A review at the end of the first year
As expected, my first year flew by. Final exams ended a few weeks ago and since then Ive taken a couple of weeks to travel a bit, recharge my batteries and reflect on the last few months.
As I look back on my first year, I can safely say that it exceeded my expectations. I certainly gained a lot from my classes (yes, some core classes can be a drag but I did enjoy most of them) but I also learned a lot from other parts of the business school experience as well. One experience that has been perhaps the most enlightening was starting down the path to become an entrepreneur.
The last few weeks at school were mostly taken up by this quest as I spent 10-20 hours each week carrying out due diligence on various ideas. I have done due diligence in the past as part of my consulting work, but still an exercise of due diligence on my own ideas proved to be an extremely valuable learning experience. The process really helped me in becoming more creative about problem solving, doing research and finding those who could mentor and advise me along the way.
Other than entrepreneurship, another activity that helped me learn a lot about myself was my leadership venture trip to Cotopaxi, Ecuador. I wrote about this trip in a previous entry but, in short, it helped me to understand how I act and behave under considerable mental, physical and emotional duress. All in all, I learned more about leadership and myself during this period, than I have in years.
I know that most of you must already know this, but theres so much more to learn and experience outside the classroom.
To sum it up, I thought Id share a list of my top tips. I know its trite but its concise.
- Dont get caught up in doing things because everyone else is doing them. Do what youre genuinely interested in.
- That said, do try and seek out new people, new ideas, new activities to balance it out.
- If you want to be an entrepreneur, dont hedge your bets. Really dedicate yourself to it and close all other doors otherwise youll choose the less risky path.
- In the course auction, focus on one or two classes that you really really want and put all your points towards those classes, otherwise youll end up with five classes you dont really care about.
- Focus your job search so you dont go insane during the recruiting season.
- Surround yourself with positive people.
- Dont forget to have fun.
