, unenthusiastic, event I have ever witnessed. There was no smiling, no excitement on behalf of the "dignitaries"...they all looked depressed! Several got up to speak, and not one of them just stood and spoke from the heart....they all read "pre-canned" speeches and demonstrated no real leadership. Anyone could have stepped behind the podium and "read" the speeches they delivered and handed out the awards. These are the people in charge of teaching our youth on how to build a
successful career! These are the people in charge of teaching our youth leadership! No enthusiasm, no heart, no passion, nothing.....
In the program, it read "Please reserve applause until the end of the presentation" So, as the first 100 or so students walked across the stage to accept their diploma's, it was silent, you could have heard a pin drop. I couldn't help thinking this was unacceptable....these students have worked day and night studying, many have worked 1 or 2 part time jobs to put themselves through college and in this moment of greatness, this moment of celebration, this moment when we were celebrating their launch into
new careers they have worked 3 years to achieve, we were not supposed to recognize their greatness and applaud? That was just unacceptable to me! There was NO way that my daughter was going to walk across that stage and quietly accept her diploma.....without some excitement, something to remember! If that is the best our school system can do....if they can't be more creative than that, why don't they just stick these diplomas in the mail? Getting mail would have been more exciting than what was being demonstrated on that stage!
So, when our daughter walked across that stage our family let out huge whooohooo's, clapping and cheering! This was in the gym that was totally silent up to that point! She now has a "memory" of her great moment of achievement!
An interesting thing happened after this......more people started letting out little whoohoo's and claps came from various spots in the room. More and more people caught on to this and one young fellow in front of us stood up and yelled and cheered and whistled when his brother was on stage. THAT is enthusiasm! That is passion! That is non-conformity! Why is this important? Because, the people that have been "conforming" to society's "way of doing things" are losing their jobs and don't know what their future holds! People that don't conform, realize it doesn't matter if they lose their job, because they will go out and create something better!
People that have the most success in life, live with excitement, passion, non-conformity, and think outside the box. They learn how to be effective leaders and then share their knowledge to assist other people.
Here are some tips to assist anyone (new or seasoned) in creating a successful career...
-Never be afraid to do something GREAT - fear is crippling and holds many people back their whole lives
-Believe in your own ideas
-Set goals you are passionate about and only take actions that lead you towards these specific goals
-Live on the edge and do not follow the "masses" mentality
-Don't take no for an answer
-Live life with ENTHUSIASM
-Find mentors that can teach you and lead you in the direction of your goals
-Go after what you really want, and don't settle
-Be willing to step out of your comfort zone
-Take a stand for your own greatness and be wiling to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes.
-Be a LEADER - take people in bold new directions, let go of the "masses" mentality that is so prevalent in our society and BE the person that steps outside of "what has always worked" and "what people have been doing and thinking for years" and lead people to new possibilities
-Continually educate yourself, keep learning and growing into your full potential. Study successful people, learn what they do and then implement the success strategies into your own life.
And most of all, have FUN doing it.....life is meant to be lived, enjoyed....not to crawl through in a comotose state safely making it to the end!
In Your Service,
Debbie Ruston
1-519-342-4050 or 1-800-576-2917