education central

By Elena Cardone

It’s graduation season and an exciting time for both high school and college seniors. You’ve done the work, studied hard and now it’s time to walk across the stage to Pomp and Circumstance and receive your diploma.

When all the fanfare dies down, what is your next move? Get a job? Start your own business? What do you need to do to become successful? For many students, it’s a very confusing time and one filled with doubt and uncertainty.

The good news is, there are a number of steps you can take to ensure success no matter what your intended career path, whether you get a traditional job or go the entrepreneurial route.

Get around successful people The absolute best way to excel at something is from someone who has already successfully accomplished it or is far more advanced in it than you. Follows these people carefully. Even in your immediate circle, get around people who think big and want to make something of themselves because it will have a direct impact on your performance. Remember, winners attract winners.

Grind your heart out Whether you decide to go the more traditional route and join a company, or your heart is set on entrepreneurship and you want to build something of your own, in the beginning you must grind your heart out like never before. The days will be long. You must put in more blood, sweat and tears than you think you have. In the end, that’s how you grow into something massive, and it will have all been worth it.

Never stop learning Just because you are done with traditional schooling, the real learning begins now. The truth is the most successful people never quit learning. They might not go back to school, but they read books by other successful people, attend seminars, and are always looking to improve themselves personally and professionally. They know the only way to get ahead and stay ahead is to always keep learning.

Fail over and over again Yes, you read that right! One of the best ways to succeed is to fail time and again. Anyone at the top of their field is really nothing more than a professional failure. Instead of accepting defeat and letting it take them down, they learned from their mistakes and made the decision to comeback bigger and better than ever before. Welcome failure with open arms.

More than relationships We’ve all heard the phrase, “it’s not what you know but who you know.” Take that one step further and it should really say, “It’s who knows you and is willing to admit it.” Get to the point where your colleagues and customers are family. When you truly have each other’s backs and you treat one another like a blood relative, that’s a real relationship that builds business for years and years to come.

Go big or go home In the Cardone household, nothing is average or ordinary. We either go big or we don’t go at all. There’s no point in trying anything, especially starting a business, if you are only halfway in. Set extremely ridiculous expectations for yourself and your business. Will you hit them? Maybe not. But when your goals are to the point where they seem unattainable, your work ethic and performance goes through the roof.

Develop your emotional intelligence It’s not always the smartest people who become the most successful. It’s the people who know how to interact with other people or who have a very high emotional intelligence that succeed. They listen when others speak. They smile and make eye contact. They care. They remember details. They know how to make you feel important. These are skills that anyone can learn, but unfortunately, many overlook.

The takeaway Welcome to the real world! No one said it’s going to be easy. If you want success, you’re going to have to fight hard for it. It is doable. The question is: how bad do you want it? Class of ’22’ go out there and change the world!

Let It Be Us

Let It Be Us is dedicated to changing the landscape of foster care and adoption in Illinois for the over 22,000 children in foster care. We envision a future in which our most vulnerable children have the opportunities and resources they need, which can best be met by belonging in a family. Let It Be Us recruits foster parents through educational events and helps children find loving families through our proprietary database of over 750 licensed foster homes. Learn more at www.letitbeus.org.

SEASPAR

SEASPAR is a special recreation association offering therapeutic recreation programs and services – including 2 multi-sensory room – for people with disabilities served by the park districts of Clarendon Hills, Darien, Downers Grove, La Grange, La Grange Park, Lemont, Lisle, Westmont, and Woodridge, and the villages of Brookfield, Indian Head Park, and Western Springs. Visit SEASPAR. org or call 630.960.7600 for more information about our year-round programming for all ages and all abilities!

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