I hope that new graduates aren’t as confused about the journey ahead as I was. Nobody offered much in the way of guidelines for meeting life’s challenges back then, or if they did, I wasn’t listening. Which is entirely possible. Dana Perino wrote a book titled, “I Wish Somebody Had Told Me.” Here’s my list…
Live boldly. You’ll make a lot of mistakes. Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn. Lessons keep presenting themselves until we learn from them. Learn the first time so you won’t have to have the lesson repeated. Get ready for the next lesson; it’s out there waiting for you.
“Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth try.”
James Michener
“It’s not what we don’t know that hurts, it’s what we know that ain’t so”
Will Rogers
“Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”
George Bernard Shaw
“I never know how much of what I say is true.”
Bette Midler
“Some people are crippled by their certainty.”
Kate Moorhead
“Say what you mean and mean what you say. If you don’t know what you mean, be quiet and think about it.”
Melody Beattie
Admit when you’re wrong. It’ll save a ton of trouble and people will respect you for it.
Apparently, a lot of influential people have never considered the above pieces of advice, which has resulted in chaos. Someone wrote that the more we believe in what we say, the less we have to shout. There’s so much shouting in today’s world that we often end up jumping on someone’s band wagon without considering unforeseen consequences. We’ve all done this. The trick is knowing when to jump off.
My friend, Kay, offers this. “I just need to clean up my own little corner of the world, and see what happens.” A lot can happen. Kindness and consideration are contagious.
My grandsons brought home a crowd of college friends to help with branding this year. Their girlfriends made the dinner. All went off quickly and like clockwork. My son usually says a few words of appreciation to the crew before we eat. This year, he credited the young folks for their work ethic and said this. “Luck is a result of hard work. If you keep on working hard, you’ll be lucky all your life.” He believes that despite dire predictions, the world isn’t going to the dogs, because we have many capable and willing young people ready to serve where they can.
A line in a Gary McMahon song says cowboys are still out there, you just can’t see them from the road. Our branding crew were good cowboys, including the women, and just plain good people. You can’t always see them from the road, but they’re still out there doing what they can in their own little corner of the world, and making a difference every day.
Meet me here next week and meanwhile do your best to keep your faith in our youth.