Smooth sailing? No, probably not

If everything was as easy as going from A to B without stops in between - well, you wouldn't need me now would you. Truth be told, few people manage to travel from A to B without going via c-z first. And you know what, that is not a bad thing.

Say what?

No I am being serious. When we set off on life's great journey, we may have grand plans. We may think we know what we want and how we are going to get there. Then life gets in the way. Or as I am want to put it - we get distracted by whatever nice shiny thing we see off to the left.

It could be said, the reason for that is our goals are not well defined. That may be the case, but I have a different perspective for you today.

My son, Eden, graduated from High School yesterday. Yes - my baby has completed his year 12 (A level equivalent UK) and is off to college next year to study graphics, in particular "residential drafting" - last night, my partner Mike, my daughter Rhiannon (who graduated 2 years ago) and my son's girlfriend, sat in the huge auditorium to hear from the teachers who ensured their charges made it through their schooling. I may not have been entirely happy with their methods but the result is almost the same.

I don't remember the commencement speaker from my daughters ceremony, but I am glad I was there to listen to my son's. Dr Glen Whisson - a graduate of the same school and now a lecturer at Curtin University shared a few life lessons. His life lessons. The graduating class of 2011 may not remember the speech, but it was valuable to those who cared to listen, and thankfully I was one of them.

Glen said

• "Don't expect things to go smoothly - they invariably don't., even if you thought you knew what you wanted to be "when you grew up". Chances are going to be good, it may not be exactly what you wanted after all.
• Learn from your mistakes. You are going to make them, accept that and make sure you don't repeat them.
• Sometimes you need to move sideways before you can move forwards. I can relate to this point extremely well. I qualified as a librarian too many years ago to be relevant today, because today it is "information in whatever form I can find that will be of use and benefit to you". Oh if I could persuade the organisations it's not just about "books". Then there is my daughter who was convinced all through her final years of schooling she wanted to work in the hospitality industry. 2 qualifications in that industry later, she has changed direction and will go to university next year (albeit the long way round) after completing a diploma in business.

And so it is with this year's graduating class of 2011. There will be some successes, and some "failures", some who will make false starts and some who have absolutely no idea what they want to be "when they grow up". That's OK, I didn't either, not really, and not until I was nearly in my 40's. But I was constantly pushing myself to be more, do more, see more and eventually I found my way.

So don't worry if you too feel like you are the "square triangle in the round dodecahedron" it happens, the trick is knowing that.

Glen was very good, he shared his experience through personal story, through example and I do wish the leaders of today could do the same. As Jerome Bruner says we are "22 times more likely to remember a story than a set of facts" and as a lifelong educator and trainer I am still amazed  by how many so called leaders are still trying to persuade people through fact and logic. It's interesting, one of the people I work closely with has always used a linear approach to her presentations and key note speeches until I persuaded her to use a story telling narrative instead (http://www.rogeredwardjones.com). The difference was palpable (as Glen found) as she took to the stage to tell the current intake of small business owners her story of success after participating in the same growth program they were now on.

So:

• Don't be afraid of trying new things.
• Don't be afraid of trying anything
• Fail and fail often - after all, you never know what will arise as a result

With many thoughts and lots of stories through examples ...

Elle