What's up college fresh grads?
Just like you, I'm also about to graduate at age 23 leaving behind a legacy of drunk calls and wild nights.
But behind the wild nights and the drinking, I am a hard worker. Yes I work, for money! I have part time jobs! Now you'd probably be asking me questions like what'd I do, where'd I work and stuff like that. Well to answer your questions, I explored the world of freelancing doing all kinds of weird things for some extra cash. I started out with writing then I went on to doing weird tasks and getting paid for it (for example, some website gave me a job looking at pictures and telling them whether the picture is x-rated or not). But I really made my money with writing because the other jobs didn't really work out.
So how'd I do it?
I spent days and days sending out my resume to employers from Craigslist, Freelancer, oDesk, you name it and just waited for a response. Eventually I got a few jobs, got some cash and the rest is history.
So enough of my life story! I'm sure you want to know why I'm writing this post. And no it's not because I want you guys to know my story!
I'm here to talk about a certain mindset that most college fresh grads are carrying with them to the workforce, that's killing them! Okay, I'm sure that when we entered college and attended our oh so fun classes, we were constantly told that we, being a part of blah blah blah university, are the cream of the crop, the Chosen Ones, The One Ring to Rule them all.
And so most of us have this notion that the world is supposed to treat us like Harry Potter or Frodo! Most of us think that since we are the Chosen Ones, we have to do something fulfilling and contribute to the society and all that classroom bull. Heck some of us even think that the world is supposed to help us get that "fulfillment" we seek.
Well kiddies, I'm very sorry but I'm going to have to wake you up.
Surprise surprise, no one is going to help you reach your "fulfillment" stage because you are not some main character from some fiction story. You are a small piece of dirt living with other dirt specks in a big dirthole called society. Like me, you are also looking for fulfillment and enjoyment in your "work". But very sorry to say you're not going to get it. Why? Because you think you deserve it.
No one deserves anything! Whether they come from some big shot schools or not, they don't deserve a place in the earth unless they fight for it.
Let me tell you about the concept of survival of the fittest. If you're fit, then you survive (duh!) that's it! Most of us, after college, are stuck with this fulfillment mindset instead of the important survival mindset that our cavemen forefathers had.
We are usually filled with notions like "I deserve to get a high paying job because I'm from ***** University" or "I need to get work that I enjoy so it won't feel like work". Sorry to say but you will rarely get a first job that you'll love. In fact, you'll probably hate your first job and you'll probably be giving your boss the middle finger. But what can you do? You need the job if you want to have enough bread to put food in your mouth.
So here's the main question, what do you do to avoid being stuck in that fulfillment mindset?
Well lets see.......
1.) Stop expecting to have everything.
You will never get anything you want unless you work for it, period.
2.) Stop thinking people owe you a living.
You work or you no get pay, period.
3.) Prepare yourself for rejections and failures
You will meet a lot of antagonistic people. Prepare to be stepped on.
4.) Learn to get back up anyway
When you get knocked down, you don't stay there. You get back up and start fighting again.
5.) Survive
Because you won't last one second in this world without survival skills.
And those are the lessons I learned when looking for part time jobs. Heck I probably got rejected a hundred times before I got a job. But I still fight. Employers treated me like a second class citizen because they could. But I still fought.
I know education teaches us to always follow our dreams, but what they fail to teach us is how to grab those dreams. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with pursuing dreams because that's where we get the fulfillment we seek. But the thing is, we have to work hard for it if we want to get it. A dream is never given, it is taken.
