06:13
Faizan
When I was seventeen, I remember going to the "new" Cherry Hill Mall in New Jersey when it opened in 1962. Many teenagers used to go there often - then and now. Today, I sit on one of the benches while my wife shops. I look for anyone passing by older than I am. I rarely see anyone. Time passes - and a lot faster than you might expect - so the time to act in improving your future is now, not later. Here's some of what I've learned that I pass on to help you or to help your sons, daughters, or grandchildren:
Focus and Specialize
While having general knowledge in your field can be useful, today is the day of the specialist. Find what interests you and laser focus on it. It's very easy to get distracted. I made a career of doing that: customer service manager, convenience store franchisee, Congressional campaign manager, real estate broker, NJ approved real estate school director and instructor, adjunct college professor at six colleges, full time business administration faculty at Atlantic-Cape, Stockton and Camden County College, and author of seven books. Not always unrelated, but certainly not as related and as focused as it could have been - and that has consequences.
Sometimes not focusing won't all be on you. Your job may force it on you. In law practices, attorneys can get pulled into a variety of different areas, making it more difficult to stay focused. That's a situation not isolated to the practice of law either. While it may make focusing more difficult in these circumstances, try to identify what you want to focus on, then make any extra effort you can to do it. Time constraints can make this difficult, but otherwise the tail is going to keep wagging the dog. Just take as much control as you can to put the focus where you want it to be.
While money shouldn't be the focus of a successful life, it surely can be an important component of it. One of my high school classmates knew he wanted to be a pharmacist. He worked in a Gloucester City pharmacy while we were at Gloucester Catholic. He graduated, went to pharmacy school, and later became the Chief Pharmacist at one of Philadelphia's leading hospitals. He knew early on - a big advantage - and he was focused. Even though he went ahead a few years ago, I still admire the focus he had. He also made about two and a half times more annually than I'm making now, near the end of my career. Obviously, his focus paid off.
Another of our classmates was a student of "modest accomplishment", like I was. We both would be the first to admit it. However, when he graduated he went to a fine college where he became highly motivated, subsequently went on to a lengthy post-graduate program and became a highly successful professional. It would be very safe to say he's far exceeded the two and a half times figure above. He wasn't focused early, any more than I was, but he surely turned that around - big time. He made the necessary changes. It made all the difference. So find something you can truly focus on, specialize as much as you are able to and go for it.
Focus and Specialize
While having general knowledge in your field can be useful, today is the day of the specialist. Find what interests you and laser focus on it. It's very easy to get distracted. I made a career of doing that: customer service manager, convenience store franchisee, Congressional campaign manager, real estate broker, NJ approved real estate school director and instructor, adjunct college professor at six colleges, full time business administration faculty at Atlantic-Cape, Stockton and Camden County College, and author of seven books. Not always unrelated, but certainly not as related and as focused as it could have been - and that has consequences.
Sometimes not focusing won't all be on you. Your job may force it on you. In law practices, attorneys can get pulled into a variety of different areas, making it more difficult to stay focused. That's a situation not isolated to the practice of law either. While it may make focusing more difficult in these circumstances, try to identify what you want to focus on, then make any extra effort you can to do it. Time constraints can make this difficult, but otherwise the tail is going to keep wagging the dog. Just take as much control as you can to put the focus where you want it to be.
While money shouldn't be the focus of a successful life, it surely can be an important component of it. One of my high school classmates knew he wanted to be a pharmacist. He worked in a Gloucester City pharmacy while we were at Gloucester Catholic. He graduated, went to pharmacy school, and later became the Chief Pharmacist at one of Philadelphia's leading hospitals. He knew early on - a big advantage - and he was focused. Even though he went ahead a few years ago, I still admire the focus he had. He also made about two and a half times more annually than I'm making now, near the end of my career. Obviously, his focus paid off.
Another of our classmates was a student of "modest accomplishment", like I was. We both would be the first to admit it. However, when he graduated he went to a fine college where he became highly motivated, subsequently went on to a lengthy post-graduate program and became a highly successful professional. It would be very safe to say he's far exceeded the two and a half times figure above. He wasn't focused early, any more than I was, but he surely turned that around - big time. He made the necessary changes. It made all the difference. So find something you can truly focus on, specialize as much as you are able to and go for it.
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