{"id":1645,"date":"2018-08-31T16:09:12","date_gmt":"2018-08-31T21:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theshef.com\/blog\/?p=1645"},"modified":"2018-08-31T16:09:12","modified_gmt":"2018-08-31T21:09:12","slug":"success-lessons-16-year-old-self","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theshef.com\/blog\/success-lessons-16-year-old-self\/","title":{"rendered":"Success Lessons to Your 16 Year Old Self"},"content":{"rendered":"

No one can guarantee your success.<\/h2>\n

Our character is forged by the delicate balance of successes we enjoy and failures we endure; and the lessons we glean from them.<\/p>\n

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics,\u00a019.9 million college students are projected to attend a 2 or 4 year schools<\/a> in the fall of 2018. Many of whom are utterly clueless<\/em> of how the field they are studying within the safe walls of academia translates into marketability in the real world. The world that that is illustrated on a fancy brochure doesn’t exist. So how do you improve your chances of success inside and outside of the classroom? Due diligence.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You cannot rewrite history, but what if you could share your current knowledge with your 16 year-old self?<\/h3>\n

One of the most brilliant tactics on success came from a high school junior named Evin Ersan<\/em>. This young man reached out to me and explained that he was a junior in high school and was\u00a0 job shadowing people to discover what kinds of vocations or fields of study he might want to go into.<\/p>\n

Here is a short video I recorded about this experience<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Evin

Evin Ersan and Shef<\/p><\/div>\n

He understood the value of relationships, connections, and the practical aspect of “test driving” a few occupations.<\/p>\n

By simply reaching out and engaging people, Evin found himself working with an attorney for an entire day and observing trials. He worked with a mayor, shadowed the head of a huge multi-billion dollar manufacturing and agricultural company, and\u00a0even observed a few surgeries. (yep…surgeries)<\/p>\n

When I asked him why he was pursuing job shadowing, he replied,“I’m sick of seeing all of my friends or people that I know of, drop tens of thousands of dollars on post-secondary education without doing any due diligence. What we think a job may be like in our mind is often vastly different than the reality of it.”<\/em><\/p>\n

You don’t learn how to ride a bike by reading a book. You got to actually do it.<\/p>\n

Many of the people are talented, yet they didn’t rely on raw talent to engineer their success. The backstage door of success is covered with the ugly sweat, determination, and grit necessary to create a desired outcome.<\/h4>\n

Related: Talent is Overrated<\/a><\/p>\n

Here are 3 actions that created success for him:<\/h3>\n