How to Be a Grown-Up

This year, around 4 million kids will graduate from college.

You may be one of them. You may know one of them. You may even attend their graduation, where you’ll have the pleasure of sitting in a folding chair and listening to an eminent speaker dole out cliches.

Some of these speakers offer up commandments: “Follow your dreams!” “Believe in yourself and anything is possible!” Others issue thinly veiled warnings: “You are the future … don’t screw it up.” And a few just crack open the dictionary and say things like, “Merriam-Webster defines fortitude as ‘strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage.’”

Not all of them are that bad.? I’ve seen some genuinely inspiring commencement addresses on … YouTube.?But most of the speeches I’ve heard in person have been more insipid than inspiring. What a missed opportunity. If I were pulling out the dictionary in preparation for a commencement address, I’d start with the definition of commencement, which means “a beginning or start.”?

Your college graduation may feel like a victory lap when it’s happening, but, in reality, it’s the first step in a lifelong journey — the journey of figuring out how to be a grown-up. A journey that – I can tell you from experience – is never over.?

Your college graduation may feel like a victory lap when it’s happening, but, in reality, it’s the first step in a lifelong journey — the journey of figuring out how to be a grown-up.

So in honor of commencement season, I thought we could use this episode to go on that journey together. We’re going to move past the usual platitudes and listen to advice that might actually help you become a better version of yourself, no matter what stage of life you’re in. To do this, we’ll have three guides.?

3 Experts on How to Be a Grown-Up

The first is Next Big Idea Club curator Daniel Pink. Dan delivered a commencement address this year, but not for any school — he just did it on spec … he did it for you.?We’re gonna hear that speech, which is about mastering the art of paying attention.

After that, we’ve got two Book Bites. What’s a book bite? It’s the essence of a book – the key insights – directly from the author. We have hundreds of them on the Next Big Idea app – we feature a new one every single day.??

Our first Book Bite today comes from Stanford-dean-turned-bestselling-author Julie Lythcott-Haims, and it’s based on her recent book Your Turn: How to Be an Adult.

And finally, we’ll hear from Arthur C. Brooks, a Harvard professor and contributing writer at The Atlantic whose new book, From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life, just spent 11 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

It doesn’t matter if you graduated recently or, like me, 30 years ago — the wisdom these three authors have to share is timeless. I hope you get as much out of listening to them as I have. Listen to the episode below, on?Apple Podcasts?or?Spotify, and join the discussion in the comments below!

Episode Notes

?? Listen to Julie's key insights from Your Turn (16 minutes)

?? Listen to Arthur's key insights from From Strength to Strength (9 minutes)

?? Grab a copy of Your Turn and From Strength to Strength

?? Gift a Next Big Idea Club membership to new grads—and dads for Father's Day! (15% Off Promo Code: DAD15)

???Download?the Next Big Idea app today!