Part 1: The world doesn't owe you anything. Part 2: It's never too late. Part 3: Make the best of it. Part 4: Be ballsy. 5. Sometimes, it really is pure luck. When I first started job-hunting, I didn't have much going for me. My grades weren't good, I had little experience, and I had no clue what I wanted to do for a living. I sent out my resume to hundreds of companies and never heard a peep. Soon, the bank of mom and dad threatened to cut me off. "Get a job or move back home." I decided to try temping while still job-hunting, just so I can prove to the parents units that I wasn't lying on the couch watching TV all day. I contacted a temp agency, and...

Part 1: The world doesn't owe you anything. Part 2: It's never too late. Part 3: Make the best of it. 4. Be ballsy. I have mentioned before that I am a textbook ISFP. I have terrible stagefright and I shy away from being the center of attention. I'm great at giving others a lending hand and making suggestions, but I'm horrible when it comes to helping myself or taking my own advice. In short, I'm a terrible at selling and promoting myself. Needless to say, I hate job interviews. Now I like to think of myself as a fairly polite person with decent manners and a pleasant (albeit somewhat reserved) personality. However, that doesn't take you very far in the cutthroat world of business. I actually never interviewed for my first job -...

Part 1: The world doesn't owe you anything. Part 2: It's never too late. 3. Make the best of it. I hated my first job. In hindsight, it wasn't a total waste. I gained valuable experience, learned the importance of office politics, and the salary wasn't bad at all for an entry-level position. However, I couldn't ignore the fact that I was miserable. I hated the numbers-driven strategy and the mad scramble at the end of every fiscal quarter to meet the quota. I hated the work I did, which was providing administrative and strategic support for my sales group. I knew I was capable of more. During my one-year tenure at this company, I befriended a man in the marketing department. To be more specific, he was a designer within the marketing department....

Part 1: The world doesn't owe you anything. 2. It's never too late. One of my good friends is beautiful and brilliant (and I'm not just saying that because she's my friend). Not only is she so gorgeous that a well-known, national brand wanted her as a model, she's also one of the smartest people I know. A couple of years ago, after working her ass off in a prestigious pre-law program, she was accepted to Stanford Law School and we were all so very proud of her. That's when she announced she would be attending culinary school instead. Say what? She then explained to me that food was, and always has been, her passion. The only reason she had pursued law school was to land a stable, respected, well-paying job so that...

My office is right upstairs from Madison Square Garden and believe it or not, many schools hold their commencement ceremonies at the Garden. In the past week, I have come downstairs many times to a sea of gowns, caps, and proud families. And I expect this to continue for the next few weeks, just as it has in the previous years. Graduation season is upon us, my friends. Last week the mental_floss Blog posted an article called 7 Memorable Commencement Addresses and I read each word (and watched each video) with much respect. What great sources of inspiration! Can you imagine how awesome would it have been to have had Steve Jobs come speak at your commencement? (The article mentions that Bill Nye is the speaker at Johns Hopkins this...