Are You Ready for the Real World? Successful Entrepreneur Advises Graduates That, Not All the Answers are in the Book
Info for grads on what it takes to make it in the real world, using examples of famous celebrities and newsmakers. Emphasizes the importance of doing the jop you were meant for, not just the one that will gain you the most money, or peer recognition.
Graduation season is upon us, and a fresh crop of young, eager,
dazed-and-confused college graduates are about to step out on their own for the
very first time. But has our educational system really prepared them for what
they will encounter? Has school given them the knowledge and tools they need to
succeed?
According to Brian Souza, the answer is no—not by a long-shot. A
successful businessman, and author of the new book, Become Who You Were Born to
Be, Souza says, “The theoretical lessons taught in school are often in sharp
contrast to the harsh realities of the real world. So it is up to us—parents,
grandparents, uncles and aunts, mentors, and friends—to share with our graduates
the three most important lessons they didn’t learn in school.”
Get
Curious
We can all learn a thing or two from the great Leonardo da Vinci. He
wasn’t born with a curious mind. Just like you and me, he had to cultivate his
imagination. Talk about hobbies! Da Vinci was a painter, sculptor, engineer,
musician, architect, inventor, botanist, writer, and scientist. He was far too
curious to be restricted to just one discipline. All of Da Vinci’s successes
were once just ideas. The challenge for graduates is for them to use their
creative powers to come up with their own original ideas.
Get In The
Vicinity
Each and every one of us has a gift that can define our life’s
vocation, our life’s work. All we have to do is to discover it and pursue it
with passion. And here’s an important secret: You don’t have to find it right
off the bat; you just need to get in the general vicinity.
Oprah didn’t
start out as a world-famous media personality; she started out as a
seventeen-year-old broadcaster with WVOL radio in Nashville. Neil Armstrong
didn’t just apply for a job to become the first man on the moon; he started out
as a pilot in the Navy. Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn’t born in a weight room; he
discovered weight lifting as a fifteen-year-old boy when his soccer coach
decided the team needed some strength-building exercises.
The common
denominator for many incredibly successful people is that they figured out what
their true passion was and started heading in that general direction. When you
set out in the general vicinity of your passions and interests, with only the
expectation of enjoying yourself, chances are, you just might!
Get
Going
“Gifted” people weren’t just handed their gifts on a silver platter.
Day in and day out they shaped it, polished it, and honed it into something
worthwhile. When you meet people who are at the top of their field, you can see
the passion in their eyes. You can see it watching Carlos Santana make his
guitar come alive in front of thousands of adoring fans. You can see it watching
Tiger Woods sinking a chip shot from 110 yards out, Oprah connecting with her
audience, or Emeril cooking up a mascarpone cheese polenta. And we’ll see that
same spark in your eyes once you discover who you were born to be.
Souza’s book, Become Who You Were Born to Be, goes against the grain of
most self-help books, which typically claim that motivation is the key to
success. According to Souza, “That couldn’t be further from the truth. The key
to success is being clear what your mission is here on earth. It’s about being
clear what your unique purpose is. It’s about becoming the person you were born
to be.” The book highlights the personal success stories of well-known historic
and pop-culture figures such as Sylvester Stallone, Oprah Winfrey, Lance
Armstrong, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Garth Brooks, Jim Carey, Mahatma Gandhi,
Benjamin Franklin, Helen Keller, and Abraham Lincoln.
Conventional
wisdom encourages us to follow the herd, to take the most popular path. But
history proves that success is more often found off the beaten path. Souza
advises, “Let your heart jump. Your feet will follow.”
Become Who You
Were Born to Be: We All Have a Gift… Have You Discovered Yours? by Brian Souza;
Published by Paragon Holdings, April 2005; ISBN: 0-9753522-0-2
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/5/prweb243987.htm