Founder – Chief Change Optimist – Author – Host – Speaker – TV/Radio Personality – Mentor
Ariane de Bonvoisin - Founder and Chief Change Optimist
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Friday, April 4, 2008

Musings from Montana

I just spoke to a wonderful group of soon-to-be college graduates in Billings, MN. Graduation is a time of major change, stress and uncertainty that brings up tons of questions: Where will I work? Where will I live ? How will I pay my student loans? (Will I ever get out of debt?)

Moving onto this next phase of life brings up the eternal question—one that so many of us still face, 10, 20 even 30 years after graduating: What should I do with my life?! When contemplating this question it’s essential to think big. Do not limit yourself to what you think you can do. And remember that there is a difference between what you want to do and what your parents believe you should do! Look at what tugs at your heart and listen to what your intuition is saying.

While I was speaking to the graduates I was amazed at how so many of us in the working world are still looking for our calling, remaining in a job that’s not fulfilling because we've convinced ourselves that it’s what we “should” be doing. Recent graduates pressure themselves to figure out what they should do for the next 20 years and that pressure stays with them later in life. The truth is you don’t need to plan out your professional life for decades to come; you just need to find something that you want to pursue for a year or two. That’s all. Life will bring you people and opportunities in the span of a few years that are not available today and that will lead you to a new and exciting future.

And it will never turn out the way you planned. How many of us started in one job only to find ourselves in another industry? Or fell in love with one person, and are now involved with another? Or lived in one city that we swore we’d never leave, and are now on the other side of the country?

Let go of the way life should be—if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans!

Good luck to all the recent graduates out there. We’re here to help! Check out the top five things to do after receiving your diploma; then find your dream job; learn how to keep it and if you’re not sure where to start, begin by following your dreams.