10 Things I've Learned Along The Way

10 Things I've learned Along The Way

Kelly Fryer

I got to spend last weekend with one of my favorite people. Margaret is a powerhouse of a personality with a positive outlook and a huge heart. She is in round 3 (or maybe 4) of her career. She got her start in brand management and marketing in the corporate world but left her VP position a number of years ago to open a boutique kitchen store in what was then an emerging neighborhood in Minneapolis. The recession has sucked the life out of a lot of businesses. Margaret's didn't make it. For awhile after the store closed she took whatever job she could find in the short-term; that meant working retail for a neighboring business owner. But now she is back in the corporate world, doing what she does:

 Making life work, one way or another, without letting the ups and downs of it all kill her.

Margaret has been asked to give a lecture to a class of young business students and, over a glass of wine one night, I asked her what she was going to talk about. What emerged is Margaret's list of "Ten Things I've Learned Along The Way." Here it is:

1. If you feel a call to do something–do it! Don't second guess it or over think it. Let that call move you in new directions even if it means taking a risk (which it usually does).
2. But keep in mind that your passions - and even your sense of purpose - will evolve over time. Don't be surprised when you find yourself at the end of a very winding road.
3. Keep your eyes open. Pay attention for the open doors - and go through them. Some new opportunity will always present itself. Be ready for it. And if the door isn't opening easily, don't kill yourself trying to make it happen.
4. Cultivate a community of friends and potential partners. One day that network might save your neck. Plus, along the way you'll have more fun. Don't try to do life or work alone.
5. Be a leader. Your success is connected to the success of others. Join the local business association or other community networks. Work to make good things happen for everybody.
6. Have no regrets. Period.
7. Be in the moment. Live for today. Dreams are ok but what matters is what you do right now to survive, to succeed, to make a difference.
8. Have faith that the "next thing" is always just around the corner. It's true, even when you can't see it right at the moment.
9. Learn from whatever you're doing and make the most out of wherever you are. If for awhile you have to do something that feels "beneath" you, suck it up. Ask yourself what you can get out of the experience. Do your best wherever you are. Be proud of your work. Look for the positive in every situation.
10. No whining. When things go badly, own what's yours. Don't blame "the world!" Take responsibility, learn from it, and move on.

Margaret plans to end her lecture by asking the students about what life and work has taught them so far. I'm going to do the same to you.

What would your top 10 (or top 2) list be? What have life and work taught you