Finding The Unique EDGE: Backstage Pass With Jayne Stymiest

Who says that when you graduate from university, you’ll immediately get a high-paying job in your chosen field? In reality, most of us in our early twenties are living paycheque-to-paycheque, trying to figure out what to do with that framed degree hanging on the wall.

The pressure to make something of yourself as soon as you’re out of school is daunting, and I’m struck by how little guidance there is for us “youngsters.” I don’t mean classes on managing your money or finding a job; I mean something that helps you set goals and write out a plan for achieving them, something that introduces you to your strengths and encourages you to build on them—something like The Unique EDGE.

At nineteen, I was lucky enough to participate in Strategic Coach’s Unique EDGE program with my cousin. (My uncle, a long-time client of Dan Sullivan’s, wanted to share the world of Coach with us and signed us up.) By the end of the one-day workshop, my eyes were opened to a whole new way of looking at life. I realized that school isn’t the only form of education.

My epiphany came from interacting with others who were more interested in having life experiences than going to university—like Dan from the UK who’d decided during a grade 11 math exam that school wasn’t for him, walked to the principal’s office, and used their phone to start his own business.

School teaches us that if you work hard enough, you can become anything you want to be. Maybe. But it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be happy in that occupation. I would have appreciated if one of my teachers had said to me, “You hate working under time constraints and in loud environments—so why do you want to be a journalist?”

Instead, in Unique EDGE, I saw where my real strengths lie and thought, “Why not take my life in that direction?”

The Unique EDGE isn’t just beneficial to those taking the course, but to parents as well. My uncle told me, “I’m a lot more worried about my kids now than when they were younger.” Why? Because the rest of their lives will be shaped by the decisions they make at this age:

• Which school to go to.
• What career to pursue.
• What city to live in.
• Whom to date.

Unique EDGE helps you put all these questions into perspective. Instead of letting life carry you along, you can embrace uncertainty with the knowledge that you’re moving in the right direction.

The impact of Unique EDGE stayed with me, and when I graduated from university, my mind kept roaming back to Strategic Coach. How much could I learn if I got to work in an environment like that every day? So that’s exactly what I decided to do: I joined the Strategic Coach team a little over a year ago, and the opportunities to grow and learn seem endless.

So I stand behind The Unique EDGE as one of the most positive experiences the younger generation can take advantage of.

If you have any questions or would like to register someone for the program, please visit The Unique EDGE web page. To talk to someone directly, call Kathy Valant at 416.583.7180 or 1.800.387.3206, ext. 7180, in North America. Or call Rebecca Powsney on 01625 545 608 or 0800 389 3206, ext. 608, in the UK.