I usually admire people who make conscious attempts to make their lives better. As I have taught severally, it goes beyond desiring something before you can possess it. A student may wish for an outstanding result but we know if he/she doesn't burn many midnight lamps productively, then the least is what will become of that student. There is no magic around that and no prayer can substitute for due diligence. Now just as we understand this concept quite well, we have often discovered that having obtained a degree from school, many still end up beggarly and sorrowful in life. One would think that the possession of any level of certificate should ultimately guarantee a better life but sadly, that is never the case and if nothing is diligently done about it, such person will hate his/her meaning of existence.
In this short guide, I am going to be showing you how anybody can have a fantastic life even right before graduating from college or the university or other forms of learning. It is important that you lay hold onto this because it is capable of transforming both your life and those around you:
1) FIND YOURSELF:
For obvious reasons, the primary aim of a student is to excel academically but for many of them, they're a shadow of themselves in the journey of purpose. Yes, some were forced by parents or coerced by peers to study what they never loved and as such they're battling to maintain certain unrealistic demands. It is a crime against humanity and God for you to be living but still don't know who you are. Some even finish school and marry without finding purpose and they set up their family with a faulty foundation. It is terrible!
I have seen students who make funny statements like, "I can't be behind my mates so I must do everything whether by crook means or not to succeed". These are the kind you find setting up formation during examination just so they can proceed to the next class by force. Listen! It is not by passing exam that your life can be better. If you know something, you know it for real. Leave all these rush to get somewhere. See, about 80% of your colleagues today will hardly keep in touch with you after school. It's not that they hate you but truth is, life would've happened to them too. So then what you need to do now is to sit down and carefully ask yourself about finding your original identity after which the next step below will make the impact.
2) LEARN NETWORKING:
Like seriously, your network is your real net worth and not what's in your bank account. If you can't boldly look at your contact list and see someone to bail you out from a challenge now, then you're in a bigger problem. Unfortunately however, many undergraduates lack this wisdom so they're only obsessed about their studies and they end up being friends with just their class/age mates. But life was never designed that way. If you must live life better, you need to improve on how you connect with people (and the right ones indeed).
I'm not saying you should just go about collecting supposed "big people's" mobile number. Let your mind be opened wide now so you can understand that even a beggar on the street can be useful to you. Go and ask Mordecai who once saved the King and ask the servant who helped Joseph in the Bible. This is a serious principle of life because you must also be intentional about investing heavily in sustaining relationships. There are things I've gotten in life that I didn't spend my own money but instead the people in my life gave me on a platter and with a green pass. Nobody is stupid to help you if you've not proven to be valuable. So work on this diligently and watch how your life will become a wonder to many!
3) BE HEAVILY SKILLED:
Gone are the days when you're certain of securing good jobs after leaving school. Nowadays it's either there are fewer companies to employ people or the number of applicants exceed the available positions. It is even a "do or die" affair for some people because life has dealt a terrible blow on them. As a result, the only chance you stand is when you're skilled and heavily as well. Look within your industry and ensure you grasp a minimum of ten skills there. Then look into other industries outside yours and take certain important skills too. It is needful so that you can have a large net to spread across the ocean and with it, you'd be certain of catching many fishes.
What I am saying can't be overemphasized because though some can graduate as Computer Engineers but I have seen how some of them lose opportunities on the basis of not understanding Marketing for example. I was discussing with a young Biochemistry undergrad a while back and he was expressing his need to learn management and sales because the world has gone past just focusing on one lane. I was awestruck for a moment but then I was glad he realised it early enough.
4) DEVELOP A BUSINESS MINDSET:
Oh! You thought it is only for those who study Business Administration or Financial Accounting? You're very wrong because the world which we live in today has taught us otherwise. Since no job is guaranteed anywhere, having a creative and a business mind will help you go far in life after school. If you haven't been working on how to possess business skills before, I'd seriously suggest that you start now. This can even help you solve financial crisis and other needs.
What is a business mindset, you ask? Well, let's think of it as being an entrepreneur. Many developed nations are spending heavily in this regard because they've come to realise that if the people cannot come up with resourceful ideas by themselves, then they cannot progress. So possessing an entrepreneur's mind suggests that you'd be a problem solver. We don't just need certificate holders who can quote A, B and C but instead we now earnestly desire a set of people who can brainstorm and birth solutions outside the box.
5) OPEN TO RELEARNING:
It is said that when a person does the same thing repeatedly and expects a different result, then it is foolishness. Like I mentioned from the start, it is not enough that you desire a particular change in your life before you'll see it manifest. There are principles or keys you must consciously engage and while you're at it, you mustn't be too rigid to make different approaches where necessary. But unfortunately, we've seen how thousands of graduates keep suffering under ignorance simply because they think if it's not method A, then it can't be method B.
Those who study pure/applied Mathematics will understand this point well because this course helps them to become natural problem solvers and they recognise the need to source for multiple ways to accomplish a given task. So as a person, you should never be bent on systems that prove resultless. Yes, I know you've faith which is good but then again, be encouraged to be more open-minded so your life can improve.
Finally, I wish to add that you'd be a joker if you think this is all but if you're serious about life, the five powerful points above can transform your life for good. With that said, there's something else that can orchestrate great outcomes and it's called God's grace.
Nice article