I shared this Andy Jassy interview with some kids I know who are still early in their careers. While not everything applies to everyone the part that I liked most was what he said about having the right attitude early in your career and being a ravenous learner all the way. The need to find sponsors and mentors has been talked about a lot but Jassy offers some concrete tips on what showing up with good attitude means and how that can further a young person's cause to find those much needed sponsors and mentors. He also indirectly illustrates a few other things with his own story that are worthy of consideration. You have a kid that is passionate about sports or something else non-academic. They understand winning, losing, scores, and points in that context. It is not the worst thing to re-frame learning to that context they know and love. He talks about how this played out in his own life.
A failure to reach the pinnacle of dreams does not mean that the dream is not worth pursuing at all. If a person is not cut out to be a professional athlete maybe there is a detour somewhere that keeps them in the proximity of their dreams because that is the source of their energy. Too often young people are persuaded off their course because it is crazy, wild, impractical, and worse. It is unclear from the interview itself how much Jassy as a young person drove his destiny and how much coaching and steering he received from well-meaning adults in his life. In any event, there is a value in helping a young person whose dreams exceed their capacity. The adults in their life could help them think through the alternatives and workarounds instead of giving up and losing the vital source of energy they will need to be fulfilled in their lives.
Not too long ago, I heard some great wisdom from a colleague whose daughter was a high-school freshman at the time. She has no specific passions as of yet and is bouncing around a variety of career options which is perfectly normal. But she is totally obsessed with home improvement shows and has already formulated what her dream home would look like and where it would be located. B used this as his starting point to get her thinking about the steps she will need to take to achieve that dream. This worked out to be a very methodical process where the goal was set to be achieved ten years out by a date of her choice. From there father and daughter worked together to plan financial and other milestones so the home would be move-in ready on goal-date. This a holistic discussion about the future not just college.
They worked on this project plan over many weeks taking pauses to discuss options along the way - one career path over the other, what that meant for her ability to own the home of her dreams and physically live there, if a higher salary meant going into a profession she cared less about and so on. By the end of the exercise, the dream home served the great purpose of bringing clarity into this young lady's life. She may or may not end up owning the home on the target date but B seized the opportunity to show her what it would take to translate her dream to reality.
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