I used those three words… “Just Do It™”…in my last post with a tip of the literary hat to Nike for beating me to the punch. But this week’s activities have really driven home the true meaning of the saying.

I’ve been in sort of a droning holding pattern mentally for a while…going through the motions of “doing” stuff but not a lot of energy and enthusiasm visible in the process.

Then, this week, things seem to have clicked. The entire week has been jammed with positives:
…an offer (which I gratefully accepted) to teach “Introduction to Organizational Communication” this fall semester at The University of Tampa
…a very productive meeting with the director of the university’s Center for Ethics
…a fabulous planning meeting with the Founding President of the University of Tampa Public Relations Student Association
…and an amazing planning meeting with the Director of Ethics and Compliance for Tampa Electric Company in preparation for a special program on ethics for the Tampa Bay Chapter, Public Relations Society of America.

Now I’m mentally preparing for what promises to be an awesome September and on…

But I had to shake off the “oh well, it can wait” syndrome that took over back in May. To repeat, I had been doing stuff…just not a whole lot of energy and enthusiasm there.

And that’s the point here. I’m keeping a close (from Florida “close”) eye on my Curry College COM/PR friends who have graduated and are now in the throes of job searches and realization that they’re now officially “adults” with responsibilities, expectations, and all that.

Yeah…it’s a scary reality. For 16-ish years, you’ve been comfortable categorized as a “student” of some sort. Now…now what?!?

One of my more familiar mantras has long been “just dive in the deep end…if you don’t know how, figure out how to swim on the way down.” And that applies to all of us. There are no guarantees in life. You just have to believe in yourself and your ability to do just about anything.

Will you trip and fall once in a while? Probably. I know I have. But you’ll get right back up and keep on going. As one of my favorite poets, John Masefield, says in his amazing poem “Tomorrow”:
“And many a broken heart is here and many a broken head;
But tomorrow,
By the living God, we’ll try the game again!”

So don’t sit there and wait for the “perfect” opportunity to come along at the “perfect” time, my friends. Nike says it: “Just do it!”