Perry Binder's Blog, page 31
May 17, 2013
The “Did You Know” Footnotes from 99 Motivators for College Success book
“Did You Know” Footnotes
Motivator #3 - Did You Know… The U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics has not attempted to estimate the number of times people change
careers in the course of their working lives.
However, in September 2010, the Bureau found that from age 18 to age 44,
individuals held an average of 11 jobs.
See www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/nlsoy.pdf .
Motivator
#6 -
Did You Know… In a 2007 survey of
800 attorneys, only 55 percent reported being satisfied with their career. “Pulse of the Legal Profession,” ABA Journal, by Stephanie Francis Ward
(October 1, 2007) http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/pulse_of_the_legal_profession .
Motivator
#15 - Did You Know… The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists
occupations with the largest job growth projected through the year 2018,
starting with registered nurse. For the
complete list: http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_104.htm .
Motivator #22 -
Did You Know…
In 2011, the Federal Trade Commission approved the practice of employers
conducting social media background checks going back seven years for job
applicants. See “Feds Okay Start-up That
Monitors Employees’ Internet and Social Media Footprints,” Forbes, by Kashmir Hill (June 15, 2011) http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2011/06/15/start-up-that-monitors-employees-internet-and-social-media-footprints-gets-gov-approval .
Motivator
#25 - Did You Know… While it is true that the founder of FedEx did
pitch his business plan in a college class, it is not true that the professor declared
the idea as “unworkable” or that the student received a “C” on the paper. See http://www.snopes.com/business/origins/fedex.asp .
Motivator
#68 -
A National Institutes of Health study suggests
that the region of the brain that inhibits risky behavior is not fully formed
until age 25. The “still-developing
brain areas govern judgment, decision-making and impulse control.” See “Risky Business: Dealing with Your Teen’s
Behavior,” NIH News in Health newsletter (September 2011) http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/issue/sep2011/feature1 .
Motivator
#98 -
See the Mappiness Project at http://www.mappiness.org.uk .
College Success Motivators #92 & #93 - Do not be impressed with anyone’s titles, degrees, or experience – only their...
COLLEGE SUCCESS MOTIVATOR
#93
Do not be impressed with anyone’s titles,
degrees, or experience – only their actions and reactions to you and others are
what should matter.
COLLEGE SUCCESS MOTIVATOR
#92
Greed
for knowledge and the pursuit of truth is good.
May 16, 2013
Graduation Speech from 99 Motivators for College Success
Your Graduation Inspires Me
Excerpt from 99 Motivators for College Success
When I participate
in graduation ceremonies, I often imagine delivering my own speech to the
graduates, as if I were the commencement speaker:
Good morning
chancellor, president, deans, faculty members, 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 professors. And I hope you got more than knowledge
from your profs 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 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
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 Success
c 2009-2013 Perry Binder, LLC
College Success Motivator #91 - Always be yourself in social settings, but borrow...
COLLEGE SUCCESS MOTIVATOR
#91
Always
be yourself in social settings, but borrow conversational techniques from
others. As an example, watch the Reservoir Dogs movie scene which starts:
“Look man, an undercover cop got to be Marlon Brando, right? ... You got to be
naturalistic.”
May 15, 2013
College Success Motivators #89 & #90 - Look both ways when talking to strangers...
COLLEGE SUCCESS MOTIVATOR
#90
Advice for kids: We work before we play but always try to have fun. Advice for you: We work before we play but always try to have fun.
COLLEGE SUCCESS MOTIVATOR
#89
Advice
for kids: Look both ways when crossing
the street and don’t talk to strangers.
Advice for you: Look both ways
when talking to strangers.
May 14, 2013
College Success Motivator #88 - In college – like high school – you face many “fitting in” tests. The good news is...
COLLEGE SUCCESS MOTIVATOR
#88
In
college – like high school – you face many “fitting in” tests. The good news is that college offers many
more choices to join student organizations which match your interests, and thus
a greater opportunity to fit in quicker with others.
May 13, 2013
College Success Motivator #87 - Join a student organization in your Freshman year and volunteer to do everything...
COLLEGE SUCCESS MOTIVATOR
#87
Join
a student organization in your Freshman year and volunteer to do
everything. You will be noticed, stand
out, and eventually position yourself to run that organization. You will then have something unique to put on
your resume.
May 12, 2013
College Success Motivator #86 - “Achieving success alone and at others’ expense will get...
COLLEGE SUCCESS MOTIVATOR
#86
“Achieving
success alone and at others’ expense will get lonely.”
Sarah
Homsi, Professor Binder’s former student
May 11, 2013
College Success Motivator #85 - “Remember, nobody wins unless everybody wins.”
COLLEGE SUCCESS MOTIVATOR
#85
“Remember,
nobody wins unless everybody wins.”
Bruce
Springsteen, Rock musician
May 10, 2013
College Success Motivator #84 - Your motto should not be “Why not me?” Rather, make it...
COLLEGE SUCCESS MOTIVATOR
#84
Success
is about you and your friends achieving goals.
Your motto should not be “Why not me?”
Rather, make it “Why not us, why not me?”
