Advice: Preparing for the Future
Featured: Stay focused on the big picture
“You have to understand that every little choice that you make can affect the big picture. Some small choices shift you completely off course, and then there are other choices that you feel like are going to ruin your life that really aren’t. If you get arrested, for example, you think it’s the end of the world, but it’s not necessarily going to derail your whole life unless you have to be in jail for a long time. It’s something you can learn from and move beyond. For me, it’s a matter of discipline: you make a mistake, you learn from it, and then you’ve got to remember what the big picture goal is.”
— in Advice: Think in terms of the “big picture” and seek guidance from others
Think ahead to prepare for your future in the workforce
“Kids need to be looking ahead more than they are; they need to be out visiting offices and getting a sense of what work is like and what it means to have a job and be a good employee. Employers I’ve spoken with talked a lot about ‘soft skill’ issues: showing up on time, dressing in a professional manner, behaving professionally, doing what you’re supposed to do when you’re supposed to do it, working collaboratively with teams, etc. Those ‘soft skills’ apply across all of the working world, and kids don’t have them.”
