Episode Summary:
In this week’s episode, we share 30+ years of wisdom and advice from our combined 30+ years working in Corporate America. We talk through our experiences working in Corporate America, what we’ve learned, and what has made us successful over the years. We share the importance of worrying about yourself, being kind, choosing your battles, making good choices, being indispensable, always looking for solutions, giving back, and taking care of yourself. If you do all these things, we believe you’ll find career success, and with that comes money, so continue building strong financial habits.
Episode Notes:
Mike has spent most of his corporate career working in corporate finance-related roles, and Maggie has spent most of her career working in digital marketing, marketing strategy, and eCommerce product management. We’ve both been successful and well thought of and been paid well as a result. We’ve learned a lot over the years.
Here is our biggest career advice to all of our listeners:
- Worry about yourself. The only person you can control is yourself. Don’t compare yourself to others, in your head, or aloud to your superiors and colleagues.
- Be nice. Bodhicitta, “enlightenment-mind, is the mind that strives toward awakening, empathy, and compassion for the benefit of all sentient beings.” Find your empathy and compassion towards other people. Assume the best. Play nicely with others.
- Make good choices. Life is made up of choices. You choose your path. You choose your response. You choose your attitude.
- Work with intention. Take a step back and decide who you are. Be mindful, and define your purpose. Focus on the journey and not the destination.
- Speak the truth. Say what you think. Give feedback. Practice radical candor. Care enough to be honest. Be a part of the solution.
- Be a linchpin. Do the work. Don’t phone it in. Don’t care about credit; care about change. Provide such value that you are not easily replaced.
- Better is possible. We are all a work in progress. We are all imperfect. Drive positive change in the face of negative conditions, and appreciate where we are.
- Less is more. Simplicity. Minimalism. Want Less. Do More.
- Give back. At work and outside of work. You are wealthy. Effective Altruism. Conscious Capitalism. Leave things better than when you came.
- Take care of yourself. Eat Well. Sleep. Exercise. Meditate. Take your vacation.
- Be you, whoever that is. Lean in to what makes you you. Practice who you wish to become.
Top 3 Takeaways:
- It takes hard work to be successful.
- It takes EQ as much as IQ, and you have to lean into the softer skills, often more so than the hard skills.
- As you succeed in your career, the money will come, and you need to be prepared to handle it responsibly.
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