This week is the beginning of university life for thousands of recent high school graduates. There is lots of fun to be had, lots of learning, and time to build the vision of where you want to be in the next few years. I have been asked what I would recommend doing – I don’t have a podium like Derek Sivers or Steve Jobs, but I do have a blog so here is my advice for 2010:
1. Focus is the most important thing to master
This is the difference between getting the right thing done, and procrastinating. You need to figure out what works for you. Here’s one idea: choose the task you want to work on, whether that is reading a chapter of a book or writing a few hundred words on a topic – plug in your headphones and play an album from start to finish. Then when it ends get up and go for a walk or have something to eat, have a break, then play another album and do another task. How do you know what to work on? Learn some sort of productivity system like Getting Things Done or Zen To Done. However you do it – it is vital that you learn how to let yourself focus.
2. Learn to teach yourself
You have the internet. The answer to almost anything is just a few clicks away. You need to know what to ask for to get the results you are looking for, and then how to filter the results to find the answers you need. Be aware of the topics and ideas that interest you and deep dive into them to teach yourself more. You might search google, you might ask your twitter friends, or you might find a local meetup on the topic to broaden your knowledge. Don’t wait for teachers to show you things – follow your intuition and teach yourself.
3. Share what you learn
The best way to consolidate what you learn is to teach it, because every person you teach will ask you to clarify different elements of the topic and in doing so this will lead you to clarify both for them and for yourself exactly what that piece means. You don’t have to know everything to help somebody, in fact you will probably do a better job if you have to learn together. Take your sharing beyond the people you see face to face. It has never been easier to share things online – start a blog at Tumblr or Posterous and share something every day. This will pay off in more ways than you can imagine.
4. Build your mafia
You have been told that your network is important, however what matters is not who you know but who knows you. This means getting into conversations, following up with the people you meet and having coffees every few months to keep in touch. Remember to learn from the stars in your own galaxy. It is easy to look at the people in the top of your industry but you are not there yet – when you are climbing a mountain you don’t look at the snow capped peak, you look at the bottom and you take your first steps. Talk to the locals in your industry. I started an interview blog called Hatchthat which gave me something to reach out with and I interviewed Jason Calacanis, Aaron Fyke, and many others. Then I started The Hive and got to know Pete Williams, Scott Kilmartin, Sahil Merchant and others. If you find the right set of people you will develop an interdependence that means you all win from knowing each other.
5. Do, learn, do, learn.
The most important thing is that you get started with the simplest possible thing that could work. The best lessons come from trying something and seeing what happens. Learning the theory is important but it is worthless until you validate it with your own positive experiences. I hear the phrase fail early and fail often a lot – many people seem to wear it as a badge of honour especially in the entrepreneurial world, but it’s bullshit, because whatever you do will either work, or you will learn something. There is no failure because there is always going to be some little piece that was successful – you need to find that piece and learn why. Then do something new and repeat the cycle. Above all else be consistent – none of these things matter unless you do them consistently. You will build momentum and your projects will evolve. At the end of your degree these projects become your resume and the world is yours.
Do, learn, do learn.
2,443 people have read this since it was posted March 2010. Keep reading?
