My Top 5: Advice for Graduates

… or, “What I wish I would have said during my commencement speeches”

Eight years ago I was given the opportunity to speak to my fellow classmates during our high school commencement ceremony. Then four years ago, I got the chance to speak at college graduation.  I don’t remember much of either speech.  I quoted Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and the book of Colossians, and I’m pretty confident my classmates wouldn’t even recall that much.

So much has happened since.   As Ali and I were visiting graduation parties this weekend, I couldn’t help but reflect on what I might say now.  If given the opportunity to go back in time, knowing what I know now, I might have shared something like this:

1.  Write a specific Personal Growth Plan.  Review it often.

Have you ever taken the time to write out specific, measurable goals for your life?  For a great tutorial on how to do this, check out my friend Bill’s website — you can buy instructions from him for less than you’d pay for a song on iTunes.  I try to set aside 4 “personal retreat days” a year to review my Personal Growth Plan and see if I’m staying on track.  It’s a great way to refresh and keep my most important goals in front of me.

2.  Find a Mentor.  Meet Formally and Regularly.

“A student is not above his teacher, but when he is fully trained he will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). You’ll have to be pro-active about this one.  Take a look around: Who in your world do you really look up to?  Take action and ask for a formal 1-on-1 mentoring relationship with one person.  Set a regular time to meet together, and agree up front on a few topics you’d like to discuss.  Set a clear end date so you have a way out – you can always renew if it’s going well.  Most importantly, make careful decisions about who to model your life after.  For more specifics about mentoring, check out Michael Hyatt’s blog post on next generation mentoring.

3.  Get an Accountability Partner.  Ask each other tough questions.

It’s important to find at least one person who you can honest with about your struggles and temptations.  Your accountability partner should be someone of the same gender, someone who would rather die than share your dirt, but not someone who worships the ground you walk on.  Again, set up a formal relationship so you’re intentional about meeting together.  Decide up front how often you’ll meet, and when your relationship will be up for renewal.  Determine ahead of time what questions to ask each other.  Here are some difficult accountability questions my friend and I use.  Feel free to use these, or write your own!

4.  Budget your money.  Plan ahead.  Leave space.

A few years back a mentor asked how much I was saving for my next car.  My confusion must have been obvious: “I don’t need a car… mine runs just fine!  Why would I save for my next car?”  His response exposed my lack of preparedness:  “Well Jake, seems like only a fool wouldn’t save for an expense he knows is coming.”  That conversation shocked me into living responsibly with money.  Here’s how the process works now:

• Get paid.
• Tithe.
• Save according to your written goals (These should be listed on your “Personal Growth Plan.”  We put money aside – even just a little – for future cars, vacations, Christmas gifts, etc).
• Spend what’s left according to the spending goals (a written budget).
• Try to leave some change at the end of the month (this is called margin).

Bottom line is this: spend less than you make.  Ali and I use Mint.com to keep track of our spending.  It’s free, and it even comes with an iPhone app.  Any college student – even with a low monthly income can apply these principles and learn financial responsibility.

5.  Volunteer for a cause you believe in.

When I graduated high school I wanted to make websites, earn lots of money, and be successful.  While in college, some friends convinced me to spend a few hours a week volunteering with Youth for Christ (YFC).  Mentoring high school students and introducing them to the teachings of Jesus quickly became more than a volunteer opportunity – it became a passion.  As a graduate, you have more discretionary time on your hands than you’ll have ever again… I promise!  Use the time you have to serve others through a cause you believe in.  You’ll immediately realize that life isn’t about making money, and maybe it will even alter the course of your entire career (it did mine).

What do you think?  What did I miss?