Seth Godin’s got some great career advice

Seth Godin has a great blog entry that describes some of the frustration I often feel when discussing careers with high school and college students. Even in this day and age of free-flowing information and limitless possibility, too many young people try to stick to some linear path that was either dictated to them by parents or peer pressure. I think a lot of this focus on a “good job” and a linear career path comes from parental pressure.

I’ve tried real hard to not force my own children down any particular career path or college choice. As a result, I have two children in college and one on the way next year and none of them will be attending Bentley University where I currently teach. As a full-time lecturer at Bentley, my children could have attended tution-free. That’s quite a financial incentive and many other parents think I’m crazy for not insisting that my children attend one of the best universities in the U.S. tuition-free. In my view, I would have been a hypocrit if I ever forced my children to attend Bentley. During their entire childhood, I preached to them that they should follow their passions and find interesting experiences that would give them great stories to tell. After all, life is about the stories you tell and they have some great ones because of their desire to explore the world and find their “tribes.” They’ve all found their passions and their “tribes” and those don’t line up with Bentley’s offerings. I’m proud of all three of them even if it costs me a lot more to support their dreams!

Seth Godin makes the case that you need to experiment and try new experiences in order to figure out what your career/life should look like. I couldn’t agree more. Start with passion. Find your tribe. And then, find a place to learn and contribute.