What's your focus? 

Along about April, adults who have been jollying you through high school telling you not to worry about earning a living but just have fun, suddenly start being truly annoying.  As a growing chorus, they begin to ask, "What are you going to do after graduation?"  Like you have some sort of plan?

Yes, that's the idea behind purposeful living.  What's the big deal about living with purpose?  Well, researchers continually report that people who are happy feel they have a specific purpose in life.  It's rather a hard concept for many 18 year olds to get their heads around.  Often, you've been following a script for living laid out by your family, school or society.  Suddenly, you're in charge of your own boat.  It's exciting and totally scary.  Plus, you get tons of advice--alot of it completely not appropriate for you.

First, you've got to figure out how you can earn a decent living while you go about the trial and error of creating the life you want as a young adult.   Concentrating on your job life or career isn't enough. You need a dual focus--life and work.  Adults can put a lot of emphasis, not to mention pressure, on jobs and careers.  While being able to find the best job for you in any job market is a survival skill you need to learn, building strong foundations for your life are really more important. Taking control of your life out of the hands of your parentals and steering it yourself--mistakes and all--is the first step in building that strong foundation.

Writing a resume is so much easier than building a life.  Crafting a good resume may take an afternoon, or two or three.  Crafting a life that fulfills and excites you takes continual attention.

Need some help envisioning your ideal life?  I always suggest that my readers and young clients start with the last chapter in What Color Is Your Parachute for Teens, "Beyond Your Dream Job."   One page 154, there's a discovery exercise called Picturing Your Ideal Life.  Spend a few days making your picture and reading the last chapter.  The discovery exercises in it are designed to help you build a solid foundation on which you can construct the life you want for your twenties.  Turn off the telly, set your cell phone aside and begin to shape the adventure of your life.

Do you love the collage you created? Did you create an amazing picture of the life you want?  Scan your discovery exercise and send it to us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   We'll post your picture.  By sharing, you help other teens and twentysomethings begin to think about the lives they want too.