Advice to a College Student

Do as I say...

Recently I was interviewed by a college student as part of a school project. In the interview I was able to offer some general advice. This is adapted from my off-the-cuff answers to his questions along with some additions.

• Take more good risks; think about risk (short and long term). Risk aversion is a big issue for people today. This seems especially true of the young. We seem to be throwing the good risk taking baby out with the bad risk taking bath water. Good risks are good; bad risks are bad—know the difference.

  An analogy for this is the speed/time chart below. I’m not advocating illegal speeding. Rather I’m showing that the marginal gain in time decreases surprisingly as speed increases. Driving 10 miles, one would shave 6 minutes off the trip by increasing speed from 20 mph to 25 mph. To attain that same 4 minute advantage when the speed is 60 mph, one would have to increase their pace to 100 mph! That is NOT a good tradeoff. The first one can be.

• Say “yes” more now. Keeping in mind my first point above, try things, but be willing to quit or pivot. You’ll have plenty of time later in life to say “no”, and it is then when your time will be more valuable. You also don’t know now as well as you will know then what is and what is not an obvious yes or no.

• Read more, time is on your side. If you read 30 minutes per day more than your peers, at a normal reading speed after 10 years you’ll have read the equivalent of at least 300 books more than the competition.

• Become a master user of AI. The easiest way is to engage with it and ask AI how to better use AI.

• Learn how to look and be professional when you should—err on the side of professional when you aren’t sure.

• Invest NOW! The power of time (compound interest) is on your side. Plus, getting used to funds being set aside is a very good habit to build.

• Borrowing from an earlier post:

  • Take in lots of diverse information.

  • Be willing to change your mind.

  • Gracefully stand up for what you believe in.

Perhaps this is helpful.