Shine With Grace

Mentioned earlier here in Shine that I was going to give a speech in my high school on career development and the topic I came up with was “What I wish I knew at 16″.

And, today is the day - just delivered the speech this morning to some 500 students of 16-19 years old.  The response was good.  And, this is such a good exercise - a great chance for me to consolidate my thoughts and experience from my career development.

So, what did I actually shared this morning?

The world is flat

It was not that long ago, when I was at their age, sitting in this same grand hall of the school, listening to the speakers talking on stage.  It was not that long ago - but the world then was very different from what it is now.  Say, what we regarded as daily necessities today, such as mobile phone, email, blogs, ipod, were not too common (if not non-existent) just 10 years ago.  The most prominent industries now, such as Internet, airlines, biotechnology, only emerged very recently, if we look from the time line of human history.  The most prominent companies, such as Apple, Microsoft, Google, are less than 30 years old.

The world is flat - owing to the development of the Internet, which enabled the breakdown of the work-flow, outsourcing, uploading and off-shoring, some jobs are becoming extinct, while some are nevertheless emerging.  We are literally, competing with the rest of the world. 

Foreseeably, when these kids graduate from university, the world would be very different from what it looks like now.

What I wish I knew at 16?

What I wish I knew if I am 16 now, facing this very flat world?

• The best way to excel is doing what I love and loving what I do.  Why?  Because given some hard work I think I can do reasonably well in something I don’t really like.  But, if it is excellence that I’m aiming at, I have to love what I’m doing on a daily basis.
• I may think that I know many things when I was 16, but the fact is, I know very very very little about everything at 16, and even now.  Don’t believe that?  Go to the news stand and pick up any magazine - see how many topics are there that you really have some knowledge in.
• We all like to compare.  We all doubt ourselves and at 16 we doubt ourselves on a daily basis.  Nevertheless, we are indeed better than we think we are - We am at least as good as we think we are.  Try the “I’m good experiment” borrowed from the Magic of Thinking Big.
• Time is too precious to be wasted - and opportunity cost applies in every situation (and definitely not just within the economics context).

What if I were 16 now?

If the above sets the stage, what I should do now if I were 16?

• Find out and develop my talent and passion.
• Develop my language ability - English and Chinese (especially Mandarin).
• Be curious about what’s going on locally, as well as in the rest of world.
• Take a broader perspective, and think ahead.
• Develop my:
  • Presentation skills - be articulate, be clear, be presentable.
  • Organisation skills - be able to priorities, systematize, (re)organise.
  • EQ
  • AQ
  • FQ

Indeed they apply to us all, regardless of our ages

My point is, we can now be 16, 26, 36…  The above indeed apply to us all - just that, the earlier we realise their importance, the better. 

And, the crunch is, it’s never too late…

What is undesirable?

After seeing the first draft of my power point presentation, my former-teacher-now-best-friend asked me to share from the point of view of an employer what I expect from the recruits.  This time, I choose to illustrate using negative examples.

What is undesirable?

• Lack of direction - You can be very talented, very motivated, very charm.  Nevertheless, if you don’t have a clue of where you’re heading to, attaining excellency in your career is out of the question.  You may, very possibly, land on a job that you are not passionate about, or still hoping around finding your muse but yet to settle down.
• Lack of passion -  As mentioned above, you can do reasonably well given some hard work, but without passion you can hardly make it great. 
• Negative attitude -  If you are a very defensive person, if you refuse to listen to any constructive advice, if you think that you are always right, it is pretty sure that you can hardly grow and before long, no one would give you any honest comments any more.
• Over promise, under deliver - Action speaks louder than words.  Much louder.  Don’t tell me what you can do.  Let me see what you have done.  Never create high hopes by empty words, then break it by broken promises. 
• Stop growing, stop learning- The world is changing too fast.  If you don’t update yourself, the skill set you acquired in your 20s may hardly sustain you till you retire.
• Giving up long term prospect for short term gain - Some jobs offer much higher starting salaries.  Nevertheless, it may not suit you.  If you take a job solely for its price tag, you may have to struggle on a daily basis to get up and go back to work.  And, afterall, it is very hard to excel if what you are doing is what you hate.  If the prospect of a job is good, and it suits you and makes your heart sing, take it and give it all you have, even though it doesn’t promise you a rosy package.   If you are travelling on the right track, you will move up fast.
• Let others make decision for you - Different people have different opinions and different expectations.  Parents may want their sons and daughters to get a stable job with a decent salary.  It’s fine if it suits you.  But, if say you are a born painter, a 9 to 5 may just not be your cup of tea.  Follow your heart, if you want to excel, and be prepared that it is going to be tough. 

What is most important?

Character, I would say. 

With a sun-shine character, health self-esteem and a positive attitude, not matter what jobs you are in, you will find the way to acquire the skills and knowledge required for the job and you can attract appropriate people to help you, guide you and walk with you.  

Related posts:

• What I Wish I Knew at 16
• 12 Important Questions To Ask In Regard To Your Work
• Grasping The Opportunity… Zhang Ziyi, Shu Qi, Tang Wei
• Make A List of What You Want To Achieve
• Are You Working For Work’s Sake?

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