Photo Courtesy of puamelia (flickr)
Now that I’ve got your attention, let me explain why I really do want you to get silly wasted, or the equivalent in other means if you choose. If your college experience was anything like mine it probably consisted of excessive amounts of cheap beer, late nights, few trips to the gym, and many impulsive decisions that you later regretted when the pictures where posted on Facebook. As much fun as this lifestyle can be, it doesn’t necessarily prepare you for the intense demands of employers, spouses, or even parents. Accomplishing your goals during life after college can seem daunting, especially if you’re thrown out on your own without a guide. I’ve listed some of the most important actions you need to take as you head out into the real world. Even if you’ve been graduated for years, these action steps can be a good check-up to see how you’ve been doing.
When I graduated college and moved to Boston, I had accomplished nine out of these ten steps within the first few months. I’m not offering this advice because it sounds like a good idea. I’m talking about this stuff because I did these things and they work. If you’ve been struggling with finding your passion, recently realized that your job totally sucks, or you’ve fallen victim to mediocrity like everyone else around you, it’s time for a change. The best part is that these steps are very doable, so get started today with number one. Don’t forget to drink a Guinness, it’s my favorite beer.
The Graduated and Clueless Checklist for Success
1. Get Really Drunk
Why would I tell you to get drunk? It’s time to celebrate! The fact that you’re reading this blog means you are either looking for an excuse to drink, which I just gave you, or you have made the decision to make your life mean something. Either way, you should take some time to relax before the work begins, because it’s going to be difficult. You don’t necessarily have to drink, but you should spend some time having a lot of fun and take it very seriously. Have so much fun it hurts. Hit rock bottom in the best way possible. Use this experience to cleanse out your bad habits. Make this your last cigarette, metaphorically speaking, or literally if you’re a smoker.
2. Work through Your Hangover and then Get Organized
Give yourself a day to recover. Watch movies, take naps, pop a few Tylenol, and then begin to organize everything. This is a great time to clean your home. Donate everything you can get your hands on. Trash everything you can’t sensibly give to someone else. Reorganize your furniture. Open your windows and let in some fresh air. Buy a filing cabinet, clean out your email inbox, pay a few bills you’ve been ignoring, and anything else you can think of to allow a fresh new beginning.
3. Write down a Solid Career Plan
If your plan to find a job is to search Craigslist and interview with anyone who calls you back, it’s time to start over. Read my blog post, Your First Real World Job 101. Then, realize it’s time to choose your destiny. Don’t let circumstance dictate your future, plan it yourself. Decide today exactly what your career will look like ten years from now and do whatever it takes to get there. Be ambitious when making this plan. This is no time for realistic practicality. Be bold. It’s your dream, make it worth fighting for. Oh yeah, and definitely don’t forget to write the goal down and superglue it to your wall.
4. Create a Basic Budget & Debt Payment Plan
Whether you realize it or not, your financial IQ will be one of the strongest dictators of your future success. Learn about money. Learn how it works, how to spend it, organize it, invest it, save it, blow it, love it, hate it, and everything else in-between. Your ability to figure out how to pay your bills each month will say a lot about your ability to manage responsibility on the job. This is especially critical if you plan on starting your own business. Read my blog posts, How to Survive on a Low Budget and Finances 101: The Truth About Debt, to get started.
5. Move Somewhere Amazing
One of the greatest opportunities you’ll have right out of school is the freedom to pack up and go. After studying abroad for a semester in college I got hooked on travel. New places, new people, new experiences, and the opportunity to take a few thousand pictures are a few reasons to consider the move. Not to mention that traveling creates milestones in your life. I now use my trips as indicators of progress. It’s scary to jump out of your comfort zone, but it is well worth it. After studying abroad in Prague I have lived in a tiny town in Missouri, Boston, and now Nashville. The variety keeps my life interesting, challenging, and fun.
6. Force Yourself to Grow Up
One of the advantages to moving somewhere on your own, whether across town or overseas, is that it forces you to be responsible for your own life. Starting a new business, beginning work for a big corporation, or even heading off to a challenging grad school can push you in the right direction. Either way, forcing success into your life is a great thing because most of us need a big push as often as possible to keep going. Check out my blog post, The #1 Way to Guarantee Success, to learn more about being all you can be, without joining the army.
7. Read as Many Books as Possible
This is totally cliché so bear with me, but reading is fun and knowledge is power. These are simple truths that I never would have believed while I was in school, but those are two facts that I have grown to fully appreciate. Reading and learning about topics I’m passionate about has vastly increased my knowledge base. Six months after I moved to Boston I called my parents and told them I had learned more in those six months than in all four years of college. Amazing and true. If you’re looking for some good books to get started check out Three-Must Read Books for Clueless Grads.
8. Use Physical Challenges to Increase Self-Discipline
I ran my first marathon exactly 364 days after I graduated college. In the months of training leading up to the race I increased my productivity and self-discipline to an incredible level. I was working full-time at Citibank, part-time at Apple, while walking to-and-from work each day and running in the evenings. It was crazy, stressful, and amazingly rewarding. Physical challenges make you stronger, more energized, and incredibly more disciplined. Ask any endurance athlete what their schedule looks like and you’ll see my point. Read Why Running at 5 am is Awesome! for a little more insight into my running schedule.
9. Find a Mentor/Expert to Mimic
If you plan on being ultra-successful in anything, you need a mentor. Following in the footsteps of experts in any field is a sure-fire way to put yourself in their shoes someday. When I began building this website I read books, listened to podcasts, and studied some of the best blogging websites on the Internet. I still do all of those things today as well. My goal is to repeat things that work well and eliminate things that don’t. It’s simple and effective.
10. Stay as Busy as Possible
Activity breeds activity. Stagnation breeds depression. Staying busy will keep your blood flowing. One of the greatest traps you’ll more than likely experience a few times after college, if not the rest of your life, is mediocrity. Don’t settle for anything less than overly-ambitious success. Don’t make yourself insane and cause an ulcer, but do your best to choose stress over boredom. Busy people get more done and are generally happier people. I don’t have any studies to quote, but you get my point.
Feel free to leave my any comments and/or feedback you have about this post. I welcome your opinion, even if it differs from mine. Thanks for joining me at Graduated and Clueless and good luck on your journey!
The Clueless Graduate,
Jeff Sanders 
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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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