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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2009 > May > 30 > Entry
Scott Elliott: For the right advice, find the right advisers
To all the 2009 graduates, high school or college, a few words of advice:
Volunteer. Learn to cook. Travel. Pray. Take risks. Learn another language. Exercise. Dream big. Remember to have fun. Serve others. Stay close with your family. Keep learning. Compete. Listen for God’s call. Network. Thank your teachers. Nurture your friendships. Learn from your mistakes. Fight despair. Accept that you don’t know everything. Make art. Be patient. Be optimistic. Be courageous. Be compassionate. Wear sunscreen.
That’s a lot of good advice, and it comes courtesy of CEOs, politicians, ministers, bloggers, talk show hosts, spiritual leaders, authors, and journalists. Shoot a few words into Google along the lines of “2009 graduation speaker advice” and you can track down all the specifics on who said what and where.
This spring, literally thousands of graduation speakers are dispensing all sorts of advice to the various classes of 2009. The Chronicle of High Education used to track who was speaking at what colleges — a project it has now given up. Last year, it logged more than 600 college commencement speakers across the country.
The worst of these speeches are trite, impersonal and self-centered. The best speeches, carried into the right ears, can be inspirational, uplifting and useful. But for the most part, 2009 graduates, the commencement speaker’s advice will be — and should be — ignored. There’s a simple reason why.
By the time someone reaches the age for these transitions — out of high school, out of college, out of graduate school — the most important advice he or she receives is primarily useful because of whom they receive it from. What is actually said is almost secondary.
It’s not an impersonal speech or a self-help book or a guru video that will provide the key guidance in life. Instead, this is a time for grads to look around at the people they’ve chosen to surround themselves with. Who really knows what they are talking about? Who has provided reliable advice in the past? Who really cares about you?
The best thing young people can do for their futures right now is to start figuring out who their core group of trusted and reliable advisers is going to be — the friends or family members they’ll come to know they can count on to give sound counsel.
These are the people they’ll want to bounce their toughest life decisions off to see what they have to say. The next big step will be learning to parse through conflicting good advice and choose the path that makes the most sense for them. That comes with time and life experience.
This is what the best leaders do — whether in politics, business, the military, athletics, communities, families. They encircle themselves with people they can trust — competent, caring, loyal people. When they come across those people in life, they stick to them like glue.
Even those who don’t become CEOs or senators will still have to “lead” their own lives. So, 2009 graduates, certainly listen to good advice. But also remember where you heard it and start figuring out where best to go back for more.
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