Whether you’re trying to get promoted or start your own business or just figure out what you want to be when you grow up, sometimes there’s no substitute for expert advice. And who better to advise you than some of the most successful entrepreneurs, productivity gurus, and businesspeople in the world? Probably you don’t have the ability to call up Tim Ferriss or Sheryl Sandberg and ask them what you should do with your life, but you don’t need to. Reading their thoughts on their own career trajectories and the lessons they learned along the way might be enough.
(Photo Credit: Saulo Mohana/Unsplash)
1. “The best advice I’ve ever received is ‘you are the average of the 5 people you associate with most.’ I’ve actually heard this from more than one person, including bestselling authors, Drew Houston of Dropbox, and many others who are icons of Silicon Valley. It’s something I re-read every morning. It’s also said that ‘your network is your net worth.’ These two work well together.” – Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, via CreativeLive Blog
2. “Discipline is not a dirty word. There is far more freedom and opportunity for creativity and success in enjoying discipline. Years ago someone I very much respect told me the reason they were successful is that they embraced doing what other people resent or are reluctant to do.” – Janice Bryant Howroyd, founder and CEO of ACT-1 Group, via Madame Noire
3. “Early on in your career, put yourself in situations where you are the dumbest guy in a room of experts or star performers. Then, drop your ego, work hard, and learn from your superiors. Repeat this with a few different fields of sufficient diversity and you’ll be in great shape to start a company.” – Ning Liang, cofounder of HealthSherpa, via Business Insider
4. “Anyone who’s achieved great success in business knows failure is not a bad thing. On the contrary, failure enables you to learn, grow and perfect your methods. In fact, failure is one of the secrets to success, since some of the best ideas arise from the ashes of a shattered business. We are all capable of achieving great things, however too many people are scared of failing, so they follow rules. But the rules don’t guarantee success, because there is no recipe for success.” – Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, via Virgin.com
5. “Feeling confident – or pretending that you feel confident – is necessary to reach for opportunities. It’s a cliche, but opportunities are rarely offered; they’re seized. …Given how fast the world moves today, grabbing opportunities is more important than ever.” – Sheryl Sandberg, author of Lean In, via Forbes
Tell Us What You Think
What would you add to this list? We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or join the discussion on Twitter.
Leave a Reply