A few weeks ago, someone sent me the book “What Would Michelle Do?” since they thought I might be interested in a collection of tips about life from the First Lady. I read the book, but not so it could stand on its own. Instead, I read it as I prepared to graduate from my MBA program. Michelle Obama was one of the graduation speakers this year at Virginia Tech, and I thought the book might give me a little context for her speech. So what would Michelle do?

Live your best life.

That is not a new concept by any means, but it seems to be one we need reminding of. Many people live day-to-day doing what they think they aught to do, doing what is expected of them. There can be pressure to fulfill outside expectations, and in following a predetermined path, you may suddenly find yourself wondering why you do what you do.

Michelle grew up with a family that instilled in her a belief that you have to take the opportunities that you have. If you don’t have opportunities, then make them. Her parents sacrificed to provide for her, but she held up her end of the bargain: attending Princeton and Harvard. As she said in her speech, she had a mountain of debt, so she got a job at a large law firm to start paying it down. After the personal loss of a close friend and her father, Michelle suddenly realized that in living the life she aught to, she wasn’t living hers.

I have to admit, I personally have struggled with how to manage external expectations and my own personal passion. Like many 20-somethings, I went to a good college, got a job, struggled through the worst of the recession, and put myself back through school to make myself a better leader in the workplace. I did what I was supposed to, now what?

You have to do what is best for you. It takes a lot of bravery to suddenly do that. You may find it is exactly the same path you had already been on, and then it isn’t that scary. But when “what is best” means changing everything, turning your world upside down, you have to trust that you can do it. “What is best” is not what is easiest. The best is where you have competence, strength, and passion, but still a lot to learn. Your best may mean taking a nontraditional look at careers that would allow you to thrive on this competence. You may not be a professional ballerina, but you could run a dance foundation that brings classes and scholarships to disadvantaged kids. You may not be a chef, but your love of food may make you the perfect producer at the Food Network.

During Michelle’s speech, she expressed how important it is to actively live your life. Virginia Tech is known for tragedy, but the community is active and thriving. That is the reason I chose to attend the university, and that is the impression we gave Michelle of the Hokie Nation. Active pursuit of your best life means that you will be a part of it. You will be at the heart of it, and that drive is infectious. If you want to live your best life, so will others.

Regardless of the political light that changes every message these days, think about what Michelle would do. Think of her as another person you might see on the street. Does her message of living your best life still resonate? It should. It is a message any of us can share, so I hope you pass it on.

Michelle would.

Michelle Obama’s 2012 Commencement speech at Virginia Tech is available to view online. The book “What Would Michelle Do?: A Modern-Day Guide to Living with Substance and Style” by Allison Samuels is available for purchase online. 

Tomorrow, I will graduate from Virginia Tech’s MBA program. When I left the working world two years ago, I didn’t know what I would expect the world to look like when I finished. Would the economy have improved? How much would technology change? Could I ease back into the workforce as if I had never left?

Were the last two years worth it?

Not every day can people just walk away for two years to pursue something indulgently. For some, school is indulgent. In this day and age, will an MBA really make you more valuable, allow you to contribute more? I’d like to think so.

A lesson I learned while in school is that you have to work on yourself if you want to work hard for others. By “others,” I do not mean your boss or “the man,” but I mean your family, friends, community, and society. Your accomplishments may be for you, but often they impact others. If you want to provide a good life for your child, you have to work on yourself to do it.

If I hadn’t come back to school, I don’t know if I would have gotten that lesson. I benefited from the fishbowl of student life, knowing I had time to explore a little philosophy when cramming for exams and hashing through 45-page papers. In fact, with ethics integrated into every class, you had to stop and think: why do we do all this?

It may sound crass, but a lot of businesses exist today because of selfish leaders. They had ideas that they wanted to see grow, that they could be challenged by, and that they could bring to the world. Some may have been Harvard dropouts or kids who built computers in garages, others may have been the top of their MBA graduating class. They are people who didn’t just hope that the world would give them an opportunity to do something, instead they made the opportunity.

What makes businesses change the world are leaders who keep learning in order to facilitate that change. You have to want to learn to improve yourself if you plan on improving anything else.

Personal development might be selfish, but it’s exactly what we need. After the last two years, I have redefined “selfish”: the pursuit of goals that give me the tools I need to work hard and succeed.

Selfishness as a good thing is a foreign concept for many. In fact, as kids we are taught that you must be selfless, that it is better to help others than to help yourself. The definitions online practically drip with negative connotation: “concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself : seeking or concentrating on one’s own advantage, pleasure, or well-being without regard for others; arising from concern with one’s own welfare or advantage in disregard of others.” But then why do I put on my oxygen mask on first during an in-flight emergency before helping the person next to me?

Because I have to still exist if I am going to help others.

Perhaps the difference in my definition and the perception of the world comes down to the work ethic. I want to work hard and do good work. “Seeking pleasure” implies that you want the opposite of work, that you want to be lazy. But don’t you feel pleasure and satisfaction after doing good work?

Or perhaps it is because I believe my ability to contribute to society does improve society, so therefore I do it with regard to others. There’s a balance here because I don’t work hard knowing I should improve the world for those around me, but just that it will be a natural result of my hard work.

There is never just one way to view something.

After tomorrow, I will not always have the luxury to stop and think: why do we do all this? I hope I am able to maintain disciplines of analysis and evaluation in my day-to-day work life, but we all know work is its own kind of fishbowl.

What I do know is that two years ago, I knew I needed more education to be great at what I do at work. I made the decision to pursue it, and now I am back on the path to doing great work. Back then I could make the decision to improve myself, so I think I will be able to continue to make that same decision in the future.

Photo credit. 

Just as Mark Zuckerberg says in his company’s IPO Roadshow video: I grew up with the internet. I remember in college when I first got access to Facebook. We were friending everyone, and you began to say, “Facebook me” at parties whenever you met someone new. The concept of “friend” changed overnight…you counted everyone.

Over the past few years, the world in regards to Facebook has changed. We began to see a shift away from the sense of ownership belonging to those of us with profiles back to the business itself. Facebook is a marketing engine and it has to make money. We, as the users, are the product.

As Facebook goes IPO, we may see yet another shift. People who do not consider themselves business people may begin to talk about the business of Facebook. People may stop to learn about roadshows or IPOs, about market caps and shareholders. People might begin to really think about how Facebook monetizes “friendship,” and how a personal profile changes how other businesses interact with them.

You don’t have to have an MBA to be savvy about business. This is a good time to stop and think about how something you may use every day changes the face of Wall Street. Social media has brought the business world right to your doorstep, and you have an opportunity to consciously consider what that means to you.

Launch Facebook IPO Roadshow Video.