Under normal daily circumstances most people aren’t inclined to give advice because they don’t want to seem like a “know it all”.

The graduation season in May is often an exception to the rule, especially for people my age and older. We enjoy seeing grandchildren of relatives and close friends take an important step toward being an adult. We want to help them in a small way.

For that reason we will sometimes say a few words about our own experiences in life, things we’ve learned over the years.

There’s a scene from the 1967 movie The Graduate in which a graduation reception attendee had only one word of advice for Dustin Hoffman’s character Ben Braddock. The word was “plastics”. It meant that the plastics industry was a magical key to success.

In real life we can do better than that. We let graduates decide for themselves when it comes to a career area. The advice we give is usually more general, more related simply to how someone should live.

I’ve given some thought this year as to what I would say to those who are completing high school or college. I have a niece and a nephew who will graduate college within the next two years. I’m the oldest immediate relative on the Muchlinski side of the family.

I would say two simple things. They first and foremost is that they should treat others with kindness. That’s a big part of what it means to be a good family member, a good friend or a good employee.

The second thing is to find a balance between work and a personal life. That’s not as simple as the kindness rule. It’s different for different people, totally dependent on someone’s individual priorities.

When I graduated with a four-year college degree in 1990, I decided to take a job at the Independent doing news composition (pasting up pages) with the goal of also doing some reporting. I’ve always liked writing, but didn’t know if I wanted to work with news on a daily basis.

I found that I loved it. I enjoyed my composition shifts, when I’d arrive at 5 p.m. and help to meet a 12:30 a.m. deadline.

I also loved the opportunities I had to write stories. I enjoyed the interviews, the writing process, and seeing the final published article. It made me decide to become a full-time reporter starting in 1992.

At that point my schedule involved whatever hours my stories demanded. That was OK because it was exciting to work with local and regional news. It was also fun to write features, to share the personal stories of remarkable individuals.

In 2004 after 14 years of journalism I focused on graduate school, with the idea of moving into public relations and outreach work. I was 40 years old when I graduated.

I have no regrets about not starting a family. Someone could easily have the same feeling as a teacher, lawyer, doctor or almost any type of professional. Family life could easily limit the options.

Graduates can choose whether to start a family right away, put it off until they establish themselves in a career or never start one. The choice should be made with serious thought. The goal should be for everyone to get what they want most out of life.

Regardless of what road graduates take, success depends on more than just ability. It also comes down to whether someone has a good attitude, a willingness to make a consistent effort, and good people skills.

Having those three things is about 90 percent of what it takes to succeed. People usually have enough ability to get the remaining 10 percent. It’s enough to reach almost any professional goal.

Graduates will have to eventually change with the times. The newspaper business changed considerably between 2004 and 2012, when I edited the Minneota Mascot for a year. It changed further between then and 2017, when I began to write for the Independent on a part-time basis.

Some people adapt to change by changing careers. Others stay in the same career area and manage to adapt. It helps if someone is well rounded. It enables a person to adjust to new duties.

Everything someone does over the course of a career adds up. Hopefully we learn from all of our experiences and become more capable as we get older. Hopefully someday the 2026 graduates will be able to pass along advice to new generations of graduates in a way that helps to build a foundation for success.

— Jim Muchlinski is a longtime reporter and contributor to the Marshall Independent