Sital Ruparelia

I recently came across a fun and inspiring talk given by the TV talk-show host and stand-up comedienne Ellen Degeneres. Ellen was speaking to the so-called ‘Catrina Class’ of graduates’ at Tulane University in New Orleans earlier this summer.
 
The 10-minute talk was peppered with Ellen’s trademark humour coupled with some sage advice for the new graduates. Below are 7 career lessons I picked out from the speech along with how they apply to you and your career:
 
1. “Stop trying to please everyone else” 
One of the biggest reasons people don’t pursue work and careers they are passionate about is because they’re overly concerned about what everyone else thinks. In trying to please their parents, partner, friends, boss, colleagues and the next-door neighbour’s dog, they succeed in pleasing everyone but themselves. Trying to please everyone else is the fast track way to failure and frustration. So quit trying to please everyone and instead focus on what’s most important to you. You’ll find that the people that really care about you will support you through thick and thin.
 
2. “The most important thing is to be yourself”  
When you stop trying please everyone and take off the ‘mask,’ life and work become far easier and less stressful. When you focus on being the best version of you instead of trying to be an imitation of someone else, some people (including some employers) won’t appreciate you. But in time, the right people and the right opportunities will be drawn to you effortlessly.
 
3. “Follow your own path, not someone else’s”  
At the age of 14 I decided I was going to be a pharmacist. Or rather, my family decided I would be a pharmacist (after all, it’s a good Indian profession – lots of status and pretty lucrative). Whilst I had little interest in pharmacy or studying sciences, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, so I settled on the pharmacy career path. But then at the age of 16, I failed all my science exams whilst passing everything else. I realised then that trying to do what everyone else wanted me to do would never work. And it will never work for you either. Take advice yes, but listen to yourself, follow your passions and the things you’re instinctively motivated to do. You’ll be far happier and far more successful.
 
4. “The most devastating things that happen to you, will teach you the biggest lessons”  
Many people who have been laid off in the current economy are learning the importance of having a strong network well before they need one. Some people are realising that they need to take much more responsibility for their careers by thinking and acting like freelancers instead of being wholly reliant on one employer. Most people are learning that it’s not sufficient to just ‘do a good job’ – to succeed, you need to be able to market yourself and develop a distinct personal brand. Whilst sometimes painful, learning these lessons now and implementing the learning in the coming months and years will in fact make you far more successful in the future.
 
So remember – everything is a stepping stone to somewhere else. The thing that may seem like a disaster right now, could be the very thing that teaches you the lessons you need to really thrive in the future.
 
5. “Your definition of success will change over time”
We often find ourselves climbing the ladder of success only to find some years later that the ladder is, in fact, leaning against the wrong wall. What you were striving for 3 or 5 years ago is very likely different from what you want now. So ask yourself: what’s your current definition of career success? Are your actions and behaviours focused on achieving what you want today or what you wanted in the past? 
 
6. “Contribute in some way”  
You can focus on accumulating ‘stuff’ – money, fancy job titles, cars, houses – but ultimately your success, your reputation and your legacy will be measured not by what you accumulate, but by what you contribute. In the modern world we live in, there are more ways to contribute than ever before: mentoring, volunteering, blogging, campaigning, fund raising, doing charity runs, lending money to the poor via micro finance schemes. Whilst these are not all directly related to your career, your job makes many of these possible and so, by contributing, you can make your career that much more meaningful. 
 
7. “You’re gonna be ok……so just dance!”
No matter how bad things may seem today, you will be ok. If you’re out of work – you will find a job. It may take longer than you would like, but you’ll get there. If you’re stuck in a career you hate – things will change. Maybe the job, the organisation or you. It won’t happen overnight – but things will work out and you’ll be ok. So instead of stressing too much about what may happen tomorrow, enjoy today and just dance….

To see the 10-minute clip of Ellen talking through these lessons with far more humour than my commentary, click here