How We See It—-Lessons Learned For Young Adults Ages 17-25 is the opinion of Overton Leadership Associates regarding what we believe it takes for today’s young adults to achieve success in America. Since this is an opinion piece, we expect that some readers will disagree with several of the perspectives. That is understandable and we do not take offense. As you analyze our viewpoints, please keep in mind that this article is an attempt to offer young adults ages 17-25: 1) guidance that facilitates them becoming responsible leaders and/or successful business owners while 2) considering their need to operate as safely as possible in an increasingly unsafe world. That being said, nothing stated in this article is mandatory and each individual should decide if what is presented is appropriate for him or her. While everything written below is a lesson learned, in reality, they are only suggestions and there are no guarantees that any individual’s actions or outcomes will match what is written here.
Lessons Learned For Young Adults Ages 17-25 Is split into two groups: Group A and Group B. Group A contains 35 lessons learned applicable to All Young Adults ages 17-25. Furthermore, Group A is subdivided into three packages enabling standalone guided discussions with young adults ages 17-25. The packages are organized as follows: Continuing Character Development Package, Establishing Positive Relationships Package, and Goals, Work and Money Package. Group B provides 15 additional lessons learned applicable to current and prospective College Students ages 17-25. Note that Group B is not divided into packages. If the lessons learned are used in a guided discussion/mentoring session, then we recommend that young adults first read them silently and then have each young adult read one aloud followed by a discussion. It is our belief that having young adults read silently and then read aloud will increase the likelihood that the information will be retained longer than just reading silently.
Group A. Lessons Learned For All Young Adults Ages 17-25
Note that if a young adult ages 17-25 has a verifiable natural, professional-level talent, such as sports or performing arts and is pursuing that as a career, then selected passages shown below will be N/A.
Continuing Character Development Package: Line items A1 – A13
A1. Develop yourself into a professional: a. Be a top-notch student and competent employee—exhibit a strong work ethic, b. Continue becoming an aspiring leader, c. Highly recommend that you wear clean, ironed smart casual clothing whenever you attend class and labs, when participating in student organizations, and when meeting with university staff and any business employees—why you may ask? Because as a professional you want to stand out instead of blending in. d. Keep your hair and body clean, your teeth clean, be drug-free including edibles, maintain a disease-free status, don’t smoke, and always be well-groomed to avoid being viewed as unkempt or grungy by anyone who could impact your future. e. We recommend that individuals arrive 15 minutes early to every class, lab, job, or event where you are on the schedule, f. Don’t be lazy, and therefore consider getting yourself out of the bed no later than 6 am every morning, g. Acquire a couple of business suits, shirts and shoes because you may have little notice that you need to attend a function where a suit is expected to be worn, h. Update your phone voicemail greeting so that it is brief, properly identifies you by your legal name, and conveys a professional tone, i. Always exhibit maturity, especially around people who could impact your career aspirations, j. Get in the habit of frequently preparing detailed documentation of your accomplishments, k. Overton Leadership Associates highly recommends that young adults only wear tank tops, flip flops, hoodies or other casual clothing when distinctly separated from academic, work, personal business, and professional activities.
A2. Get registered and vote! Realize that voting does not have anything to do with ‘liking’ a candidate since regardless of whoever wins, all of us will have to live with the decisions that the winner makes. Therefore, at Overton Leadership Associates, we believe that voting is important and furthermore, it should be considered an obligation during every election.
A3. Business Day Perceptions: The American standard business model is Monday-Friday lasting from 8 am until 5 pm. For young adults ages 17-25, there is an expectation that you are either taking classes and/or working during weekdays 8 am until 5 pm. Therefore, if a young adult is entering any type of business during standard work hours, Overton Leadership Associates recommends that he m/she be dressed in work clothes/uniform or in smart casual attire as a minimum in order to avoid being perceived as suspicious, unemployed or just a slacker. Obviously, it is unfair for people to have a negative perception of all young adults who are wearing loungewear and gym clothes during the business day, but that’s what some older, working adults feel. Additionally, we believe that young adults should walk directly into and out of businesses without hanging around (loitering) and avoid standing on corners laughing and joking with other people. Remember that every day of your life has a purpose—do the constructive things that will make your life great!
A4. Want to be successful? It begins with being accountable for your time. Being a young adult is never easy because of all the unknowns and decisions that have to be made. There is a constant struggle between friends, family, classes, work, and fun activities. As a result, time management is essential to balance everything while moving forward toward success. Yes, it is difficult to juggle so many things, but you can do it. You may say that there are plenty of wealthy people who seem to have a lot of time. Therein lies the difference: wealth by itself does not equal success because success has to be earned while wealth can be inherited or won (lottery). Speaking of wealthy people and time management, there is a difference between wealthy young adults ages 17-25 and individuals in that same age group who are not wealthy. This is where we propose the terms, ‘Survival Spectrum’ and ‘Pursuit of Opportunity Continuum’ as a means to distinguish between the challenges faced by young adults ages 17-25 from wealthy families compared to those who are not wealthy. Wealthy people do not have to worry about basic survival so they begin life on the Pursuit of Opportunity Continuum while everyone else starts somewhere along the Survival Spectrum and must take deliberate actions in order to make the leap up to the Pursuit of Opportunity Continuum. Therefore, being accountable for your time and your actions is what drives an individual from survival to the pursuit of opportunity. Realize that being accountable for your time will mean that you will need to leave fun events early or bypass them all together. With the possible exception of your boss, time management is your responsibility—not your friends, not your romantic partner, not your family, not your professor, not your advisor—-it’s on you. Bottom line: Achieving success requires tradeoffs, but in the long run it is definitely worth it. To help young adults ages 17-25 establish a time accountability framework, recommend reading our blog titled, ‘Top 10 Gut Check Questions: Parts 1-3.’
A5. Young adults: Want to get on (and stay on) the road to success? Consider using the ‘Tasha Test’ as your personal self-regulation tool for decision-making. Learn more at the Overton Leadership Associates blog titled, ‘Here’s a way for young adults to resist peer pressure’ which is also known as the Tasha Test.
A6. Distinguish between Tired and Lazy: There are times when people lounge around all day watching TV, playing video games, scrolling on social media, and ordering food delivery. Later they will say that they are tired. In reality, they are just being lazy. Here are some actions that result in someone being tired: working, studying, cleaning, driving, cooking, yard maintenance, painting, etc. It is better to be tired than lazy. While we all need time to relax, it is important to distinguish between being tired and just being lazy and accurately distinguishing between the two leads to personal accountability.
A7. Choose appropriate role models: We think that teachers, electricians, construction workers, respectable parents, first responders, auto mechanics, transportation workers, healthcare workers, selected government employees, high character business owners, clergy, truck drivers, lab technicians, accountants, attorneys, engineers, professors, etc. are great role models.
A8. Master the English language (and then consider becoming fluent in another language—aka bilingual). Writing, public speaking, and conducting presentations clearly and well-grounded in facts is extremely important to success. Young adults can start practicing public speaking now by seeking opportunities to speak at church, in student groups, in class, at family gatherings, and at home using your own computer or phone to record your practice sessions. Incorporate frequent eye contact with individuals whenever you are speaking, but avoid staring. Write and speak in complete sentences. Become adept at using computer information technology (audiovisual equipment such as hardware, software, speakers, projectors, and other peripherals) to present information while simultaneously speaking. Realize that speaking effectively while simultaneously running a slide show is an art form and it takes many hours of practice to master. As you develop your ability to effectively communicate, be careful to avoid making statements or expressing opinions outside your job description or for which your employer has not authorized you to disclose. This is especially true if you are conducting a presentation or being interviewed by a member of the press. Lastly, as a young adult, we believe that you should avoid attempting humor in presentations. You want people to consider you to be a professional instead of a comedian. If you tell jokes as a young adult during speaking events, you may get the crowd laughing, but you will be forever remembered as the clown instead of the authority. Remember this: Mature professionals get sent on business trips to represent the company; clowns don’t.
A9. The following terms are inappropriate for professional correspondence: ‘Wanna, Gonna, Imma’ so make sure that you do not inadvertently use them in written communication at school, at work or in any business correspondence.
A10. Overton Leadership Associates believes that it is critical for young adults to avoid needing or expecting others to validate them. Therefore, we believe that young people need to become self-validated, yet maintain discretion, as it is not necessary to reveal everything that you know. Achieving self-validation is actually readily attainable. Here’s how: 1) develop yourself into a subject matter expert in one or more areas of significance while avoiding the appearance of being a ‘know-it-all’, 2) embody high character even while others display the opposite, 3) exhibit a pleasant and approachable personality, 4) be unselfish, and 5) continuously learn over a lifetime. All those things are fully within the grasp of each individual so there’s no need to beg others for validation. Final note: Remember that you are never to reveal everything that you know. That’s how head football coaches are usually able to win against their former assistants and that’s how you are going to win in business and in life.
A11. Since ‘Leadership’ is our middle name, we recommend that young adults recognize and embrace the importance of becoming a responsible leader of people. We often hear that individuals get discouraged over the course of their careers due to a lack of advancement at work. Some people automatically think their supervisor does not like them, but that may not be the case. While there may be a number of factors preventing someone’s career progression, every individual is responsible for developing his/her leadership skills. Realize that being promoted to manager does not necessarily mean that you are a leader. Managers maintain the status quo while leaders make changes. Responsible leaders make changes that benefit others more than themselves. There are dozens of excellent books on leadership and we recommend you read several of them, but you cannot become a great leader by just reading books. Leading people is an active engagement activity. It can be developed at work as well as in volunteer roles such as at church, in civic groups and in professional organizations. Bottom line: We believe that young adults should seek leadership opportunities whenever possible because responsible, superior leaders always advance. Leadership by definition is necessary whenever two or more options are available thereby requiring that a decision be made or whenever uncertainty exists. As a result, great leaders master uncertainty and are comfortable making calculated risks, even when the outcome is not what they wanted. Leaders will definitely need to take calculated risks in order to become successful. Therefore, it’s important to get started with small risks while you are a young adult so that you grow your risk management experience (aka increasing your leadership qualifications) in preparation for larger, more expensive calculated risk taking in the future. Yes, you are going to have some failures. Despite considering ourselves to be ‘good people’ who work hard, all of us experience some degree of adversity and disappointment such as failing grades in college, losing a business or a job, broken relationships, being passed over for promotions, losing a close friend or relative, getting wiped out by a natural disaster, etc. It is critical that we understand that unforced adversity and disappointment are a natural part of life and they are unavoidable, therefore, our response is what matters most. As responsible leaders, it is important for us to ‘pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off’ recover, regroup and then refocus on the outcome that we desire.
A12. Be vigilant and skeptical: The fact that an individual or a material object is attractive does not necessarily mean high quality; conversely, people who are not extremely attractive or material things that are bland may actually be of higher quality. In other words, do not instantly believe everything that you read, see or hear—perform your own research. Take your time and always be vigilant and skeptical. Also, acknowledge that everything looks good on a website. Digital technology improves people’s appearance as well as the appearance of products, but attractiveness does not always translate into quality. Stated another way, individuals will frequently need to employ multiple sources in order to evaluate people and organizations with the goal of determining their quality and effectiveness.
A13. Do not be afraid to get your hands dirty: Marinate meat, plant a garden, install landscaping, paint a room, hand wash, vacuum and wax your car, etc.—-all those things develop patience, save money and are great stress relievers. Don’t know how to get started? Recommend you watch several videos about ‘hands-on’ activities that you can do at home.
Establishing Positive Relationships Package: Line items A14 – A23
A14. Everything does not have to be a transaction. If you make every commitment in terms of dollars and cents, then you will always have shallow relationships. No one wants to be friends with someone who always makes socializing or any other activity about how much money they expect you to contribute or how much they paid for something.
A15. Romantic relationships: There was a time many decades ago when romantic relationships had distinct roles, responsibilities and expectations. Those ‘old school’ type relationships no longer exist for young adults in today’s America. As a result of the ability of both men and women to earn significant income, live independently, and purchase anything they desire, mutual respect is now the cornerstone of successful relationships. Stated another way, romantic relationship roles, responsibilities and expectations are subject to negotiation.
A16. Distinguish between marriage and wedding. We have heard individuals say that they do not have enough money to get married. Their rationale is that weddings are very expensive (thousands of dollars). While you cannot have a wedding without getting married, you can get married without having a wedding. Realize that there are several low-cost options for engagement rings, wedding rings as well as venues available for a marriage ceremony. Therefore, you can get married whenever you like and then plan a wedding (and honeymoon) when the time and your finances align. In fact, some couples renew their vows at the 10-year point by having a wedding ceremony and honeymoon at that point. Always distinguish between marriage and a wedding.
A17. Stop the Profanity! Although others may frequently use profanity (aka swearing or cursing) for shock value, it is unnecessary and unprofessional in the academic and work environments.
A18. Consider making the decision to prohibit unflattering behavior in all your relationships. TV Reality shows highlight people hitting each other, verbal attacks on one another, flaky behavior, play-fighting, name-calling, and tossing drinks in each other’s faces in order to create drama and increase ratings. Such buffoonery exists in the real world as well, but it has no place in civilized society or in respectable relationships. If you want high quality, rewarding, long term relationships, then do not initiate foolishness or associate with those who do. If confronted by toxic people exhibiting such disgusting behavior, then just stay quiet and leave the premises—and do not return. Furthermore, many employees have suffered job losses or been denied promotions due to friends (or romantic partners) who misbehaved at business offices and offsite functions. Therefore, we suggest that you do not invite individuals who lack self-control to any activity that is associated with your place of employment.
A19. We recommend that young adults avoid getting drawn into other people’s drama. Whether the disagreement is in person or on social media, intervening in someone else’s business is often tragic. If a friend or family member faces a problem, then we recommend that you refer them to first responders, healthcare professionals, attorneys, have them dial 9-1-1, or contact some other paid professional.
A20. Is it hot or cold? We are not talking about the temperature outside, but rather the mood inside a conference room, workplace, lobby or any other location where people congregate. This often termed, ‘read the temperature of the room’ and is a sign of how you should approach a group of people. Our recommendation is that young adults shy away from hostile, chaotic environments and furthermore, that young adults do not instigate chaos where none exists.
A21. In order to avert volatile encounters, Overton Leadership Associates recommends that young adults avoid displaying anger or engaging in arguments at school, at work or in public. Exhibiting self-control, poise and composure when engaging in stressful situations can help defuse contentious situations. Additionally, we suggest that young adults avoid arguing, making threatening facial expressions such as eye rolling and guarding their verbal responses as some people intentionally provoke others. Realize that someone will likely photograph, video or audio record anyone exhibiting unpleasant behavior and post it to social media. As a result, the subject of such posts may get asked about it by law enforcement, supervisors or potential employers. Also, we believe that it is important to avoid intentionally embarrassing members of your team, group, those who have authority over you or those who could physically harm you, as well as any agency, institution, or organization. While it is relatively easy to make a mistake that embarrasses someone, some people will disproportionately retaliate for minor offenses. Cultivate the ability to disagree without being disagreeable. Bottom line: Beware of unbecoming audiovisual encounters (both seen and unseen).
A22. For most people family serves as a solid foundation and motivating force. If a young adult moves away from his/her hometown for work or marriage, we believe that it is important to maintain a connection with your family back home. However, we believe that a young adult should set boundaries in regard to the amount of drama from back home allowed into his/her life in the new location. Bottom line: We recommend that young adults stay close with their family, despite the miles of separation and that they should strive to be a positive influence.
A23. Consider suppressing the urge to video, record and post every aspect of your life. Setting up and recording pranks, challenges and other silly, funny things and posting them just to get ‘likes’ is a waste of your precious time. Overton Leadership Associates believes that the job of a young adult is to become successful as quickly as possible. Therefore, we suggest that young adults focus on activities that drive their lives in that direction instead of wasting time on making silly videos. If recording and posting videos is truly something that you want to do, then we recommend that you video yourself and others doing constructive things such as parenting (not playing with children, but actually teaching them), working, performing military service or volunteering (such as painting a room or picking up trash in your neighborhood).
Goals, Work and Money Package: Line items A24 – A35
A24. Decades ago, many parents had the viewpoint that young adults must graduate from college in order to be successful. With the advent of information technology and the global employment environment, young adults do not necessarily need to earn a college degree in order to be successful, but this will require a lot of hustle. If college is not for you and you do not enlist in the military, then plan to work 2-3 jobs per week in order to earn enough income to live independently. Additionally, expect entry-level jobs that only require a high school diploma to involve a lot of time standing on your feet (manual labor), hot/cold temperatures, plus irregular hours and irregular income. Realize that there are very few ‘desk jobs’ that only require a high school diploma. Therefore, young adults will probably also need a side gig (sideline job) such as handyman, home healthcare or yard maintenance during the evening and on weekends. If achieving success without attending college is of interest to you, then Overton Leadership Associates will text or email you a free 1-page list of Alternatives to College (aka Ways to Make Money Without Going to College) plus the link to instructions on how to create your own 1 page Individually-Designed Plan for Success (IDPS). If you are focused, dependable and talented, then young adults may be able to roll all their skills into becoming a business owner. Doing that often requires hiring a competent and trustworthy individual to do the bookkeeping/accounting and business filings. If successful, then young adults who did not attend college are likely to earn as much (or more) than some college graduates.
A25. Don’t squander your youth: Young Adults ages 17-25 have the greatest potential to impact their community and the world. Here’s why: A young adult possesses high energy, unlimited opportunities, and minimal responsibilities. As an individual ages, energy and opportunity decrease while responsibilities increase. That’s why Overton Leadership Associates recommends that young adults ‘hit the ground running’ and drive hard toward success. No one can give you success; everyone will need to earn it. Unless an individual has a professional-level talent, there are two primary pathways to success for young adults ages 17-25: the College Degree Plan for Success (CDPS) or the Individually-Designed Plan for Success (IDPS). Unfortunately, there are no legal shortcuts so the sooner a young adult picks one of those tracks and gets started, the better his/her chances are for achieving long term success. Keep in mind that we, at Overton Leadership Associates can assist young adults with either path. Contact us via text or voice at 205-667-3592. By the way, there are high school graduates who believe that they can get a minimum wage job, never advance beyond that wage, and then declare themselves successful. Reality is that minimum wage jobs are not designed to support independent living. That’s why we require our clients to develop and pursue a success plan instead of ‘just getting a job.’ That plan starts with a young adult age 17-25 initiating one of the following actions: a) Enroll in college courses with the goal of completing a specific degree program, b) Create an individually-designed plan composed of some education, a designated amount of training and years of experience usually resulting in the individual becoming a successful business owner, or c. Some combination of those two listed above.
A26. Set significant, lofty but attainable goals. First of all, it is necessary for us to establish what we, at Overton Leadership Associates mean when we distinguish between dreams and goals. It is our opinion that goals are things that an individual can achieve without depending on others to assist while dreams only come true when a group of people are working together to get to the finish line. For example, millions of people have graduated from high school so earning a high school diploma is a goal since an individual’s level of effort is enough to reach that outcome. If a person wants to own a billion-dollar hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, then that’s a dream since a lot of people will need to work together to accomplish that feat. In order to keep young adults ages 17-25 accountable for pursuing significant goals, we believe that by age 25 a physically, mentally and emotionally capable young adult should be able to work hard and earn enough money to permanently move out of his/her parents’ house and live in his/her own household (independently, with a spouse, with a roommate or with a child). This ‘Tough Love’ perspective is based upon the fact that those who enlist in the active-duty military at age 18 or 19 (and who may be ordered into combat operations) no longer live with their parents so how can a 25-year-old civilian justify still living at home? Stated another way, individuals will face a multitude of adult-level challenges during their lives and earning enough legal income in order to move away from home is typically the first one. Until the income earning challenge is met, it is difficult to focus on anything else. Conquering the challenge of earning enough legal income to standalone by age 25 essentially opens up the rest of an individual’s life to chase his/her dreams. Overton Leadership Associates highly recommends that young adults use the age of 25 as a deadline for permanently moving out of his/her parents’ home and then start taking the income-producing actions necessary to meet the deadline. Here’s the takeaway: young adults should get out of bed early (no later than 6 am) and get started hustling (earn high grades in college, work hard, start a sideline business, sell things online, get a 2nd job, etc.) so that he/she has enough savings and earning power to live independently by age 25. No one can do it for you—this is your responsibility—don’t complain, just go out there and get it done!
A27. Congratulations on landing a full-time job! Now, here’s how Overton Leadership Associates believes you should handle the first 30 days at every new job: As a new hire, you have about 30 days to get up to speed with the company in general and at your specific job requirements in particular. Most company employees and co-workers will help you get settled and answer a lot of your questions during the 30-day window, but some may resent you because they either wanted the job for themselves or would have preferred that someone else had been hired. That’s why we believe that you need to quickly immerse yourself and learn the company and workplace culture, memorize the organizational chart, learn the required computer software, learn the office telephone system, determine if there are any checklist procedures that you are expected to follow, know when and where training sessions take place, study the employee handbook, do not take any vacation time during your first year unless there is a legitimate emergency, put faces with names and duty titles, determine which departments dislike each other, ascertain which employees dislike each other, understand that co-workers are not your friends, inquire about company finances, acquisitions, mergers, or planned layoffs, regardless of what employees and bosses say your employer is not your family, listen more than you speak, pay attention to rumors but avoid repeating them, consider signing up for health insurance, determine when you become eligible to enroll in any retirement plans, discover the current (and past) ‘turf wars’, etc. In order to quickly get on your feet at the new job, you will need to arrive early, stay late, and meet lots of people within the organization—this is known as ‘putting your head down in order to jump start’ your career. A young adult may consider these type things to be trivial or overwhelming and therefore, not necessary to focus attention on at the beginning of employment, but that’s why it’s included here as a lesson learned. In summary, the company and most of its employees are going to help you and answer your questions for about 30 days. After that, they expect young adult new hires to start producing results and to be able to stand on their own. Of all the things discussed in this blog, this line item is perhaps the most important for a young adult who is focused on becoming successful.
A28. Where are all the Rookies? Most employers will onboard new hires into a 6–12 month probationary period. Upon successful completion, an individual will be considered ‘permanent’ but that does not really mean anything. Unlike professional athletes who are rookies for just 1 year, ‘regular people’ are technically a rookie at their place of employment until they have been there 4-7 years and until they are about 30 years old. If a young adult switches to another company, then he/she starts over as a rookie but will be considered seasoned faster due to now possessing experience. Therefore, do not confuse completing the probationary period with the end of your rookie period. Stated another way, it’s important to learn from the veterans at your workplace and build 4-7 years’ experience before requesting significant management changes. While young adult new hires may be current with technology, the seasoned veterans at each business have the experience and connections necessary to get things done. That’s why we believe that young adults should lean on the senior employees’ knowledge to guide them toward long term success.
A29. Recommend you actively participate in professional organizations associated with your line of work with the goal of becoming an officer and/or president of at least one professional organization.
A30. Money isn’t everything, but having some is necessary to be successful. As you have heard a hundred times by now, financial literacy is extremely important. Everyone needs to master the fundamentals of money and the earlier the better. Regardless of how family members have handled money, Overton Leadership Associates believes that young adults need to know how to earn it, save it, when and how to borrow it, and how to invest it in appreciating assets and then train (but not enable) their family on how to master money. Consider acquiring the knowledge necessary to build a financial portfolio, understanding the time value of money while also learning what APR means and how it will impact the rest of an individual’s life. To put it bluntly, there are lots of ways to legally earn income so there is no reason for a young adult to live in poverty or to live paycheck to paycheck. In order to ‘Make it’ in America, all indications are that young adults are going to have to hustle to find work and to keep income flowing. Lazy people will always have excuses so individuals are going to have to work hard for decades or poverty will follow. Each individual is responsible for his/her own financial situation—-own it and always safeguard your financial stability and credit score. A good way to get started on the path to financial independence is to minimize spending on entertainment, jewelry, alcohol (at bars, restaurants and nightclubs), unnecessary phone upgrades, huge TVs, vacations, cigarettes, ride share services due to convenience instead of necessity, airline travel, cheap furniture, cheap collectibles, knickknacks and impromptu purchases, delivery services, eating out, clothes, and luxury vehicles. At Overton Leadership Associates, we cannot overstate the following: if an individual wants to become successful, then he/she should get out of bed early and get started hustling (start a sideline business, sell things online, get a 2nd job, etc.) while still a young adult so that the same person is not in poverty when during his/her 50’s, 60’s and 70s. When it comes to money, recommend young adults read a variety of books and magazine articles and watch tv shows and videos featuring the leading money experts since those people are millionaires possessing verified credentials. We suggest that young adults avoid listening to people (family and friends) who just have opinions about money and definitely avoid watching videos made by un-certified, unlicensed random people who just want to post financial videos to get ‘likes’ and to grow a following. It should be readily apparent that Americans do not want to bailout individuals who accumulate excessive debt; therefore, we recommend that young adults avoid splurging on unnecessary debt. Wants are not needs so each person has individual responsibility for his/her debt structure. Lastly, we highly recommend young adults avoid loaning a significant amount of money to friends or family because chances are that you will never get it back. Loaning money is how many feuds get started and it often leads to relationships getting poisoned. Therefore, we recommend using regulated financial institutions as the source for borrowing money.
A31. Beware the feeling of becoming instantly rich: If a young adult has persevered financially through college or worked various low-paying part time jobs and then receive a settlement or inheritance or finally land a high paying job during your 20’s, there is a tendency to think that you have suddenly struck it rich. We advise you to dismiss that thought. Here’s why: there are many expensive things that you will probably need to spend money on over the next decade or two. You will probably want a more reliable vehicle, a nice apartment or rental house, healthy groceries, perhaps student loan repayment, you will need to pay a few types of fees and taxes, will definitely need to purchase a professional wardrobe and shoes, purchase various types of insurance, buy high quality furniture, save for a wedding and honeymoon, begin retirement investing, start a business, you might want to have children and what if they want to play sports or participate in performing arts, your parents or siblings may need financial support, and you will likely need to save thousands in order to make a down payment on a house, etc. We explicitly mention all those things, and there are more, because getting your first ‘real job’ may tempt you to do things such as signing loan contracts to purchase unnecessarily expensive cars and trucks, buying rounds of drinks for your friends, purchasing airline tickets in order to fly family and friends cross country, splurging on exotic vacations, frequently consuming expensive restaurant meals, buying expensive jewelry and sporting the latest trendy clothes. We recommend avoiding such things as young adults and instead focus money on things that are going to matter long term such as savings, investments, business ownership and debt elimination.
A32. Sacrifice for your first few full-time working years in order to save a down payment for the purchase of your first home. We recommend that young adults avoid becoming trapped by the amenities associated with rental apartments as the convenience of rentals (swimming pool, short work commute, clubhouse, manicured lawns, on-call maintenance, etc.) today will mean that an individual will never build equity which is a form of generational wealth that can be transferred to children or other family members during your retirement years. Therefore, when your finances and job stability are in check, highly consider purchasing a home in the nicest neighborhood you can afford without overburdening your family budget. That’s because a home mortgage not only comes with principal and interest payments, but also comes with lots of additional costs (property taxes, home owners’ insurance, security service, home warranty, maintenance and repair, perhaps HOA fees, etc.). Finally, we have heard young adults say that a house that was built between 10 and 30 years ago is ‘old’ so they are reluctant to purchase it. In reality, a 30-year-old, well-built, well-maintained house likely possesses character, mature landscaping, and could be a great investment so avoid using a home’s age as the sole criteria for determining its value.
A33. Get used to performing Follow Up. Requesting someone or an organization to take a certain action and then never verifying that the expected action was completed often leads to unpleasant surprises. Although it is time consuming and should not be necessary, following up after a reasonable amount of time averts surprises therefore reducing your stress level. Bottom line: Each individual is responsible for Follow up on things that affect him/her, things that affect those who you are responsible for or accountable to, and for any work tasks that are assigned to you.
A34. Table Manners/Etiquette: Purchase a pocket-size book on etiquette, read it and then start applying the principles. Realize that as you get older and get promotions within organizations, you will be expected to participate in banquets, ceremonies, and business meetings where meals will be catered or meetings will take place at sit-down restaurants. Knowing what to do (and what not to do) will be important since the higher level employees and managers are already experienced at professional-level dining (fine china, several pieces of silverware, cloth napkins, multiple drink glasses, waiting for everyone at the table to be served before eating, not consuming alcoholic beverages, etc.) so they will be watching what young adults do in order to assess their potential for higher levels of responsibility. If a young adult speaks with food in his/her mouth, smacks or overeats, etc., then he/she will be sending the wrong message. Stated another way, casual dining behavior such as eating burgers, fries, wings and tacos with your fingers or being overwhelmed by chopsticks will not cut it in professional settings. Therefore, we recommend that young adults practice professional-level dining frequently before being suddenly placed in that situation.
A35. Train your mind to play the long game: High school classes and college class sessions typically last between 50 minutes and 2 hours. Those short periods of concentration along with phones, TV shows, and computers result in the development of an instant gratification mentality. Once a young adult enters the workforce, he/she will be immersed in the reality that significant outcomes often take months, years and decades to come to fruition. Therefore, in order to be successful, individuals will need to perform at a high level for extended periods (increase your attention span) of time without losing hope that he/she will arrive at the finish line. Just as military troops in combat, first responders, pilots, and professional athletes are expected to perform under pressure, so are young adults when at work. That being said, there is no guarantee that regardless of how hard you work, that the outcome will be the one you desired. In other words, your job is to deliver your best effort long term regardless of what you think the outcome will be. The reasons for delivering your best include: 1) the fact that you are being paid and 2) that no one can predict with 100 percent certainty how politics will affect the outcome. For example, some people work for decades to reach a particular level within an organization (CEO, President, Owner, etc.) while others may get to those levels much faster. Do not be discouraged if others advance faster as faster is not always better. Go at your own pace and ensure that you are learning everything possible at each level. Reality is that you may live to age 80 or 90 and still be in good health so it’s important to play the long game. This is why we state in another line item that you need to master money.
Note that if a young adult ages 17-25 has a verifiable natural, professional-level talent, such as sports or performing arts and is pursuing that as a career, then selected passages shown above will be N/A.
Group B. Additional Lessons Learned for current and prospective College Students Ages 17-25
Note that if a young adult ages 17-25 has a verifiable natural, professional-level talent, such as sports or performing arts and is pursuing that as a career, then selected passages shown below will be N/A.
B1. First of all, if you are a young adult ages 17-25, are you absolutely certain that earning a college degree is the right pd out. Call or text us at 205-667-3592 and we will help you identify several paths to success. Once you are at our site and you are sure that college is right for you, then you can schedule yourself to complete Real College Plan Career Field Interest Survey. If you determine that college is not right for you at this time, then you can request that we text or email you a 1-page list of Alternatives to College (aka Ways to Make Money Without Going to College) plus the link to instructions on how to create your own 1-page Individually-Designed Plan for Success (IDPS). Note that Real College Plan Career Field Interest Survey charges a small fee, but the 1-page Alternatives to College list and the link to instructions on how to create your own 1 page Individually-Designed Plan for Success (IDPS) are free.
B2. If undergraduate study is in your future, then carefully consider where you attend college and how much you really can afford to spend to earn a college degree. High academic rigor, an inviting student body and professors, proximity to home, and affordability are important factors to consider, but there are others as well.
B3. For most people, family serves as a solid foundation and a motivating force. If you move away for college, do not forget about (or lose contact with) your family back home. However, we recommend that you resist allowing drama from back home to invade your life. If you are a college student and your courses start becoming challenging (this will definitely happen if you choose a demanding major), you may need family to provide the support you need to persevere over the obstacles. Therefore, if your home is a reasonable distance from college, it may help to visit occasionally during the term in addition to heading home between terms. Bottom line: Do not allow the college separation to damage the existing relationship with your family.
B4. Young adults: Did you know that there are more than 15 distinct career fields that require a 2-year degree or higher? Additionally, there are more than 150 job titles corresponding to those career fields. We all are aware of college graduates who are lawyers, medical doctors, teachers, accountants, etc., but have you considered earning a 2-year degree or higher that would enable you to become a Mechatronics Tech, an Art Director, an Environmental Science Tech, or a Training Specialist? Realize that there is nothing wrong with pursuing jobs in well-known, large professions such as attorney and primary care physician, but there are high-paying jobs in lesser-known professions that need talented young adults as well. If you only consider careers in the larger popular career fields, then you may miss discovering that you are destined to become a world-renowned expert in a smaller career field. Becoming a star in a small career field is often referred to as the, ‘big fish in a little pond’ scenario. Stated another way, when you are a litigant in a lawsuit, you will always seek to hire the best attorney; when you are sick, you want to be treated by the most qualified physician. Obviously, no one aims to hire a mediocre employee. That’s why it’s important to follow your talents and skills toward a profession where you can develop yourself into a subject matter expert, grow into being a responsible leader, and/or launch a successful business. While choosing an undergraduate major focused on a small career field is not appropriate for everyone, at Overton Leadership Associates we believe it is important for highly talented and adventurous young adults ages 17-25 to at least consider smaller professions before making a decision regarding his/her undergraduate major.
B5. It is important to minimize student loan debt. The less debt you have, the quicker you can get control of your finances and start working toward owning things (houses, businesses, buildings, etc.) instead of owing for things and fun experiences.
B6. If an undergraduate student is taking on student loan debt and has the aptitude, talent, drive and temperament to complete a demanding degree program, then Overton Leadership Associates recommends he/she major in one of the fields shown on lists of the Top Paying Undergraduate Degrees. Otherwise, selecting an easier undergraduate major in a low-paying career field could lead to a lifetime of debt.
B7. If a young adult does decide to attend college, then Overton Leadership Associates believes the outcome on graduation day should be demonstrable mastery of his/her college education as indicated by at least a 3.0 GPA (preferably 3.5 or higher GPA). Anything less than a 3.0 GPA will get you labeled as mediocre and your likelihood of landing a job that pays enough to live independently will be lower. Understand that full time, young adult students will be expected to engage in academic activities 10-12 hours per day in order to achieve mastery of his/her chosen college curriculum. We define academic activities as follows: 1) reading the chapter assignment per the syllabus prior to each class session, 2) attending all class sessions unless an illness prevents attendance, 3) attending labs/field work and completing reports as required, 4) completing homework assignments on time, 5) attending group study sessions, 6) completing projects, 7) preparing for exams, and 8) writing papers (but not researching the sources). Just as military troops in combat, first responders, pilots, and professional athletes are expected to perform their jobs under pressure, realize that young adults are expected to perform well under the academic pressure (meaning pressure that is not related to life or death) inherent to earning a college degree. Let’s face it—college is expensive and earning a college degree that leads to both good pay and robust career advancement opportunities is very demanding. If a young adult is planning to attend college full time, but do not see themselves spending 10-12 hours per day engaged in academic activities, then we believe he/she should seriously consider bypassing college or attending college part time. If you have this level of academic commitment, then make sure to sit toward the front of the class and actively participate in the learning environment. Also, your friends may attempt to entice you to have more fun in college. Some fun is good, but too much fun defeats the purpose of going to college. Yes, there was a time decades ago when relatively few people went to college. Back then, just earning any degree was the ticket to the good life. Today, millions of young adults from around the world attend college so meandering through college in hopes of ‘finding yourself’ is really only valid for the wealthy (meaning people who do not have to interview for jobs upon graduation).
B8. College students: Overton Leadership Associates believes that young adults should avoid over reliance on search engines, apps and artificial intelligence. While tech (and information retrieval) has been a central part of a young adult’s life, genuine knowledge will always be undefeated. Therefore, we believe that the job of a college student is to master his or her courses, not to present the work of others as your own. Obviously, many students (including your friends) take lazy tech shortcuts, but they will eventually be deemed as having very little talent when subject matter experts question them. Once an employer (or supervisor) pegs an individual as having very little talent, then that individual’s days at that firm are numbered. When others dwell on their high GPAs yet have to use search engines to find answers to basic questions while you know the answer instantly, then you too will realize that knowledge is king. Bottom line: Due to subjective grading, knowledge and grades do not necessarily equate so be wary of individuals who obsess about their high GPAs.
B9. Distinguish between Education and Training: Be aware that both education and training take place in college courses as well as at work. While the terms are often used interchangeably, it is important to distinguish between college courses that are primarily education-focused courses and those that are primarily training-focused as there are different goals for each type. Education-focused courses typically involve reading, writing, memorization and recall, research, comprehension, comparison/contrast, and presentations plus they are more susceptible to some political influence. Training-focused courses primarily involve completing specific tasks accurately and precisely. They consist of problem solving, calculations, formulas, checklist procedures, tools, equipment, machinery, laboratory experiments, instrumentation, field work, protocols, code compliance, industry standards, computer applications, projects and final reports, but there is less reading, less writing and less political influence than in education-focused courses. Here’s an easy way to distinguish between focusing on education from focusing on training: You want a History professor to be well-educated, you want a pilot to be well-trained, but you want a heart surgeon to be both. Traditionally, a certain amount of education is conducted before training, but that may not always be the case. When deciding which college courses to take during a semester, it makes sense to examine the percentage of education and the percentage of training in each course. Depending on your major and how you acquire knowledge, you may want to select a mix of education and training courses vs a full load of one or the other. Here are a few rules of thumb we use to estimate the education/training ratio for undergraduate courses: 1) Introductory courses (ex. Sociology 101) are primarily education, unless they also have a hands-on lab or field work, 2) Courses that are not introductory but have a hands-on lab or field work have a large percentage of training (ex. Chemistry 203), 3) Design courses are primarily training (ex. Mechanical Systems Design), 4) Most computer and math courses are training, 5) Most STEM courses are training, and 6) Courses that do not fit what’s shown above are primarily education courses (ex. World History to 1600). Note that once you start working, most employee training sessions will consist of a small amount of education followed by a lot of hands-on training.
B10. We recommend that young adults actively participate in career-focused student organizations on his/her campus with the goal of becoming a leader and/or president of at least one student organization. Actively participate in social student organizations as well, but realize that those are not as likely to enhance your ability to land a great job after graduation.
B11. Group Study can be highly beneficial, but avoid inadvertently falling into a trap. Here’s our philosophy regarding group study: 1. Establish fixed dates and times for study groups. 2. Advise participants to study alone prior to group study sessions with the goal of mastering the fundamental concepts from prior class meetings. 3. As a result of everyone’s prior study covering the fundamentals, group study sessions can then be used to discuss intermediate and advanced concepts plus work on projects. 4. If you determine that you are the one who has solved most of the problems and completed all the assignments prior to the group study session and therefore, you are just supplying the answers to everyone else, then you have inadvertently fallen into the trap of being an unpaid tutor. If you detect this trend, then it is time for you to leave that study group and either continue on your own or find another group where everyone contributes.
B12. If you are a college student, attempt to get assigned to your professors’ research activities, special projects, and/or tutoring team. Professors select the top students for these good deals so do well academically, display a pleasant personality, and then inquire about being assigned to their research activities, special projects, and/or tutoring team.
B13. Despite a common belief, college students need to gain work experience prior to graduation. Recommend internships and co-op as the best options, followed by work-study and then any other employment opportunity. Work income can also be used to reduce the amount of student loan debt. Young adults often claim that working during college will lead to lower grades. We believe that the keys to earning high grades while being a working college student are discipline and time management. Commit to it and you can make it happen.
B14. Knowledge and Performance always stand the test of time: If your academic knowledge is lacking and/or your work performance is shaky, then you can quickly become a target of your classmates, co-workers and/or supervisors in regard to competency. In order to minimize the occurrence of others inquiring about your competency, we recommend that full time college students engage in academic activities 10-12 hours per day and once employed work hard for at least 40 hours per week. The result of being fully prepared academically and performing above and beyond at work will lead others to view you as an emerging subject matter expert. When you know your subject matter and can competently perform all your job responsibilities, then make sure to ‘sit at the main table’ at work meetings.
B15. Are you considering attending graduate school in the future? Overton Leadership Associates recommends that young adults carefully weigh the pros and cons of graduate school in order to avoid over-educating themselves (meaning pursuing ‘flavor of the day’ advanced degrees) in hopes of ‘proving’ that they are worthy of a promotion or a specific job or title, especially if they are accumulating debt in order to earn a graduate degree. Despite all the hard work and studying that many professionals have invested in their careers, it is disappointing to acknowledge that some people, including employment decision makers, are hooked on perceptions and stereotypes so there is nothing you can do to convince them that you are the best candidate for certain positions. That’s why we recommend you pursue graduate education in order to achieve personal fulfillment rather than using an advanced degree as a way of persuading hiring managers to offer you a specific job.
Note that if a young adult ages 17-25 has a verifiable natural, professional-level talent, such as sports or performing arts and is pursuing that as a career, then selected passages shown above will be N/A.
As previously stated, nothing presented in this article is mandatory and each individual should decide if what is presented is appropriate for him or her. While everything written above is a lesson learned, in reality, they are only suggestions and there are no guarantees that any individual’s actions or outcomes will match what is written here. However, Overton Leadership Associates believes that young adults ages 17-25 who consider the lessons learned prior to making decisions will have a better chance for success than young adults who have never heard of the lessons learned.
Herb