Brian Dunn, Director of Marketing of Western Southern Life Insurance was the keynote speaker at a lunch I attended. He spoke about achieving lifelong success in the workplace. Although, I had long believed in the concepts, he was able put the ideas into words. I have taken some of what he said about understanding yourself and achieving a successful career, put them in my own words, and modified them to fit my own life philosophy.
- Understand what really motivates you. (more money, free time, paid time off, etc).
- Be prepared to do hard work. (working long hours without immediate payback).
- Know what your good at. (and what are your weaknesses). Ask for help when necessary.
- Volunteer for more responsibility. (Even if you don’t know anything about the topic).
- Learn as much as you can from other people (this will shorten the learning curve of new tasks).
- Select a good mentor. (Someone to give good CAREER advice). (A boss or older co-worker).
- Learn how to think (You need to be able to problem solve on your own).
- Be really good at execution. (Be able to actually get things done and not just talk about it).
- Have personal integrity. (Do NOT lie, cheat, or steal. It will always hurt you in the long term). Can People trust you?
- Relax. (This is your life, you will always make some money).