Advice to 2015/16 Moi University Graduates: You’re Not Special!

Over 5,000 of you are graduating this year

In a few years from now, I will be graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Geospatial Engineering. As a culture, I always send out my humble pieces of advice to fellow graduates. It’s advice for them, but an indirect moment of introspection for me too.

To the Moi University Graduates of 2015/16, I am sorry to break your egos, here’s my commencement address to you. It’s life advice that may not make sense now but will probably hold true for the next years of your life. The bitter truth is; “You Are Not Special.”

Over 5,000 of you are graduating this year. That’s the first statistic. Imagine that, 5,000 with a degree just as good as yours. Perhaps you may say, yours is a First Class Degree. The sad fact is, more than 200 of you will graduate with a First Class Degree this year. Now imagine the same figure for other Universities, for years preceding yours and you will understand.

All throughout life you’ve been pampered, snuggled and sold this lie that you are special. You’ve been fed on the milk of entitlement. Today, I am here to say, that’s not true. Drop your entitlement.

First, you are not entitled to a great job. You are not entitled to a multi-figure salary. You are not entitled to working a few days of the week. You are entitled to none of these things you’ve always dreamed about. None of you is exceptional.

Despite every assurance of your glittering transcript, despite the assuring words of your mother, you are not those bubbling snowflakes. Your church pastor may have told you something about your unique attributes, please do not be fooled. I have already shared the empirical evidence with you. The numbers are all mocking you in the face.

So my first advice to you is that you drop your entitlement. Life doesn’t give you what you want, it gives you what you deserve. Everyone wants a good life, but not everyone deserves a good life. To live an extraordinary life, you are called upon to do something extraordinary.

To deserve the life you want, you’ll have to do the actions that are necessary. Most graduates today are delusional. You somehow think you’re entitled to “the good life” without putting in the effort required to actually get there. When you look at your life today, would you objectively say you deserve a higher life quality than others – according to the work you’ve put in? Are you better than your competition? Look around in your life, who would you bet on to make a million dollars? Would you bet on yourself? If not – what needs to change?

Secondly life is ever changing. Change is the only constant of life. As a graduate, you’ve got to be adaptable. Because, it’s not the strongest who survive but those who easily adapt. Unlike what most people will tell you, life is not fair. Life is going to throw you a lot of trials. You’re going to be rejected at numerous jobs. You’re going to walk the streets for some of you. Your degree will be trashed. But you must not lose hope, you must adapt and you must win. Hope is the last thing you ought to lose. Adaptation is the number one skill you require to beat the competition.

Then you must work on your social capital. As you will soon find out, it’s not all about what you know, it’s also about who you know. 50 percent of the jobs are not advertised. 50 percent of opportunities will never be put out for everyone to see. The only way they spread is through word of mouth. You must develop your social capital. Social Capital is about who you know. You have studied accounting, but do you have any friends who are already in the field? Do you know someone living your dream career? You must spread your circle. Go out there, befriend some people older than you, get some mentors, volunteer. Build your social capital.

Finally, you won’t always know all the answers. Even at 60 or 80, you will still be confused about life. Life is not something you master, it’s something you make peace with. This calls for humility and continuous knowledge acquisition. Your learning has just started. Don’t mistake your degree for an end to your learning. You must go to bed every day feeling a little more knowledgeable than when you wake up. That’s what puts you ahead. Learn to do a skill you didn’t know when you woke up. Learn to do your own plumbing, learn to fix your lights. Can you change your car tyre?

Above all dear graduates, know thyself, said the great teacher, Socrates. Self-awareness is the beginning of success. Know your strengths, know your weaknesses. Leverage your strengths while managing your weaknesses. With that said, go you out of the world and be great ambassadors of the Moi University.