I enjoyed the post put up by Richard Koch on his blog today (‘Ten Commandments For Students’). It’s worthwhile reading – but if you’re too lazy to do that (which, let’s be honest, isn’t a great sign to start with…), here’s a quick outline:
1. Do your own thing.
Don’t follow that traditional / expected / boring career path. If you’re looking for exceptional results, by definition you need to be doing things differently (or you’ll just end up with the same results as everyone else).
2. Deliver Exceptional Results
That doesn’t mean the highest marks of anyone. It means the highest marks using your approach that only you are capable of achieving.
3. Take Your Time
Take your time, experiment and learn from failures. Never be afraid to spend time thinking and preparing – and building you.
As Abraham Lincoln used to say: “If I must chop down a tree in four hours, I’ll spend the first three hours sharpening the axe.”
4. Get Ideas from People
Meet lots of different people from lots of cultures. See what results they’re applying – and then adapt those ideas to your circumstances.
5. Get ideas from books
Pretty obvious. Don’t spend your time with magazines or online. Read real, physical books. With paper you can mark up and scribble your notes on for future use.
And remember: usually the oldest books are the best (the Lindy Effect).
6. Enjoy Your Work
Without enjoyment and/or passion, you’ll never stand out from the pack. And never do anything you don’t enjoy – regardless of pay.
7. Learn to Collaborate
Choose people who have skills that you don’t to increase the chances that so that the end result will be stronger than what you could have ever achieved alone.
8 . If something isn’t working, quit
Don’t be a martyr. Life’s too short.
9 . Thrive on Failure
Or should that be: strive to expose yourself regularly to situations that you can learn from.
10. Be Generous and Warm-Hearted
You get what you put in. Pay it forward – and help others with no expectation of reward. You’ll never know when one of those seeds from years ago will bear fruit for you in a big way in the future.