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INCOME INEQUALITY IN BOOMING ECONOMY

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IncomeInequality #jobs #recession #incomes
Despite strong job growth, Metro Atlanta incomes have faltered since 2007.
So writes Michael E. Kanell, business and economics reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His article on the matter appeared March 25, 2019.
“At the same time, racial inequality remained stubbornly high, even as the economy rebounded from the Great Recession,” Kanell writes.
The Atlanta region ranks 33rd in the country in economic growth, and 57th for inclusion by race, the article states.
Though Kanell covers the Atlanta area, the same thing likely can be applied elsewhere.
As a person, economically and otherwise, are you better off than you were 11 years ago? Have you been able to hold on to that good job you had back then? Has your employer downsized, leaving you out to find other work? Does the other work you may – or may not – have found pay as well as the previous job? Have you been forced to retire long before you wanted to ? Do you have enough saved for retirement to make it at all comfortable?
These and any number of questions can be posed today after a decade recovering from the Great Recession.
Some folks may have lucked out and found better economic circumstances. But many have not. Yes, the economy is growing. But if your individual economy has not grown, in fact has shrunk, you are not alone.
So, if you are in that situation, what can you do?
Fortunately, there are solutions out there, other than trying to juggle multiple, low-paying and time-consuming jobs. There are vehicles out there that potentially can enable you not only to recover economically, but prosper – perhaps as you never have before. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
You can sit around, fret and complain about your situation, or you can do something about it. Don’t expect some serendipitous event to come along to pull you out of your economic funk. Don’t expect a winning lottery ticket to solve your problem.
But you could be open to doing something you perhaps thought you would never do. It may take you out of your comfort zone, but if you’ve had to downsize your economic outlook, that can’t be really comfortable.
Kanell’s article says economically the best-performing regions, according to the Brookings Institution, are: Austin, Texas; San Antonio; San Jose, Calif.; and Dallas.
If you don’t live in one of those areas, or even if you do, you may not have benefitted individually from the nationwide economic growth.
Don’t look at the well-to-do with envy. Look at them as inspiration. You potentially could be among them if you are willing to look at programs that, starting with a part-time effort by you, could yield a pot of gold for you over time.
Times were tough a decade ago. Companies are still downsizing. Manufacturing plants are closing, or becoming more automated.
You can worry about it, or do something about it. It’s your choice.
Peter

ADJUSTING YOUR FINANCES IN YOUR 50s

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#aging #AdjustingFinances #retirement #investments
Are you in your 50s?
Do you have enough saved, or are you on track to have enough saved, for retirement?
Wes Moss, who writes the Money Matters column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, took on this subject in his March 17, 2019, column. He also is chief investment strategist for Capital Investment Advisors, and has a Money Matters radio show that airs Sunday mornings on WSB radio in Atlanta.
First, Moss talks about the TSL strategy. That stands for taxes, savings and life. He says that for a younger person, 30 percent of your income should go to taxes, 20 percent to savings and the remaining 50 percent for life expenses.
But, when you reach 50, he says, you may want to adjust those percentages to put a bigger percentage into savings.
He also says many people save for their children’s college expenses. But college tuition can be covered through loans, scholarships (and having the child work through college), among other things. But there are no loans to cover your retirement, unless you take out a reverse mortgage on your house.
In short, Moss advises to make saving for a child’s education secondary to saving for your own retirement.
Moss also suggests playing catch-up with your retirement contributions, which the law allows you to do at that age. As for paying off one’s mortgage, as Moss advises, give it some thought before you dump cash into your house. If your interest rate is low, say, 5 percent or less, and you have an investment adviser who routinely can make you a lot more than that every year, it may be wiser to put your cash into other investments rather than your house. The aforementioned reverse mortgage, or a home equity line of credit, may be the only ways to get that cash back out of your house.
That brings us to Moss’ other point: stick with stocks. If you have your retirement nest egg invested in stocks or their derivatives, don’t panic at every downturn and don’t be overly cautious, and grab profits, on every upturn. If you have a good investment adviser, he or she will guide you to investments that are suited to your situation. Adjust as needed, but don’t dump stocks wholesale based on the news.
You may say this is all well and good if you have lots of money. If you can barely cover your taxes and life expenses, how in the world can you save, with your current income? That could be discussed in detail in a different setting, but it boils down to spending less on things that aren’t necessities, and saving more.
There is also another way to add to your income: check out one of the many vehicles out there that allow you to leverage your non-work time, perhaps just a few hours a week. You could potentially dwarf the income from your job eventually. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Meanwhile, in this day and age, your 50s could be a scary time. You’re at the age when your employer may yearn for someone younger , and cheaper, to do your job. Company reorganizations happen frequently, and many people find themselves unexpectedly out of work.
In past generations, people didn’t really start saving for retirement until their 50s. Decades ago, companies cherished their experienced employees. Now, they are seen as a mere cost, in most cases.
You can certainly make adjustments to your retirement plan in your 50s, but it’s better to start a retirement plan much earlier in life. Today, you don’t know when, or at what age, your retirement will come. And, in most cases, it will come, whether you’d planned for it or not.
Peter

WHAT IS COLLEGE’S JOB?

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#college #StudentDebt #education #tuition #CollegeAlternatives
“Parents once sent their children off to college for an education.
“Now, parents expect colleges to provide maturation.”
So writes Maureen Downey, education columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She was discussing recent suicides on the Georgia Tech campus with a professor there. Her column appeared in the Dec. 24, 2018, edition of the AJC.
Yes, parents want kids to learn calculus and whatever else is likely to land them a job, she writes, but they also want colleges to turn their kids into respectable adults, and to address any mental health issues the kids may have, she writes.
“Just because schools say they provide these (maturation) services doesn’t mean they do it well,” Downey quotes the professor.
“When I attended the President’s Convocation after arriving at Georgia Tech, we were told to look to the left and right – at least one of you will be gone – more like one-and-a-half,” Downey quotes William S. Bulpitt, a 1970 honors grad from Georgia Tech.
Back in Bulpitt’s day, the pressure was enormous to stay in school . Those who flunked out likely got drafted and sent to Vietnam, Downey writes.
Today, college campuses have counselors that students can see, to save parents from paying dearly for private counseling – not that college tuition is a really cheap alternative.
Also, today’s teens suffer more with anxiety and depression, and have fewer coping skills than those in generations past, Downey writes. The causes are numerous: over-involved parents, unrelenting and sometimes unkind social media etc.
When the kids get to college, those mental health struggles intensify, Downey writes.
First, let’s analyze why kids go to college, whether or not they are well suited for it. Parents want their kids to get a good job, and they are told that the best way to do that is to go to college. If they can’t swing it financially, they borrow the money. Many often end up graduating, or sometimes never seeing graduation, with a big debt to start their adult lives.
Instead of sending a teen-ager who is ill equipped to deal with college to college, why not help them find a vehicle that will help them earn money – potentially a lot of money – without incurring the expense, or debt, of college. There are many such vehicles out there to help people, regardless of education, earn money spending a few part-time hours a week. To check out one of the best, message me.
Certainly, the college experience can be worthwhile, even spectacular, for the right person.
It’s not just the education, but the camaraderie, the extracurricular activities and the ability to live away from home for those who choose, that make college great for some.
One can’t eliminate the academic or social pressure, but the young adult has to be prepared for it, and the right person needs encouragement from parents, faculty and peers.
In short, don’t assume your son or daughter is suited for college. At the same time, don’t put unnecessary pressure on the student to go to college. If you send your child to college, make sure it is for the right reasons.
Don’t presume the degree your son or daughter would get, presuming he or she stays long enough to earn it, will yield the employment results you, and they, expect.
There is no shame in not going to college. If your son or daughter chooses not to go, make sure he or she is acquainted with ALL the ways available to make a living, or even, perhaps, a fortune. The money you might spend, or borrow, to send a child to college may be better utilized in setting up a retirement account for the child — or yourself.
If your child goes to college ill equipped, the school may not be the best place for the student to deal with his or her problems.
Peter

MANUFACTURING SHIFTS AND LOST JOBS

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#manufacturing #GeneralMotors #PlantClosings #Lordstown
All signs point to a booming economy and job market, but folks in Lordstown, Ohio, are not seeing it.
General Motors is closing its plant there. Workers have a decision: move to another part of the country that has more jobs, or retrain and change careers.
In May 2019, GM sold the Lordstown plant to a company that will make electric trucks.
Heather Long wrote an article for the Washington Post about what’s happening in Lordstown. The article was also published March 9, 2019, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Many workers are opting to go to other GM plants around the country. Others don’t want to leave the place they call home, where their children and extended family are, Long writes.
Perhaps some will get jobs at the new truck plant.
The workers qualify for the federal government’s marquee retraining program, Trade Adjustment Assistance, that covers cost of retraining classes up to two years, plus a weekly stipend to attend them, Long writes. About 30 percent of the workers have signed up for TAA, she says.
Still, many workers say they are too old to go back to school, or that they tried, but found the classes overwhelming, Long writes.
The Greater Youngstown area, where Lordstown is located, is among many urban settings, mostly in the Rust Belt, that are continuing to lose relatively well-paying manufacturing jobs, Long writes.
In this case, the Lordstown plant produced the compact Chevy Cruze, while the bulk of the U.S. car market is dominated by trucks and sport-utility vehicles.
The Lordstown example is one of many in which good-paying jobs, for the least educated, are disappearing, and unlikely to return.
If you are among this group of workers, you can’t be assured that your job will be there for you for as long as you want. Progress in automation, though good overall for manufacturing and commerce, is your personal enemy.
So what do you do? First, you have to think about a Plan B. That is, a way to make an income when your job goes away. Second W-2 jobs may not be the best answer.
However, there are many vehicles out there that allow you to make a potential income that could eventually dwarf your current one, by simply spending a few, part-time hours a week of your off-work time. It doesn’t matter your age, background or skill level. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
As for the Lordstown GM workers, and others in a similar position, your workplace options are few, and mostly not good. You have to think about doing something different.
Waiting for the plant to reopen is futile. If re-education in manufacturing is difficult or impossible for you, try getting re-educated in something a little less taxing. Unless you are really willing to go out of your comfort zone, you may even have to figure out how to cobble together an income from jobs that will certainly pay you less per hour than you were making.
We all can feel bad for these workers, though many of us have seen this coming for a long time. It would have been easier had they thought about a Plan B years ago.
Alas, that is not reality. We, as workers, can’t stop progress in manufacturing. Companies have to look hard at cutting costs, and becoming nimble as markets for products change quickly. Some workers will suffer as a result, but those workers have to figure out how to solve that problem on their own, taking advantage of any available help.
Many say the U.S. doesn’t make things anymore. Well, it does, but with many fewer people.
Peter

KNOW, GO AND SHOW

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#know #go #show #leadership
Leadership expert John Maxwell says, “A leader knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.”
Motivational speaker Les Brown says, “Some of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.”
Leadership has different definitions to different people, but many experts believe a leader shows, rather than tells.
A leader is someone a person watches and emulates, rather than one who gives orders.
To lead others, referring to Maxwell’s quote, you have to show the way. He doesn’t have to be loud, dynamic or boisterous. He just has to set an example for others to follow.
How do you become one of those? Going back to Brown’s quote, you can’t follow your fears.
You have to move, step or act whether or not what you are doing or where you are stepping is scary. Many good things are scary, at least at first.
Once you get in the habit of stepping or acting, it becomes much easier and much less scary. You will learn what you have, and why others should have it and take those willing to follow you to your – and their – dreams.
So, you’ve decided you want to be a leader, but your job doesn’t allow you to. Your job requires you to follow something or someone, perhaps something or someone you’d prefer not to follow. Still, you have to make a living, so you do as you are told.
Yet, there is something within you that is gnawing, telling you there is something much better out there for you.
Here is where you cast your fears aside and examine other alternatives. There are many vehicles out there that allow you to become one who knows, goes and shows.
Your mission, should you want to be a leader, is to look for one of those vehicles, by casting your fears aside and stepping outside your comfort zone.
To check out one of the best such vehicles that can help leaders lead, message me.
Certainly, not everyone is a leader. In fact, most leaders are found, rather than created.
The task is to match leaders with the right thing to lead others to.
If your current path is not working for you, it’s up to you to look for another one. You may not find it immediately, and you may have to stay in your “wrong” path until the right one appears.
That “right” path may appear through someone you already know, or someone you’ve yet to meet.
If your dreams are more powerful than your fears, if you long to know, go and show, you have to do what you need to and, perhaps with a few spare hours, work to find the way to get to your dreams.
It’s all possible, for those willing to look for it.
Peter

HAVE WE LOST THE ABILITY TO DREAM BIG?

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#DreamBig #BigGoals #GreenNewDeal #BigDreams
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy predicted the U.S. would go to the moon in that decade.
It did in 1969.
“We choose to go to the moon … and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard,” Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts quotes JFK. His column on the subject of dreaming big also appeared Feb. 26, 2019, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Pitts was focusing on the Green New Deal, proposed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Edward J. Markey.
Though the goals of the proposal are big, Pitts says some believe the idea is simply too big.
Regardless how you may feel about the Green New Deal, Pitts makes the point that the country seems to have lost the ability to dream big – an asset that has always been what America was about.
We, as individuals, too, may have lost that ability. We may have even been taught to temper our goals and dreams in favor of security.
People who do great things have many characteristics – not the least of which is the ability to see things not as they are, but as they could, or should, be. They then have the ability to carry through on that vision, overcoming all the obstacles, battling the naysayers and never losing sight of their dream.
Are you the type of person who settles for what is, rather than aiming for what could be?
Or, are you the type who sees what is as temporary, all the while aiming for what could be?
If your current situation is not giving you the life you want, know that YOU can change it, if you choose.
You don’t necessarily have to come up with the next big idea that will give you your fortune. You just have to be open to looking at situations that could change your life for the better, and have the wherewithal to crawl out of your comfort zone and go for it.
How do you find such situations? There are many out there that can offer you a potentially life-changing scenario. To check out one of the best, message me.
“Big things were what America did,” Pitts writes. “From carving highways out of corn fields and cyberspace, to airlifting hope to a starving city, to rebuilding a ravaged continent, to helping save the world from tyranny, to digging 40 miles of trench that united two oceans, to binding East and West with railroad tracks, to defeating the most powerful military on Earth with an army of farmers, when did ‘big’ ever scare America?” Pitts continued.
Sometimes, something big comes to us as something different. Sometimes, it comes to us from a messenger that we never expected. Sometimes, it can fall into the lap of the people willing to look for it.
It takes courage to ignore the people in your life who try to tell you that you can’t, shouldn’t or even had better not try THAT, even when what you are embarking on may not be as scary as you are led to believe.
You just have to have a dream big enough to not be deterred.
If you don’t have such a dream, find it. If you do, pursue it. You don’t have to settle for what is, when what could be may be waiting for you.
Peter

SUCCESS IS FLEETING; YOURS DOESN’T HAVE TO BE

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#success #FleetingSuccess #TemporarySuccess #fortune #failure
Today’s success is tomorrow’s failure.
Or, so it seems that way.
We can all recall some person, entity, corporation etc. that was a huge success, but now is failing.
Ken Fisher, founder of Fisher Investments, took on this topic in a column for USA Today. It was also published Feb. 4, 2019, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The most recent example Fisher cites is Sears, America’s biggest retailer 50 years ago that is now all but dissolved.
He also talks about lottery winners upon whom the “curse” hits, and they are broke and miserable years later. That seems less like a curse, and more like a lack of personal wisdom or common sense.
In today’s world, success is indeed fleeting. The world is changing at such a rapid pace that the latest “big thing” is pushed out almost immediately by “the next big thing.”
American companies, as an example, in many cases can’t see the next big thing coming. Or, if they can, cannot gear up fast enough to latch onto it. Or, if they are fortunate enough to foresee it, latch onto it too soon, and suffer a period of stagnation awaiting the growth that is to come.
And, as fortune would have it, that “thing” the company foresaw and geared up for is soon displaced by something else.
Decades ago, when Sears reigned supreme in retail, progress didn’t move as quickly. Online shopping was not even a twinkle in some inventor’s eye. The Big 3 automakers churned out big, gas-guzzling cars until, well, foreign economy cars began to displace them. Who knew at the time that electric and self-driving vehicles were just down the road?
Yes, success is fleeting. But personal success doesn’t have to be. Instead of waiting to be part of “the next big thing,” work hard, save some of what you earn every week, sock it away, invest properly as your nest egg builds and move into your elder years without worry.
Easier said than done? Perhaps. But it may hinge on the life decisions you make, large and small, every day.
Think before you spend. What you don’t spend you can save.
Also, don’t presume the situation you may have now will stay the same, or improve. Remember, your employer may be looking for the next big thing and may or may not find it. Or, they may find it too late. Or, they may not change fast enough.
In any case, you, as the employee, will be affected, and usually not for your betterment.
Therefore, you must create your own success. How? There are many ways out there for a person to spend a few, off-work, part-time hours a week creating a potential stream of income that will enable him or her to roll with the punches at work with much more ease. You just have to be willing to look at new ideas that may be presented to you.
If you are willing to check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Fisher talks about making yourself indispensible to your employer. Even the most indispensible people get reorganized, laid off or their job changes to an untenable degree.
It may be better to work at your job, and look for other ways to ensure your own success and, perhaps, the success of those willing to join you.
Peter

MIDDLE CLASS MAKING A COMEBACK?

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#MiddleClass #AmericanDream #security #fortunes
We used to see becoming middle class as part of the American Dream.
Middle class used to mean security. Instead of dreaming of fortunes, we craved security.
It was there to be had, if you just got a job, showed up for work most every day, did your job satisfactorily and didn’t cause trouble.
In exchange for your good behavior, you got a decent salary, health benefits, a pension when you retired and, basically, a pretty good life.
More importantly, your continued good behavior gave you a job for as long as you wanted it, with regular raises and, perhaps, a promotion or two if you really worked hard.
Mostly, you would be able to do this with little more than a high school diploma.
Those days have slowly gone away, to the point that they have almost vanished altogether.
Paul Davidson, in an article for USA Today, discusses a revival of the middle class in recent times, thanks to a healthier economy. His article was also published Feb. 13, 2019, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Davidson tells the story of Andrew Gehrt, 29, of Greenville, S.C., who was laid off as a sales rep for a water filter company and, after being unemployed for a year, he landed a job as a business development manager for a tech company. Salary: $60,000.
Andrew was very fortunate. Most who lose good jobs today end up, perhaps after a long unemployment, taking jobs that pay less than they were making.
Though Davidson writes that the fortunes of the middle class have brightened recently with the economy, it’s still a craps shoot for a lot of people.
This situation may require a new train of thought among individuals. Remember that security you, or your parents, craved that the middle class provided? With that security eroding because of technology, changing markets, company reorganizations etc., we all have to start thinking differently.
There is indeed good news here. There are many vehicles out there that can allow people to eventually not have to sweat getting laid off. In fact, if these people devote a few part-time hours a week toward one of these, he or she can build an income that could allow him or her to walk away from his or her job with a smile one day.
Here’s the key: you have to be willing to check out your options. You have to be willing to say yes to that person you know, or whom you meet, who brings one of these vehicles to you and asks you to take a look. You don’t have to say yes after you’ve seen it, but you should be open to looking.
If you are one who is willing to explore options, and wants to check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
The middle class is indeed shrinking. It may be redefining itself. Even some with college degrees are finding options in the job market skimpy. Rather than hunt and peck through jobs you don’t like just to make a living, dream about what you would do when something great comes into your life that you can work at, have fun with and set goals you would never imagine with just a “regular” job.
If you are among those who still crave security, it will get harder and harder to find. The world is increasingly leaving you out on your own to determine your future. Not only is security no longer guaranteed, it can be elusive.
If you have a good job, have lots of years left to work and believe you are “all set,” think again. That next reorganization, or bad manager, could yank the rug out from under you.
Even if you see yourself as “all set,” check out your options anyway.
Peter

GLAD GRADS: PART 2

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#GladGrads #graduations #LifeAfterGraduation #graduation #CollegeGraduation
Last week, we talked about different graduates on different missions, as we celebrate the season of degrees.
Sue Shellenbarger, who writes a Work and Family column for The Wall Street Journal, suggests six “new rules” for post-college employment searches.
In her May 7, 2019, column she cites the example of Kyle Gilchrist, 23, who graduated from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Ga., last December with a degree in political science. He had good grades, good debate skills and served an internship with a U.S. congressman.
He found his job options limited because he didn’t have work experience.
That brings us to Shellenbarger’s first suggestion: get work experience before graduating. Her second suggestion: start building a job search network early. Thirdly, acquire technical, analytical and interpersonal skills that may not be taught in the college courses you take. Fourthly, don’t over-rely on online job boards, which harkens back to building a job search network early. Networking involves people and personal contact, not Web sites.
Her fifth suggestion is to build a robust LinkedIn profile. Many experts believe that the conventional way to apply for a job – having a resume and knocking on doors, will eventually be surpassed as employers search sites like LinkedIn for the people they want.
Lastly, she suggests seeking out other adult mentors for advice. Those may be parents, teachers or others in your social circle who have the wisdom to guide you.
“Nearly 2 million students will emerge from U.S. colleges with bachelor’s degrees this year. Many will enter a job market their parents barely recognize,” Shellenbarger writes.
Though the labor market is tight, competition is fierce, she says.
Some grads will have more marketable degrees than others. Some will have more school debt than others.
Not only is getting a job hard for some, but also the job(s) they are offered don’t pay close to what they need to make a living, let alone pay off debt.
Like acorns, jobs may be plentiful, but hardly, in many cases, provide the nourishment and good taste humans want and need. As you think of acorns, also think of the squirrel running inside a wheel. Many jobs will feel like that to you – a lot of energy expended and very little, if any, progress to show for it.
If you find yourself in that situation, don’t worry. There are many vehicles out there that can produce a potentially lucrative income, starting with a few, part-time hours a week. The only requirement is an openness to look at them, and a willingness to do what it takes to succeed at them. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Remember, a college degree is helpful in landing a job, but doesn’t guarantee you one. You may decide that the degree you got, though enlightening in its pursuit, can’t always bring big bucks into your life. You may have to decide that pursuing your passion may require an ancillary pursuit of other income.
Again, be glad to graduate. Know that getting a good job won’t necessarily be easy. Still, work hard, dream big and be open to other helpful solutions.
Your circumstances don’t define you. How you deal with them does.
Peter

GLAD GRADS: PART 1

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#GladGrads #graduations #LifeAfterGraduation #graduation #CollegeGraduation
It’s the time of year to celebrate graduations.
The grads will come in all ages, ambitions and desires.
For example, Teresa Eckart was a prosecutor and judge, who wasn’t doing what she loved. So, she went back to Kennesaw State University in Georgia to become a ballet teacher at age 59.
Hers and the profiles of other graduates were part of a package of articles in the May 5, 2019, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Another profiled grad is Marc Anthony Branch, 27, who leaves the day after his graduation from Emory University in Atlanta for Cambodia, where he will do urban development programming and assessments work with Habitat for Humanity.
Antoinette Charles, 20, will take her passion for helping the homeless with her when she graduates from Georgia State University, where she participated in the student organization Pads for Princesses, which assisted the homeless.
Meanwhile, Haley Evans, 21, learned to push herself at Oglethorpe University outside of Atlanta, and wound up studying abroad in Ecuador. She was able to use social media to successfully win a leadership spot on the student government organization at Oglethorpe while in Ecuador. She plans to teach in early childhood education.
Trayvon Truss, 22, was a self-described social outcast who battled depression. He was homeless much of his childhood. He also had dyslexia and was bullied. Now, he’ll earn his degree in psychology from Morehouse College in Atlanta.
Regardless of the path one takes, graduating college is a big step. Many will come out of college with degrees that won’t always yield the kind of results in the job market that they want. That’s OK for some, but for others, particularly if they are graduating with a lot of debt, that situation will present difficulties.
If that describes you, or if your passion doesn’t yield profitability, don’t fret. You can still pursue your passion, pay down your debt comfortably and live a very good life by devoting a few, part-time hours a week to one of the many vehicles out there that can create a potentially lucrative income for you. To learn about one of the best such vehicles, message me.
It’s a relief, which you may or may not yet feel, to be done with school. Think of it as a step toward what comes next in your life.
You may not yet know what that will be. Or, you may have something in mind that may or may not pan out for you.
The grads featured in the profiles all made decisions, pushed themselves and fulfilled at least some of their dreams.
Some grads tend to focus on the practical, rather than their dreams. It’s certainly OK to want to make a good living, and not have to live at home with mom and dad forever. It’s good to want a house, marriage, children etc. in your future.
Yes, some practical thinking is in order. But always have your eyes, and your mind, on something bigger.
You can get there sooner, or you can get there later. It all depends on whether you are willing to look at something you may not have considered doing before, and whether you have the ambition to do whatever it takes to get what you want.
Be glad, grads, that you’ve taken that step. Be wary of what’s out there, but also open to new things. Skepticism can be good. Cynicism never is.
Peter