I grew up hearing the phrase, “The tougher you are on yourself, the easier life will be on you.” I never really understood it until I was an adult. To me, it means that the harder you are on yourself– in your education, your work ethic, personal values, commitments to friends and family– the easier all these things will treat you in return. Apply this principal anywhere in your life and remember it because it’s more true than you will ever know.

Two things in my life have prompted this article today and it carries a dual message. First, a message for young people who are just embarking on their careers or might even still be in school getting ready to graduate. Second, a message for business leaders and owners who are suffering like everyone else.

This past week I had to have a conversation with a young professional for whom I hold great value and respect. I think the conversation (about economics and finances) was a little shocking and perhaps a new “reality” crept in that hadn’t been there before. That was impetus number one for this article. This week, I begin the spring semester of my Journalism School class at USC (all graduating seniors) knowing that I have at least one student who feels that my curriculum should be worked around his “busy” schedule. (Impetus number two.)

So allow me to share this with the young people who are reading this today:

1) It’s tough out there and it’s only going to get tougher.

2) Forget about security. There isn’t any.

3) Like it or not, even if you land a job in a huge corporation, you’re going to have to think like an entrepreneur.

4) Make peace with this reality and your life is going to be a lot better.

We are just beginning to understand what globalization really means. It means that people across the planet are: competing to buy our products; producing products that we can buy for less money; and competing for our jobs. We are just beginning to understand the impact of a world competing for food, oil, cement, wood, and natural resources.

As millions of hard-working young people graduate from colleges around the world, many of them not only speak fluent English, they have no expectations of anyone “giving” them anything. They expect to make it through their own motivation and ability.

Some may complain that the new world isn’t fair; I believe it is much fairer today than ever before. Yesterday, if you were born in the U.S. (especially if you were a white male), the cards were all stacked in your favor. Tomorrow, millions of people from around the world will be getting the chance their parents never had.

Young people need to learn the meaning of one word that all successful entrepreneurs know well: COMPETE.

Take nothing for granted in this era of uncertainty. Develop skills and talents that will make you globally competitive. Keep upgrading and changing your skills and talents to fit the needs of an ever-changing marketplace. You will be expected to know more and work harder, and you will be expected to keep learning in your increasingly precious spare time.

Most of all– don’t give up your dreams. Just realize, you are going to have to work harder to achieve them. Believe it and you really can be it!

But don’t stop reading here. If you are an owner, manager or leader in an organization, here are some thoughts about these tough times for you. Remember– a true leader never lets his people see him/her out of control, buffeted by the winds of the storm. Instead, you absorb them and “take it on the chin” for those you lead. Your people need you. They look to you to be calm and clear headed and to have answers to their uncertainties. Here are a few questions for you to ask yourself in the week ahead:

• Am I providing a clear set of assumptions for people to operate on, with the understanding that they may change as more information becomes available?
• Have I made sure to reach out to people who are badly affected by the current turmoil?
• Am I moving quickly enough to help people get past the current situation to focus on the future and what is coming next?
• Have I made clear to the people who are deeply valued by the organization that they have a promising future?
• When a decision will affect someone negatively, have I personally delivered the bad news, dealt with the fallout in a fair and transparent way, and made it clear to observers why the decision was made?

How can you increase the confidence of those that support you today? This week? I am firmly convinced that whatever 2009 and holds for us all, we are going to make it through— but we will only make it through together. Let’s hang together.

Tags: compete, competivie, educate, education, get tough, learn, life's tough, live, prosper

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 11th, 2009 at 10:04 pm and is filed under About Us, Great Ideas, Highly Recommended, My Life on the MPv2 List. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.