Now What?

Okay, show of hands.

How many of you stay awake late at night, wondering:

I have a college degree – now what?

I hear you. And it’s not an easy answer. Here’s why.

The school system is wrong

Our systems are breaking down, and we’re freaking out.

The factory mindset won’t help us any more, because the same maps don’t apply. Producing goods and services has never been so easy or cheap.

The world, as most of us know it, is changing rapidly.

And those of us who explore and extend the box get rewarded – that’s exactly opposite to what most schools teach us.

Well, the schools are wrong.

We now live in a world where everyone is their own creator and marketer. I’m still puzzled by how many people don’t act on this opportunity. The possibilities are endless, but if you want to take advantage of them, you must get into a new mindset.

Make a choice (and it is a choice)

You have two options the way I see it.

You can stay in the old world, where you go to uni and get your degree. You work on your fancy résumé and pray to a holy power that you’ll get accepted and land an interview. You check your phone and email… but there’s nothing.

Or you can create your own media assets. You can build massive value over time, grow remarkable relationships, and deliver helpful and useful content to a small but engaging audience.

You create and innovate, week after week. Sure, it’s not like your 10,000 Twitter followers or 15,000 Facebook fans rave about your work on social networks. At least not at the beginning… It’s much more likely your mum is going to tell how awesome you are over Skype. Which is nice, but slightly embarrassing.

Eventually, though, you’ll start to touch other people. You start to make a difference in somebody’s life. And it’s the most humbling and rewarding experience you can imagine.

Be Indispensable

The choice is yours (and it is a choice). Success is more about being generous and indispensable. It’s about basing your life on rock solid habits and carve out the principles of the past. It’s not about innate gifts, talents or pure strike of genius.

It’s more about how you connect people, and how you show them that you’re human.

How you answer the “now what” question is entirely up to you. You can watch by the sidelines or you can step inside and draw your own map.

You choose to be indispensable.

Next time that you lie awake in bed, I want you to rephrase the old question and change it to:

What gets me excited? Where can I create value for other people?

Listen to what pops up into your head. Then go ahead and do that.

As always, share your thoughts in the comments.

P.S. If you liked this post, you might want to check out Seth Godin’s book The Linchpin.  It’s a great read! If you find this post valuable, please share it with your friends. Use the social buttons below (or you know, send an email). I’m so happy to see you here Yes, you too, mum!

Photo DavidK-Oregon