| April 16, 2013

Advice for Young Adults

I’ve read a lot of posts written for people who are just starting their career. They are filled with countless platitudes: Max out your 401k, be nice to the people below you they may be your boss one day, do something you love, blah fucking blah blah blah…

Here are the two pieces of advice I’d give at a graduation speech.
1) You are probably not going to change the world, get over it.
Very few people change the world, shit Bill Gates has a shit ton of money and resources and even he has yet to make it happen.

2) Your job should be thought of a way to get money and nothing else.
To quote Danny DeVito’s character in Heist “Everybody needs money. That’s why they call it money.” If the business objective at the top of a resume stated the truth “My goal is to get the most amount of money from your company while doing the least amount of work” I’d hire that person in second.

Though it sounds like a bit of a scam Die Broke was recommended to me by a friend and it had some pretty solid advice.

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Category: bad at life, DCDan, Frustration, Rant | Tags: ,
  • thosalumpagus

    Good ol’ thos here to provide a counterpoint to point 1 and 2 (we here at CFC are open to diverse opinions and welcome open dialogue, and sometimes fistacuffs).

    Yes, changing the world is a might lofty goal and you should probably set your sights a bit more realistically. With that being said, do not underestimate the power/influence you do have, it might not change the world as a whole but it can change the world around you. I don’t think Common Folk would even be a thing if it were otherwise. And it always surprises me and amazes me when someone drops a note saying, in reference to either the CF journal or zine, “aww man, that’s really awesome and it totally inspired me to work on this other project!” So while it’s good to be healthily realistic, keep striving cuz you never know just how much change you can affect.

    As for point 2, for a lot of people a job is just a means to a paycheck which is a means to being able to do what they really want. That’s totally respectable and a very pragmatic approach. But it’s not the only way. There really are people out there who are making a living by doing what they truly love. It’s not always all roses and sometimes you have to hustle even harder and there are times when doing what you love for a living turns what you love into just a job. There are also people who turn down or leave jobs in the higher paying private sector to work at non-profits and the satisfaction from the cause they’re working for more than makes up for the monetary difference.

    So to emphasize, I’m just trying to show the other side of the coin. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to life and it’s a great debate for each individual which way is best. They’re both entirely respectable as long as you really go all out and do your best regardless which path you choose. Or choose different paths at different points of your life.