(WARNING: This may be a caffeine-induced RANT… or it may be something more. You decide.)
Q: How do we want to encourage the next generation?
BACKGROUND:
Over the past few years… I’ve been wildly blessed to get to speak on more and more college campuses AND to be a part of the rock star event called Succeed Faster (designed for high-caliber college students and recent grads).
Well… I was able to talk to one of my favorite rock stars yesterday… as she’s getting ready to graduate from college this coming weekend. She (like many soon-to-be graduates) is standing in the tension of feeling excitement and fear. You know the place. Many of us have been there. Feeling that Stockdale Paradox of believing fully in your future AND wrestling with the tough stuff of “the now.”
I’ll admit that our conversation came at the end of a very long and robust day. I listened but I didn’t bring my best game. I encouraged… but I didn’t bring a lot of truth. This morning… I felt nudged to send a follow up email. I just wanted to throw some ideas out there to both meet her where she was at AND push her whole-heartedly into her awesome-yet-scary future.
Here’s a part of the email I sent her:
Hey ______,
It was sure great to talk with you yesterday.
I’m both proud OF you and excited for you.
One additional thought… and it’s a bit heavy… BUT I wanted to share it.
You started out in college a small fish in a BIG pond. Over time… and because of your commitment to “bring the awesome” and M.A.S.H… you became a BIG fish in a small pond.
You OWNED it because you brought your best and delivered.
Now… you’re about to enter the HUGE pond of the open market.
You may feel like a very tiny tiny fish in a HUGE freeeeegin’ pond now. And that’s natural. TOTALLY natural.
But hey… keep swimming. Keep bringing the awesome. Stay committed to working your butt off and doing what you do best.
The world doesn’t owe you anything… but you know that.
You have to go and make your mark in that new BIG pond. But you can do it. Just know it’s going to feel like a big pond for a while.
Stay committed. Keep bringing your best. Keep doing the stuff that no one else is willing to do to pursue their dreams.
I promise you… as you do… you’ll become the BIG fish you were created to be.
AND you’ll find waters that are going to be an awesome fit for you!
You were made for this sista.
Dream FREEEEEGIN huge… and go after it.
Talk soon,
I can tell you that when I wrote this… I hadn’t intended to blog about it.
BUT… I’ve been plagued by a question ever since I hit “send.”
The question is:
Q: HOW CAN WE BEST ENCOURAGE THIS NEXT GENERATION?
Seriously.
This isn’t an easy question… but it’s an important one.
We need to be talking about this. We need to be intentional about this.
- We need to encourage AND bring truth.
- We need to hug AND push.
- We need to protect them less and we need to hold them capable more.
Their future is dependent on it. Our future is dependent on it.
But… how do we do it?
Think about it.
In this next couple of weeks… how can you encourage a graduate?
- How might you hug and push?
- How might you meet them where they’re at… but not let them stay there?
- How might you help them to dream bigger about their future AND also prepare to work their butts off in the here and now?
Think about it… but also share your ideas.
Comment and let us know what you think might be the best ways to encourage this next generation.
Thanks for being in this together,
Mitch
