Courage. Curiosity. Consistency. Commitment.

My amazing sister graduated from college recently and I attended her commencement ceremony.

In addition to it being a joyous occasion for our family and my parents, it was a great learning experience for me.

Seeing what a college graduate looks like from 15 years after I graduated is pretty cool.

The commencement speaker was a graduating senior, chosen by her peers, and she stepped up and absolutely killed it.

A Mexican-American female student from Detroit, she proudly represented her heritage and culture, but at the same time represented all of Michigan State University as she stood and talked not about herself and her experiences, but about three main characteristics that she deeply wishes all of her fellow graduates take with them into their careers.

Courage.

Curiosity.

Consistency.

Man, I couldn’t agree more. I wish this for all college graduates.

Have the courage to try what others don’t believe is right for you. Honestly, they don’t know. You do.

Have the courage to fail. Live humbly. Keep your head down and work in spite of how your friends decide to spend their time.

Have the curiosity to open up as many doors and possibilities as possible for yourself.

Ask your new boss if you can try different things. New tasks. Curiosity takes you above and beyond the norm.

And this third one is by far my favorite.

Be consistent.

Be reliable. Prioritize “the little things.” Show up on time. Answer your phone.

Reply swiftly to emails. Be responsive. You never know where your next opportunity lies.

Don’t overthink things. Find ways to say “yes.”

Make things work for everyone. Be consistent with this.

You’re all impressive. You will all find jobs if you truly want to and stay committed.

That’s my fourth “C.”

Commitment.

Don’t give up easy. Learn to LOVE rejection.

Stay committed to the first three C’s.

Even when you want to quit, have pride in yourself and find a more productive way to the next spot in your career.

Enjoy graduation. It’s a huge accomplishment. But be even more overwhelmed with what’s in front of you, and go get it.

Proud of you sis, and all other grads.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Paul Hickey, Founder / CEO / Lead Strategist at Data Driven Design, LLC has created and grown businesses via digital strategy and internet marketing for more than 10 years. His sweet spot is using analytics to design and build websites and grow the audience and revenue of businesses via SEO/Blogging, Google Adwords, Bing Ads, Facebook and Instagram Ads, Social Media Content Marketing and Email Marketing. The part that he’s most passionate about is quantifying next marketing actions based on real data.