Perry Binder's Blog, page 26

Speaking at GSU Summer Leadership Academy on Career Paths, Majors & Leadership

Looking forward to speaking again with talented and motivated Atlanta high school students on June 23!  


Career Tips for High School Students
99 Motivators for College Success – Excerpts© 2012-2016 Perry Binder, LLC www.99Motivators.com
1. Don't let anyone crush your dreams.  However, the riskier your dream, the better your backup plan must be.

2. There is a huge difference between a childhood dream and a dream job. If you dreamed of being a lawyer since the age of twelve, you better make sure you know exactly what attorneys do on a given twelve hour work day. 
3. Make sure your dream job is not an avocation (a hobby). An avocation is a vacation from a vocation, because the pay ranges from little to nothing.4. No matter what your part-time jobs or summer jobs are, always be thinking about how those experiences will enhance your resume and work skills.5. The most important thing for deciding on a major or career path is to get out of the classroom and into an internship which exposes you to the day-to-day ups and downs of that profession. "Learning by doing" will give you a better appreciation of the job than learning through textbooks.6. Do what you love but don't let your career choices jeopardize anyone you love. Including yourself. Translation: Take care of others but don't forget to take care of yourself, sometimes before others. Listen to our airline flight attendants: "Put your own oxygen mask on first before assisting others with their masks."7. Determine whether you are driven to be your own boss or if you crave the stability of a steady paycheck. Assess your personality traits and the risks inherent with both paths. (e.g., the risk of putting up your own money as your own boss versus the risk of losing a job in a company you work for) 8. Rather than casually asking career advice from parents or other relatives, set up a time to interview them, with prepared general and specific questions. This approach will make them think more thoughtfully about their responses, and may reveal their personal career challenges and triumphs.9. Don't rely on luck or fate in your career. Professional success is about putting yourself in a position to create numerous opportunities.10. Over the course of your lifetime, there may only be a handful of impactful career opportunities. Assemble an inner circle team of advisors now, so you'll be able to act quickly to objectively assess the pluses and minuses of future opportunities.And finally, clean up your social media presence online!  What's publicly available might not bode well for your future employment. 

High School Graduation Speech

On June 25, I'm speaking with 50+ high school juniors and seniors at the 2015 Summer Leadership Academy at Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA.  Here's what I would say to them if I were their teacher:
Your Graduation Inspires Me
Good morning teachers, staff, students, friends, and family members.  And to the graduates:
Every one of you is special.Every one of you is a productive member of society.Every one of you is what inspires ME - because…Every one of you has a story to tell.I just wish I had the time to hear every one of them, and to be there as your career paths unfold.
You have already accomplished a huge milestone on that journey.  The biggest step though was just showing up.  That’s it.  The secret most people don’t get until it’s too late.  Just showing up as young freshmen was a threshold event.  Trying something which may be hard for the first time.  Experiencing new things, even if it’s unknown whether the objective is attainable.
To me, the greatest barriers to success, however you define that, are a fear of the unknown, a fear of change, and a fear of failure.  But you need a game plan, and hopefully you can lean a little on what you learned in school to figure out that route.  No matter what you do in life, you always will have your education.
I hope you made some lifelong friends here.  Frankly, I learned more about life from my peers than from my teachers.  And I hope you got more than knowledge from your teachers because you can get that from a book.  I’m hoping you gained insight on whatever subject, and then stamped your own original perspective on how to resolve issues and solve problems.
Many times the things you do won’t work.  And you will fail at some things you try.  That’s just a fact of life.  Abraham Lincoln once said:  “My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.” 
And you will make mistakes.  A lot of them!  Both in your careers and your lives.  That’s just another fact of life.  But that’s okay.  The trick is figuring out how to deal with setbacks.  Your family and friends will always be there for you.  And your education will continually serve as a foundation to get you back on track.

Franklin D. Roosevelt said: “We are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of our own minds.”  Graduates, each of you must unlock your mind and blaze a path built on reason and purpose.  Life is too short to spend it bouncing around like a random and aimless ball in a game of Pong.  And whether you are 18, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, or 80 years young, it is never too late to test the boundaries of your dreams. 

Finally, I want all of you gathered in front of me to please lose the title of “former” student, because you will be my students for many years to come.  And I expect in return that I can become your student, as I learn about your college experience, professional successes, trials, and tribulations.
Every one of you is special.Every one of you is a productive member of society.Every one of you is what inspires me – because...Every one of you has a story to tell.
What will your next journey be?

Excerpt from 99 Motivators for College Successc 2009-2015 Perry Binder, LLC

Signed Book Giveaway: 99 Motivators for College Success

Three (3) Signed Books!  Makes a great high school graduation gift.
Free Giveaway: 99 Motivators for College Success

Enter here at Goodreads by May 1, 2016

Speaking on Cyberbullying Law in the Workplace for Georgia PTA at Annual Conference in June

Looking forward to presenting this session:

Cyberbullying Law & Ethics for PTA LeadersSaturday, June 25 This session exposes leaders to the consequences of cyberbullying – not in schools - but in the business world.  Participants will learn how to sensitize students to workplace ramifications, as employees are fired for inappropriate social media posts.  By showing students that their current posts can be retrieved and affect their future employment, they may think twice about cyberbullying fellow students.
Learning Objectives Participants will learn about:-          Current social media tools of student choice, including anonymous platforms such as YikYak-          How employers can do a deep web search on job applicants, going back seven years-          Specific examples of employees getting fired for cyberbullying-          Ethical Social Media Policies developed by companies, as employers take cyberbullying very seriously-          How employees have very little protection against getting fired for inappropriate posts, even if done off company time and on personal equipment

High School Graduation Gift Book

Pictured below is me at age 25, playing against that year's NBA Defensive Player of the Year.  This pic is the basis of Motivator #4 - Don't let anyone crush your dreams.
Perry
Click here to purchase on Amazon:
99 Motivators for College Success


Click here to purchase on Amazon:
99 Motivators for College Success

High School Graduation Gift Book: 99 Motivators for College Success

Everyone - I just started promoting a Facebook page, instead of the closed Facebook book group. Pictured here is me at age 25 (on the left smile emoticon:), playing against that year's NBA Defensive Player of the Year. This pic is the basis of Motivator #4 - Don’t let anyone crush your dreams.

Please LIKE my Facebook Page when you have a moment.  Thank you!
99 Motivators Facebook Page

Perry

10 Classroom Tips for Your First College Semester

High school seniors will be starting their college careers before they know it!  I wrote this article with them in mind:

10 Classroom Tips for Your First College Semester
As a freshman, it is not only okay to have no idea what to major in, it's also a sign of an open mind to the diverse menu that college has to offer. Hopefully, you are choosing courses which seem interesting to you rather than classes that parents or peers say you have to take immediately.
To me, a college class is just like a Hollywood screenplay, with peaks, valleys, and escalating conflicts along the way. Your professor may be the writer, director, and critic, but you are the lead actor and protagonist who must navigate the obstacles and perform well on each test thrown at you. Try to keep in mind though, that professors are actually rooting for you to succeed. When you fail, they fail.
1- The first day of class is the most important session because it sets the tone for the semester. Rather than grabbing a syllabus, tuning out, and leaving, expect more from yourself that day. You have the power to stay in or drop the class, so intently gauge the course relevance, workload, and potential deliverables.
Continue Reading Here

New Year's Motivation: Never Crush Anyone's Dreams (Including Your Own)

Dr. J at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, before an exhibition game to attract an NBA team (Miami Heat)
CAREER PATH MOTIVATOR #4(99 Motivators for College Success)Don’t let anyone crush your dreams.  However, the riskier your dream, the better your backup plan must be.
Never crush anyone’s dreamsWhen I was a little kid, I dreamed about playing professional basketball.  In third grade, we had to write an essay on what we wanted to be when we grew up.  I wrote that I wanted to be 6’10” and play in Madison Square Garden.  When the teacher handed back my paper, she laughed out loud and said: “You can’t do that!”That was the first time someone had crushed my professional dream.  The teacher may have been right about the 6’10” part, but this molder of young minds lacked the understanding of what negative reinforcement can do to little kids.  She also lacked the understanding that height isn’t everything for a basketball player.  Teachers, especially in the impressionable K-12 years, are my personal heroes.  Yet they need to be dream builders, not dream destroyers.  It’s healthy to discuss rational backup career plans, but why spoil youthful exuberance which could flower into the unexpected?            Postscript:  When I was 25 years old, I met the great Dr. J and got to play one-on-one with 7’4” center Mark Eaton of the Utah Jazz, that year’s NBA Defensive Player of the Year.  I’ll leave the game results to your active imagination.

What is Your Biggest Fear about College? (Finals are around the corner)

I asked this question to some readers and got the following responses:

What is/was Your Biggest Fear about Starting College?

My biggest fear was failure.  Finding certain material too hard and not being able to find the right help.  I am about to start my third year in college and I still have the fear of failure. 

My biggest fear is not doing as well as I did went I was younger and had less responsibility; as a single mother, it's just hard to pick a up a book to read.

I have always had a fear of failure since all I ever heard from people in my family was you will never amount to anything.  I am now in college, married, children, and I am enjoying life.  Classes are going great.  My oldest son graduates in four years.  The same year I do.  I am not letting fear get in the way of something that has been my dream for the last 10 years.

Quote from my former student:
Two essential lessons that Perry's class taught me are: important information is everywhere if we spend the time to look closer; and it's more meaningful to find humor in our daily lives than to live with fear, pessimism, or divisiveness. Those lessons go a long way toward finding happiness and reaching the success that we all imagine.

My Thoughts on Fear and Education:
        To me, the greatest barriers to success, however you define that, are a fear of the unknown, a fear of change, and a fear of failure.  But you need a game plan, and hopefully you can lean a little on what you learned in school to figure out that route. No matter what you do in life, you always will have your education.
        You have already accomplished a huge milestone.  The biggest step was just showing up.  That’s it.  The secret most people don’t get until it’s too late.  Just showing up as young freshmen is a threshold event.  Trying something which may be hard for the first time.  Experiencing new things, even if it’s unknown whether the objective is attainable.
        Many times the things you do won’t work.  And you will fail at some things you try. That’s just a fact of life. Abraham Lincoln once said: “My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.”  And you will make mistakes. A lot of them! Both in your careers and your lives. That’s just another fact of life. But that’s okay. The trick is figuring out how to deal with setbacks. Your family and friends will always be there for you. And your education will continually serve as a foundation to get you back on track.
        Franklin D. Roosevelt said: “We are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of our own minds.” Students, each of you must unlock your mind and blaze a path built on reason and purpose. Life is too short to spend it bouncing around like a random and aimless ball in a game of Pong.   Whether you are 17, 18, 19, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, or 80 years young, it is never too late to test the boundaries of your dreams. 

Wishing you a great Thanksgiving and a motivated Final Exam week.

Excerpt: 99 Motivators for College Success

Hank Aaron Given IP Legends Award

I was proud to be a part of the GSU IP Legends Award ceremony, in which Hank Aaron and others received this prestigious recognition for their business contributions.  I was a little kid when Mr. Aaron hit homerun number 715.  Here I am, feeling like a little kid once again.