Graduation is more than just a ceremony; it's a pivotal moment that sets the stage for your future. Ever wondered why some graduates soar while others struggle? On this episode of "Living Your Success 24-7," we unpack the essential skills you've honed during high school—teamwork, project management, and more—and explore how to leverage them as you transition into adulthood. Reflecting on my own journey, I'll share insights on choosing between college, vocational training, or jumping straight into the workforce. Your passions, strengths, and the economic implications of your decisions are all on the table.
Planning and financial wisdom can make or break your post-graduation journey. Graduation marks the end of one chapter but the beginning of another filled with responsibilities and opportunities. For the class of 2024, we highlight the importance of making informed educational choices that avoid massive debt and set the stage for long-term success. Hear personal stories, like celebrating a wedding anniversary at Disneyland amidst graduates, to bring these lessons to life. Plus, stay updated on my latest offerings, including the "Katalyst" newsletter and new podcast episodes, designed to guide you every step of the way. Join us as we navigate the path to a successful and intentional future!
Graduation is more than just a ceremony; it's a pivotal moment that sets the stage for your future. Ever wondered why some graduates soar while others struggle? On this episode of "Living Your Success 24-7," we unpack the essential skills you've honed during high school—teamwork, project management, and more—and explore how to leverage them as you transition into adulthood. Reflecting on my own journey, I'll share insights on choosing between college, vocational training, or jumping straight into the workforce. Your passions, strengths, and the economic implications of your decisions are all on the table.
Planning and financial wisdom can make or break your post-graduation journey. Graduation marks the end of one chapter but the beginning of another filled with responsibilities and opportunities. For the class of 2024, we highlight the importance of making informed educational choices that avoid massive debt and set the stage for long-term success. Hear personal stories, like celebrating a wedding anniversary at Disneyland amidst graduates, to bring these lessons to life. Plus, stay updated on my latest offerings, including the "Katalyst" newsletter and new podcast episodes, designed to guide you every step of the way. Join us as we navigate the path to a successful and intentional future!
Hello there. This is Living your Success 24-7 with Michael Caine. Hello world. Anyway, I hope you're enjoying a good Saturday.
Speaker 1:
Today's Saturday, what day is it? June 8th? What I have to say is timeless. It has no bearing on any particular date or year or anything Today I want to talk about.
Speaker 1:
It's a season of graduations right now, at various levels, from kindergarten, elementary, high school, college and vocational as well, trade school, and so what's the impact of education? So I can go any kind of direction on this topic. As far as, where do we go from graduation? Well, we're dealing with let's let's target for a moment the high schoolers. All of it is important, but let's grandchildren graduating high school all over the country, all over the world.
Speaker 1:
So I was actually, when I was recently watching a graduation, I was reflecting, I was going back and forth in my head, my memory banks, about my own graduation and what that meant. It's great that we acknowledge the graduates and we acknowledge their achievement. Not everyone graduates, not everyone moves forward with their lives in a positive direction. So it's good. I think it's very important that we do make a big deal about it, that we say congratulations and you have your whole life ahead of you, and they do, all these kids. Now they're no longer kids, but first of my age they're kids. But these young adults and I know some they say, oh, I'm glad to be free of the shackles of education. But you know they will soon learn that how very important it was to graduate high school.
Speaker 1:
And high school gives I can reflect for myself and my own observations. Everyone's experience is different, but well, in our case it was legally mandated that you go to school, but it was a place, true, to hang out, to have friends, to be in sports, but to learn things, to learn how to work with others, how to teamwork and projects. Those are useful skills that they can apply. The graduates can apply in their personal and definitely in their professional, upcoming, professional business lives, definitely in their professional, upcoming professional business lives. And so, and not just to be a spokesperson for the education system, but I guess I am self-imposed. No one asked me if I'm being paid or no, sponsorships from educational entities, but I just want to leave a message of optimism, a message of hope, a message of expectations and intentionality that the graduate which, if you're listening, should do should partake of. And even if you go no further, if you don't go to college and being successful.
Speaker 1:
My show is about success and some of the elements on how do you get to be successful and the one thing I can't do that the definition of success is in the eye or ear of the beholder. I know certain things. We can assume is successful you make a lot of money, right, you can buy a lot of stuff, you can go, do a lot of things Okay, that's financial success, true. But to the graduates of 2024, you really have to sit down and meditate on what, if you haven't done it already.
Speaker 1:
Many of you are already in the process and already have done this but what am I going to do with my life? What am I going to do next year? I'm no longer required to go to high school. I'm out. What do I do? What do I do with my life? Hopefully you already started this dialogue in 11th grade and early 12th grade, but if not, or if you're going back and forth undeclared major in college of your choice, you're not sure, you don't know. Hopefully you can get counseling from school counselors or guidance counselors or parents or whoever you trust to help point you in the right direction.
Speaker 1:
But you ultimately have to make the decision. It's your life. You've been saying to your parents or guardians all these years it's my life. Well, it's your life. What are you going to do? Now you get an opportunity to put up or shut up. Now you get an opportunity to put up or shut up so you can only kick that can down the road until there's no road left.
Speaker 1:
Well, when you graduate high school, there's no road left in order to be shucking and jiving now, and so it's time to absolutely be full throttle in the seriousness on things that it's going to impact your entire future, and it's important that you do like a T-bar. You know you have the pros and cons on, the pros on the left, the cons on the right and define it by okay, what am I going to do with my life? What are the possibilities? What if I don't do anything? What are the negatives? What can happen? Well, it can be very bad if you choose to do nothing, I can tell you that or you make a series of bad decisions. It can be quite a challenge, needless to say, at the least.
Speaker 1:
So it's important that you take this exercise seriously and think about it in soul search and OK, what am I good at? What, what? What am I interested in? What do I have a passion for? Can I make money from this? Yeah, you do need to say that, because being on the street, homeless or unhoused, as they call it now, not too many people are happy with that, as they call it now, not too many people are happy with that. So you do need to reflect the or include the economics of your decisions too.
Speaker 1:
And you could be OK options going to college and then having to decide what degree or degrees you're going to have, be uh or select, and then also it could be vocational or uh. You know a trade school where you learn how to be a plumber, roofer, attrition, automobile, automobile technician. You know a construction worker. You, you know those are very important and valuable skills. We didn't have all those people, you wouldn't be in cars, you wouldn't be in homes, you wouldn't be on the bus, train, cars, whatever. So very valuable. If I could go back after I got my high school degree and college degree, I would have done two years at a vocational ed training school too. Whatever, looking back, whatever Done, both Wouldn't have been an either or scenario if I could.
Speaker 1:
But anyway, this episode is about you too, not just me. So your interest is important because you don't want to be, ultimately, that person, that guy, that gal that hates their job, hates their life. Too many people like that now. We don't need any additional people to add to a dysfunctional life. So it's very important to be happy and have joy Doesn't mean there's not going to be stress. There's going to be stress in everything you do, almost one way or another, there's good stress and bad stress. By the way, Adrenaline okay, get you pumped up. Nervousness is there. So don't measure things like that. What is your gut, what is your intuition telling you? What should I be when I grow up? What should I do? How should I define myself in my vocation? So it's important, it's very important, that you take time to consider the course, the direction that you're going to take.
Speaker 1:
And let's say, you do make a mistake. Ah well, I thought I was interested in this or that you can course correct. People do have multiple careers in their life and say, oh, I tried that, I thought I would love it, I did my homework, but I just don't like it. And you do your second choice, maybe a third choice or fourth. Do your second choice, maybe a third choice or fourth no, you're not a bum. No, now you know what you don't want to do, that's all. But I wouldn't at the same time take 10, 15 years after graduating high school to figure that out. I wouldn't recommend that because then you could have wasted some valuable time. And Opportunities don't always come when you snap your fingers. When you wake up in the morning, it could take a while for the next Opportunity that is meant for you to come about. So not to panic and rush through things I'm not saying that don't rush, but don't take forever either is my point.
Speaker 1:
And there's some excellent books out there. You know, as far as you can go to the library you don't have to buy them about different Opportunities, employment opportunities. So, whatever that is. You wanna be a lawyer, doctor, you can read about it. You can go on the internet obviously Google, buy books on Amazon right. Go to Barnes and Noble to study, do research and talk to people in that particular field. You know my brothers in attorney. Some of them use that example. Do you recommend any good law schools and tell me about what you do? You know what kind of law, what you know, what does it entail? How challenging is it to be an attorney once you pass the bar and get hired and how do you get hired, by the way you know go on and on and you can do that before you go and set the motions in that pathway to become an attorney. And I'm just using an attorney as a placeholder for whatever I mean. It could be any vocation that you're interested in or you're doing research.
Speaker 1:
For Me, I knew in high school I was not as clear or transparent, but I didn't know. I want to be a manager. I want to manage stuff, lead projects or something, manage a business, and I wanted to be in a leadership role. I was still fuzzy, but at least I had it narrowed down to a business degree in management. I wish I had done a little more different, but I had something to go on and I did get a degree and I got other certifications and licenses along the way that I've had and so that I enjoy, and so I know.
Speaker 1:
If you're a young person now it could be confusing on what should I be when I grow up, and I hope you have a supportive environment, a family that can help give you guidance and support and be your cheerleader, but if you don't, or if you do and need extra cheerleading. I'm here, absolutely I'm here, and so I won't steer you wrong. And you know, obviously I'm not doing a one-on-one coaching with you, but you're part of the solution to come up with where you want to go and what you want to do. You can only listen to people like me or read so many books and all that, but it ultimately depends on what you want to do, because you want to be or have a life that's fulfilling, that you wake up good in the morning, don't say, oh, doggone it, I have to go to this job again. You know what, even if they pay you two, three, 400,000 a year or whatever, if you hate your job in your life, what's the point? So my message is this Find your North Star, what direction you're going to take, and investigate, do research and, in your top two or three Opportunities or potential opportunities, and then, once you secure what you wanna do, in laser beam, transparent focus, go for it.
Speaker 1:
Do the steps that are required legally, academically, to do it. Yeah, you said Mike, just do it after your homework and you lay out a plan. You know a plan is good. Some people don't have plans. What's that expression? You can plan to succeed. If you can plan to succeed or if you don't, you plan to fail, you got to plan either way. It's a plan to fail or succeed. Just choose one. And now your plan may not absolutely go right to how you intended to do, but that's okay.
Speaker 1:
The bottom line is don't quit, don't give up Life. It can be rocky, life is. It can be rocky, it could be challenging, but be an optimist and think highly. As long as you're putting it in, you're working your plan and the operative word is action. You're taking appropriate action, then you're moving forward. You're moving forward, and so the class of 2024, as they say, the world is your oyster, right in your hand. You got the world, you got the whole world in your hands, right To quote the song. And so when someone asks you, what are you going to be when you grow up, pause and say, hmm, I'll get back to you on that if you don't know. And if you do know, be proud, divinely proud, and say I plan to be boom, whatever boom is and whatever it is.
Speaker 1:
Think of the economics and not get. I would be remiss in not covering this part. No offense to anyone, but don't get into massive school debt and you have to shop around to which schools are important to what you want to do and don't overspend and go into a 20-30 year debt cycle just on a whim. If it's unnecessary to go to a extremely expensive school, don't do it. If you can't pay for a lot of it in cash or get scholarships and grants where it helps pay for school and maybe a part-time job in addition to that, maybe working at the school library or something like that, or student bookstore, make sure you don't go crazy and lose your mind and have $500,000 in debt unless you're gonna be, I mean, the job you're looking for. The vocation has to justify it. If you look at the medium income let's say low, medium and high income to the job of choice that you wanna be, if it doesn't justify spending 100,000 a year and you're only going to make $35,000, $40,000 a year, it doesn't make much sense. You say, oh, my mother, my father, so-and-so, just wanted me to go to this expensive school or whatever, and then you're broke for the next 20, 30 years and that wouldn't be cool.
Speaker 1:
And this isn't to criticize anyone, but my show is to have wisdom, not foolishness, and it just be unwise to get a degree in something that will never pay you enough money to justify going into massive debt, enough money to justify going into massive debt and that can also affect your relationships. It will definitely prevent a good relationship. You know it could. And two, you know you got to look at your totality of your life. It's like have you ever played billiards where you hit one ball that hits another ball. That's how life is. They're all interconnected.
Speaker 1:
So it's important that you use wisdom in how much you pay for college, whether that's academic or vocational. It has to make sense, please. I encourage you. You know how many people are filing bankruptcy and all that, but guess what? You can't discharge student debt. But bankruptcy never goes away unless you die or pay it off. That's it.
Speaker 1:
And so you know you be wise is all I'm saying, not pointing fingers at anyone who's already done it, but you already know what I mean. You don't want to go in massive debt and you can never, ever pay it off. People pray and I don't mean P-R-A-Y, I mean P-R-E-Y. Like in a kingdom, in the jungle or the Sahara, the other animals prey on the weaker animals, less informed, okay. So you want to be informed, so you know no one can take you for a fool. We don't want to be anybody's fool. Okay, already done that. Enough, right? I know I have no more, no mas so, but it's an exciting time when you graduate and it's and yeah, yeah, you got to do a lot more homework. Oh, my God, what a you know you got to.
Speaker 1:
You graduated life simpler. Life is simpler for most people when you're younger. You're at home, getting taken care of. They give you your food, they do this, they tell you when to take a bath, or you know, and just do everything for you. But then now you graduate high school. Even if you're living at home, you're, you have a lot more responsibilities, gotta help pay the bills. You know you're no longer gonna get a lot of freebies anymore. So life does change. Come with that freedom comes a lot of other stuff, responsibilities, that come along with that freedom. So don't expect your parents or guardian to do absolutely everything for you. You gotta get off your butt and do some things for yourself and you have to exercise free will. But do it with wisdom and do your homework, do a where, do what you feel after you do your research and planning and act upon it, your action plan, and so I can't emphasize that enough, but it's a joyous time graduation, all the ceremonies.
Speaker 1:
I recently, my wife and I, celebrated our wedding anniversary. This week. We went to Disneyland Disneyland in Anaheim, california. I haven't gone since the well pre-pandemic and it was nice. We had a good time. You know, it wasn't perfect, you know, but it was a nice getaway and my point was we saw a lot of graduates there, people still in high school, apparently, and younger, but a lot of graduates there. They had little buttons on to graduate and little stickers and of course, they had grad night recently for the schools and a dozen schools a week or so ago at grad night and so uh, it's, you know, I'm sure, the other theme parks as well, you know. So it was. It was nice to see them have fun and a lot of these people will not see each other again after you know graduation and you're going to build up some new friends too and still maintain some existing friends. It's an exciting time and you get to help chart your course in life.
Speaker 1:
I hope and pray that all the graduates of 2024 need a healthy got to be healthy, keep your health up and your families will enjoy this new chapter in your life. When one chapter they say, when one door closes, it's like a particular chapter of your life closes another door, new opportunities, new worlds to conquer, another door opens. So Godspeed, from wherever you are, and thank you for listening To my podcast. Please share it with your family and friends, please go to livingyoursuccesscom and also I have a book Slaying your Dragons Living the Life you Always Wanted On Amazon, michael Caine, k-a-n-e.
Speaker 1:
Not Always Wanted On Amazon, michael Caine, k-a-n-e. Not to be confused with any other, michael Caine, and you know. Thank you for listening, taking time off to listen to this podcast. So, that said, have a good rest of this weekend and, for you, graduates, a good rest of your life and please continue to listen to my podcast and please sign up for my newsletter Catalyst. It's on, you can get it from my website, livinghersuccesscom. And that's it. Until next time, my friends, until next time, another exciting episode of Living your Success 24-7 with Michael Caine. Adios.
