Tag Archives: career advice

Why Pigs Can’t Fly – and Neither Can Opportunities

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As a writer and career strategist, one of the opportunities I enjoy most is when people I meet involve me in their process of discovering what they would like to do for work.

It’s been refreshing to see that even during these unstable economic times, there are people out there who are not willing to continue to sell their souls for a paycheck.  There are some who refuse to settle for a job and insist on finding something that they’ll enjoy and will bring meaning to their life.  The main hurdle these people share is that while they know that their current line of work is not fulfilling, they have no idea what will fulfil them.

For those of you who are seeking to answer the question: “what do I like to do?” first let me remind you that there is nothing to be ashamed of. I’m not saying this to be nice.  Take a look at how a well-run manufacturing plant works.  One of the most dangerous things an operations manager can do is ignore problems in the system.  It is only when she acknowledges faults in the process that she stands a chance to correct them.  The same applies to the game of work. 

Besides, it takes great courage to acknowledge (if only to yourself) that the path that you have been on – whether it has been for a few months or several years – is not the right one for you.  Just as well, the process of looking for answers is an opportunity in itself.  You’re bound to end up better off than when you started.  Even so, there are no easy answers or formulas to find an answer. 

To shine a light on your path, here I share with you what has helped those who have found an answer:

Staying open to trying different things.  The discovery of the light bulb is one of history’s most over-used and yet plainly obvious examples of the power of trial and error. Like the light bulb, most of the world’s greatest discoveries have been made by those who have tried different things and learned from their failures. (Think Thomas Edison)

If you’re hesitating to accept a job or a business opportunity, keep in mind that you’re not accepting a life sentence. Of course it’s to your advantage to be committed to making things work out, but if down the track you find that you’re miserable, there’s always the option to change.  The upside of changing after you’ve tested an opportunity is that you’ll become more clear on what you don’t want.   That puts you in a better place next time that you consider an opportunity.

Learning from every experience. Every job or business opportunity is part of the process of discovering who you are and what you want to do.  Pay attention to the feedback that every experience gives you.  Make a list of every major job you’ve held and every business opportunity you’ve been a part of.  Beside each, jot down the major lessons and insights gained. Those are yours to keep for life – and to take with you to other jobs and business opportunities.

Trusting the process. It’s key to recognize that there are things that are outside our control.  Even if we feel that answers are light years away, we must trust that they will eventually come.  Part of having answers is having enough information to recognize those answers.  How many times has it happened to you that the answer to something has been in front of you but you did not see it – while someone else did?  That’s because you were missing information that allowed you to recognize the answer. Once you received the information, you were able to recognize it.  The same applies to finding out what you’d like to do.  It’s possible that the answer is right in front of you. To recognize it you must first live through certain experiences that will give you the information that you need. During those times when you become particularly impatient or anxious, try saying to yourself: ”I trust and I let go.”  Doing so will help you acknowledge that just because things are outside of your control does not mean that they will not be taken care of.  My favorite example is the human heartbeat.  Just because you cannot control it, does not mean that your heart will not beat. 

And what has stopped others from finding an answer?

Doing nothing. 

Why?

Nothing will lead to nothing.  So many times I come across people who decide to do nothing because they do not know what to do.  They’re afraid that if they jump into something, that it will be the wrong thing.  My question to them is: ‘if you do not know what you’d like to do, then what does knowing what you’d like to do look like?’ The point is, even if the thing that you’d like to do landed on top of you while you’re in a state of inaction, chances are you wouldn’t recognize it.  Why?  Because you need more information.  And you’ll get that information by doing something.

For those who insist on remaining in a state of paralysis, here are a few things to ponder about while you sit and wait for the right opportunity to land on your head (re-read the title):

Every job role and business leaves valuable lessons – even if you don’t love or like it.

Every experience has good and bad things.  As much as you suspect that you will not like a role, the reality is that there will be things that will like about it. The world is not all black or white.

It’s a chance to expand your network.  It’s more likely that you’ll meet people at work than sitting on your couch.  Make the most of those relationships.

As you seek for answers, remember that it’s not an easy question to answer; it’s one of the most important ones.  Just as well, seeking for an answer is as valuable as finding one.

 

Like the pig? flickr 

 

FREE career advice from Bill Gates

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(Post inspired by Bill Gate’s talk at TED 09.)

In his talk at TED this past week-end, one of the questions that Bill Gates explored was: 

How do you make a teacher great?

It is worth paying attention because our careers stand to benefit from his answer.

Monkey see, monkey improve.

As Bill explained, it’s not that easy to answer his question since there’s very little data to show what makes a teacher great. This is a critical issue for anyone aiming for greatness. Quite simply if we don’t know what greatness looks like, how do we know when we’ve found it? And, how can we learn and emulate it?.  The opposite of ‘monkey see, monkey do’ comes into play.

This is no secret to the world of sports. Tennis is a great example. Tennis aficionados out there (like me) know that by observing Rafael Nadal or any of the players on the professional circuit, we stand to improve our game.  More so, as part of their training, most elite athletes watch recordings of top performers.  Athletes know that when monkey sees, monkey improves. 

You and I can apply this to our careers by focusing on imitation-worthy people.  Bill Gates may be a good start. But you need not go that far. Look around you.  Do any of your colleagues, bosses or clients have traits that are worthy of imitation? The key is to be open to watching and learning.

See no evil + hear no evil = missed opportunity.

He then moves on to highlight the importance of receiving feedback. According to Bill’s research (I trust he has done his homework) teachers in the US public system are receiving very little feedback about their performance. There tends to be a clause in teachers’ contracts that limits the amount of time the school’s principal can spend observing a teacher in real time.  Even when a principal is allowed to observe, the teacher must be notified ahead of time. Naturally that means that the teacher gets a chance to modify their teaching techniques and be on their best behavior while in the presence of the principal.  While this might accomplish a better review, (by faking it) the teacher misses an opportunity to learn what they’re doing well, and what could be improved or eliminated.

Most of us at work do not have the luxury of being observed. Even so we still stand to benefit from Bill’s ideas.  By being open to feedback and asking for it from our managers, colleagues and even clients.  Rather than seeing feedback from others as a personal attack or a threat, we could decide to welcome it as an opportunity to up our game.  The key then is to be open to feedback, to ask for it, to implement it and to track our progress.

Thanks Bill.

 

Photo by James Duncan Davidson/TED

Why my first guest blogger is anonymous

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This is a big leap of faith for me.  

For the very first time since this blog was launched I’ve reached out to ask a reader to write a guest post.  This reader is one of those highly talented but unassuming people who likes to fly below the radar.  That’s why he has asked me to keep his post anonymous.  For the purpose of this post, lets call him Joe. (This reader is also in the habit of sending me quite relevant and thought provoking comments via facebook.)
 
I agreed to publish Joe’s post – even if it meant leaving out his real identity – because I believe that doing so is very much in line with my vision for this blog; and my writing career in general.  In order to inspire and empower my readers, I do not believe that I need to brag about anyone’s flashy titles or qualifications. What adds real value to my readers is a person’s insight and experience.  That is what I believe everyone should wear like a badge of honor – not whether they are a CEO, a director or have an MBA. And that’s exactly why Joe’s words deliver.

I hope that like me, you’ll find many lessons in Joe’s search for his career’s ‘g-spot’.  


Finding “that”*

I was at a funeral recently and arrived a few minutes late.  I was taken aback to hear how inspired and passionate the priest was delivering the speech.  This was probably because he was a close friend of the person who died. He said something very important that we often forget because we are too busy living our daily lives: “Leave a mark before you go and do it by living to the fullest”.
 
I’ve been thinking about his words ever since.  
 
Plenty of priests, rabbis, monks, parents and friends repeat this. As do we, but are we really doing it? Only the person inside each of us can really answer this.
 
When Silvana invited me to participate in this blog I was a bit cautious about what to write.  After considering several subjects, I decided to write about how we go about finding the right career and choosing what we do – because I believe that our decision resonates beyond what most us are aware of.
 
A career is not about academics or money it is about finding the lifestyle that makes us truly happy, something that if taken away from us, makes us cease to exist.  What we study or even the jobs we hold are not what define us. It’s deeper than that. It is how we chose to live and what we are 24/7 that defines us.
 
Then how does one go about finding the path to live to the fullest?  
 
Some are born knowing what they will do, others grow into something, others have a great talent and others happen to find it by some crazy accident.
 
For me, finding the right path, the right job, the right place to be and live, what I call “that” has come after searching and falling for many years. I have shoved my nose into so many industries, places, jobs and what not that I think I have more stories than answers to the question above.
 
And what is “that”?
 
A friend of mine once said that being in love is wanting to be at the same place every day and not getting enough of it. That’s exactly “that” because finding the perfect career or lifestyle is about loving what you do to keep doing it forever.
 
Today I work in the music business.  I’ve been doing so for over 5 years.  To be honest I am not leaving it until someone drags me out after they have killed me. Growing up I never dreamed of doing something like this nor was music an important part of my life, like it is for everyone in my industry. I stumbled upon it after 6 years of being a serial entrepreneur, working in the telecom industry, recycling, aeronautics and the internet. (I got to know the internet industry quite well when the Y2K stock market bubble blew up in my face, hard.)
 
I used to think the music business was easy: you have a talented musician, show him on a stage and thousands will come by some magical reason. I decided to embark on this “easy” task by buying music business books and making phone calls.
 
Then I hit a brick wall so hard it took me a while to get up. This is an industry like any other, governed by laws, treaties, costs, financial projections, negotiations, contracts, inventories, time management and all the little things we deal with in any business. Artists are products.  And I cannot tell you how many thousands or hundreds of thousands there are, plus the millions who want to make it. If you want cutthroat by all means join in.
 
The difference with other industries is that this is a qualitative one. Every product we sell reaches the senses, nothing more. Music hits the emotions like no other vehicle and for some reason it fit me perfectly because all business decisions are based on how the qualitative mixes in with the quantitative, the money. How do you pick a single for a new album? How do you know how to charge for a single concert? How do you sell your artist to an ad agency who wants to place his/her song and image for a brand? We don’t sell carpets that cost $100 to make and sell it for $200 because it fits the market price range. We sell talent and this cannot be measured. This is the beauty of it.  That there are very little formulas in this business; we make them up as we go. For some reason that I still don’t know I am perfect for this (or I like to think so) and want to continue at it for a long time. Since I found it somewhat by accident I am lucky enough to say that “that” found me, but I had been looking for it as well, I just did not know that it was the music industry. I am plain lucky I guess.
 
When it comes to making the right career choice it may sound a bit silly but do it from the gut, which is nothing more than mixing brains and heart. In other words, there is no magic in finding the right career.  It just takes a lot of wanting to explore, falling down and getting back up a million times until you find “that” or it finds you. Being what you do will make you do it well.  Most importantly it will define how far you want to take it.
 
I like Oriental philosophy very much so I’ll leave you with this quote from Confucius: “Find a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
 
 
*Read at your own risk

Why on Earth are you here?

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Even during an economic downturn, finding meaning in our lives is not a privilege reserved only for a select few – it’s everyone’s responsibility.

At the risk of sounding too preachy, I’ll borrow some insight from Jewish wisdom that says: ”The day that you were born was the day that G-d decided that the world could no longer live without you.”

That means two things:

First, that we all matter to this world. 

Second, that it is up to each one of us to find out exactly why we were put on Earth – so that we can fulfill our unique purpose. (I can assure you that while paying bills is part of life’s package – it is not anyone’s main reason for being)

Here I share with you the process that helped me uncover what I’ve come to call my reason for being.

To get your mental juices flowing, take time to imagine what you would do with your life if you did not have any bills to pay.  If it helps your imagination, take some time to relax before you answer this question.   Close you eyes if it helps you relax.  Take a few deep breaths.  Let it all go.  Once your mind is still, imagine that it’s your 80th birthday (or 100th depending on your gene pool).  What would you like your friends and family to say about your achievements and your contributions?  What about your adventures?

Now consider the following three dimensions of your work life:

  1. Distinguishing skill: This is something that not only you are able to do well, but you are well known for at work.  Think about the tasks or projects for which you are the ‘go to person’.  For example, among my friends, I’m the go-to-person for career advice.  It’s been that way for several years even before I decided to write a book on the subject.
  2. Predominant interest:  It’s possible that you have many interests.  Even so, pay close attention – observe yourself.  What one interest do you keep going back to?  Which is the one that has not been a passing fad in your life?  If you’ve been drawn to fads all your life, what is the theme of those fads? In my case self-improvement has been the undercurrent of most of my interests.  Whether I’ve taken up meditation, read books on leadership, or spent time learning about health and nutrition.  The predominant theme of all these activities is self-improvement.  Consequently I’ve read hundreds of books that are directly related to the subject.
  3. Obvious strength:  Beyond being a skill or something that you can do, it is part of your essence as a person.  It is not something that you learned through practice.  Instead, it’s something you can do innately.  For example, people who know me well, like my husband of eight years and some of my bosses, have mentioned that I’m great at persuading people about things I believe in.  I did not learn how to do this – and no one taught me this. It’s something I do – and I don’t know why.  If you’re having trouble identifying this, ask people who know you well.  Ask colleagues, bosses, relatives or friends.

Where your distinguishing skill (career advice), predominant interest (self-improvement) and obvious strength (persuasion) intersect is your unique reason for being.

When I took time to complete this exercise, I discovered that my reason for being is:

To inspire and empower people around the world to create, follow and succeed on their path and consequently become better citizens of planet Earth.  To achieve this I will empower you with insight and know-how to claim control over your career and succeed on your own terms.

It’s your turn now.  I’d love to know why on earth were you put on Earth. 

10 tell tale signs of a meaning LESS job

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According to Jewish Mysticism (a.k.a. Kabbalah) the number 9 represents truth*.  Since it’s 2009, I’ve taken the liberty to declare this my year of finding my own truth. 

Part of my commitment has been to discover what gives meaning to my life.  That includes finding meaningful work.  Those things that bring meaning to my life are what I call my truth.  And as I have my truth, I  believe that you do as well.  Some of you may already know what that is.  In case you don’t, read on to see how you can tell if your current job is devoid of meaning.

Here are the tell tale signs:

1.      You feel that it’s enough to do as little as possible in your job. 

2.      You start to crave external rewards, like bonuses, a pat on the back or a ‘well done’ from your boss.

3.      You play the blame game – and flick-off responsibility for your well-being at work to your boss or employer.

4.      You are stuck focusing on ‘what happened?’ rather than ‘what can I do?’ whenever a challenge comes your way.

5.      Little annoyances feel like big obstacles.

6.      It seems that most of your friends’ jobs are better than yours.

7.      You feel jealous – instead of happy – for other people’s achievements.

8.      You spend more time planning your next holiday than developing a five year plan for your career.

9.      Drudgery rather than excitement is your prevailing mood during the week.

10.  Paying bills is your only reason for being – and for getting out of bed every morning.

In my next post I’ll share with you an exercise I completed that brought me closer to finding my truth at work .

Stay tuned.

 

*Thank you Rabbi Shuey Rosemblum for sharing your wisdom.

Is your job meaning full or empty?

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On my latest trip to South America I met a remarkable woman who I’ll call Maria.

Maria took care of my grandfather for many years until the second that life left him a week ago at age 96.*  As thankful as I am for her unconditional support and care for grandpa Pipo during his last years, that’s not the reason why I found her to be a special person.

Here’s why. 

After the funeral, Maria and I became quite close and she opened up to me.  During one of our last conversations she confessed that she had a dilemma and asked me for some advice.  She was in the middle of deciding whether to accept what most of her colleagues would consider an attractive job offer.   My grandfather’s second wife offered Maria the opportunity to stay working in her household and keep her company for an indefinite period of time.  In her new role she would not be required to take care of sick or elderly people.  In essence, Maria was offered a cruisy job for a very competitive pay.  Even so, Maria was conflicted because she happens to take pride and find meaning in her nursing role.  Keeping a healthy person company – although is easy in comparison  – does not give Maria the fulfillment that she finds in knowing that thanks to her, an elderly person has a better quality of life during their last years on Earth.

Maria’s dilemma reminded me of a situation I encountered some years ago while I was attending a sales conference as a medical sales representative.  During an afternoon break I overheard one of the more senior sales reps say to a group of rookies that they should give their new job at least six months, because after they got the hang of things, they wouldn’t have to do much – and still get paid well.  That conversation has stayed with me over the years because I’m still trying to figure out how someone can stay at a job where they get paid to do ‘not much’.  In this situation one might think that employees are short-changing their employer.   In my mind, the only one getting short-changed is the employee who is wasting their lifetime doing ‘not much.’

New York Times best-selling author and ultra-vagabond Tim Ferriss may not agree with me.  He might argue that making money without having to work is the ideal scenario because it means that there’s time to do other things in life – like dance Tango.  That’s fine by me if a vagabond existence brings meaning to someone’s life.  If it doesn’t, then a cruisy job comes only at the expense of the employee – not the employer.

Like Maria, doing something that I find meaningful brings meaning to my life.  That is one of the reasons I go to work.  The question is what brings meaning to your life?  Is that what you’re spending your lifetime on?

 

*Thanks everyone for your kind words and support. Given that Grandpa Pipo passed painlessly at 96, I feel sad that he is gone, but happy that he had a full life and I’m hopeful that he is in a better place. Fingers crossed that I inherited his gene pool!

WARNING: This may rock your world*

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This time last year I was in the middle of making an important decision for my career and life.  I had to decide whether or not I would resign from a corporate job that looked fabulous on the outside to write on a full time basis.  To begin with I had national management responsibilities and was the youngest member of the executive team in a multi-million dollar startup.  I was working with like-minded people and reporting to a female CEO worthy of imitation.  My pay package was quite competitive and I had a 20-minute commute in mild traffic – and across Sydney’s Harbour Bridge which offers a stunning view of the Opera House.

So who in their right mind would even consider resigning from a job like that? Before you judge me too harshly, know that as good as my job sounds, it was not meaningful to me.   It was the role I was aspiring to for years but was ultimately unfulfilling – and that did not feel good inside.

Maybe you’re thinking that I’m asking for too much.  I think it’s quite the contrary.  I left looking to give more, not receive more. 

“How so?”  You ask. 

I reached a point in my career where I’d taken enough.  Among other things, I had the flashy title and the salary I set out to achieve five years earlier.  It was time for me to give back.

In this, my final post for 2008, I share with you the questions I answered and the guidelines I followed that led me to discover what I really want to do with my life. 

Read – at your own risk – if you’re also looking to lead a more meaningful life.

Start with the end in mind.  Begin by asking yourself: “What do I need to achieve in the following five years to feel fulfilled with my life?”  When you answer, allow yourself to dream huge.  Craft your answer around ‘and’ not ‘either/or’ terms. 

If you don’t know what you want, start by writing down what you don’t want, or want less of in your work life. In my case I knew that I wanted to contribute in a more meaningful way.  But I did not know what that meant exactly. I knew that I had to do something that was genuinely me.  Not follow a ‘me-too’ path.  I also knew that selling insurance and managing a team were not what I called ‘contributing’.

Fill your goals with meaning.  Now ask yourself ‘Why?’  “Why do I want to achieve my goals?” Identify what it will mean to you, the ones you love, your community and the world in general once you achieve your goals.  Take time to look inside.  If you find it hard to answer this for a particular goal, be open to the possibility that it could be because that goal is not as important as you originally thought.  If that’s the case, don’t be discouraged.  Instead use this as an opportunity to identify a more meaningful goal.

Knowing the real reasons why you want something so much will help you stay committed to your goals and focused.  For those very reasons, this is the most important step in the process.

Develop a plan.  Finally, ask yourself: ’How?’ In other words, ask: “What do I need to achieve my goals?”  Focus on the resources that you’ll need.  How much time and money will you need?  Do you need to up-skill?  More education? Experience?

Then take time to think through the obstacles that may come across along the way.  Take it a step further and come up with at least two solutions for each obstacle.  Make sure not to confuse real obstacles with your fears.  To tell the difference, test your thoughts against reality.  Are you being catastrophic? Or are you generalizing?

It took me a few days to complete this three-step process, but I guarantee that the time I spent working through it has been one the best investments I’ve made on my career.

May 2009 be a meaningful year for us all.

Take a deep breath – with a little smile.

Silvana

*Rash decisions may lead to career suicide. 

Nimble is the way

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Even if I may not always agree with what Dr. Sullivan has to say over at ere.net (like what he wrote about talent swapping), his out-of-the-box thinking is quite refreshing.  Recently he wrote an article about proximity recruiting.  Proximity recruiting is about finding candidates through face-to-face interactions – as opposed to non-physical recruiting including job ads and boards.  If you’ve been to a career fair, then you experienced vanilla-flavored proximity recruiting.

In his article Dr. Sullivan presents the example of a start-up company that took proximity recruiting to the next level.  Because I found their story inspiring, here are a few of the details. 

In need of talented staff, when this start-up got tipped by insiders of one of the biggest and most innovative players in the market that they were restructuring and laying off several hundred of their employees, the start-up team got to work.  Rather than passively wait for those employees who lost their jobs or were about to, to find their company on the internet or at the next career fair.   They created their own opportunity to engage in proximity recruiting.  Literally, they set up a taco stand outside the big player’s offices.   As those who were affected by the restructuring left the building, they were invited for a free meal – which included a chance to meet and greet the team and learn about job opportunities. 

Some might see this as a desperate and maybe even unethical move – because it can be said that the start-up’s aim was to steal talent from the other company.  Fair enough, but it’s already common practice for companies to steal clients from one another – that’s what astronomical sales and marketing budgets are for.  And more important, their strategy worked.    Since in the age of twitter nothing goes unnoticed or stays quiet, the start-up received free publicity – which in the end resulted in more people learning about them – and their innovative ways – and some eventually applied for a job.

The moral of this story is that the start-up used its small size to its advantage.   In a nutshell, they were nimble because they were quick, responsive and resourceful. 

You and I as job seekers can choose to follow their lead.  In the current economic climate being nimble – as employees or self-employed – is a necessity.

How are you thinking outside-the-box?  Or are you staying stuck, paralyzed by your fears, waiting for the calm to restore?

*Thank you sportsscribe at flickr for the photo

Be Where Like-minded Young Professionals Go for Advice

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It has been an active end of year. 

My first book is in the editing stage, my posts are appearing on more and more places in the blogoshpere (thanks everyone for your support!) and I’ve been invited to contribute to a number of blogging communities.  

As I shared with you earlier, I’m now part of the Women For Hire Be Gutsy Blog.  I’m also part of the blogging communities over at Damselsinsuccess and of course Brazencareerist.  To my absolute delight, recently I was invited to contribute to the Tools For Life blog at Qvisory.

Very much in line with my own vision, Qvisory is a nonprofit online advocacy and service that was created specifically to help 18 to 34 year olds take control of their money, their career and their health. I’m thrilled to be part of their team of volunteer contributors.  I’ll update my posts regularly.

In my first post I cover the pros of having a day job before going into business on your own.  Based on my own experiences as a serial entrepreneur and strategic job hopper, these are some of the tips you’ll find: 

1.    Make mistakes on someone else’s tab

2.    Receive free training

3.    Get ideas

Read more of: Why Bother With a Day Job When You Want to Be an Entrepreneur?

And no, this is not a self-promotion. My intention in sharing this with you is to pass on a few online resources which I’ve found valuable in more ways than one.  

Happy, healthy and abundant holidays everyone!

*Like the picture? Go to flickr

Working with your family: a privilege or a curse? (part 2 of 2)

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In an earlier post I shared with you my positive experiences while working in my mom’s business.        

To give you the full story, here are some of the major downsides of working with your family:

‘Mommy’s little girl’ syndrome:  Although it’s possible that you’ll achieve  almost instant trust with your family, you might have to work extra hard for other colleague’s respect and support.  Personally, while working in my mom’s business, at times I felt that my authority and competence were questioned simply because some of my colleagues saw me as mommy’s girl.

The shop’s always open:  Often times, for the sake of the business, shop-talk can take away time from sharing with your parents things outside of work.  It might even be the focus during family gatherings.  At times I felt that I was loosing access to the personal side of my mom because we were mainly talking shop.  However after some time I realized that nothing was lost.  It was more a case that our relationship was changing and evolving.

Increased tension:  Undoubtedly adding the business dimension to a family relationship is bound to increase the tension.  Be prepared for there to be differences of opinion on matters that impact more than at what time you can borrow the family car or at what time you can come back from a party.  In our family’s case the tension was manageable and did not have any lasting negative effects, but I can certainly see how working with parents can easily hurt relationships which are fragile to begin with.

Un-real expectations:  While the risks of working in a family business are real – it’s your inheritance that’s on the line – it’s possible that your family will be unrealistically kind and understanding towards you.  Personally, I experienced a mini-rude awakening when I went to work at other organizations, in the ‘real world’.  To begin with my bosses were not as nurturing and forgiving as only a parent can be.

Too comfortable to grow:  If your parents tend to be protective of you, it might lead to you getting too comfortable.  Although my mom is very demanding of me, I know that at the end of the day she’s bound to forgive me.  Knowing this made me a bit soft and at times I found myself not pushing myself as far as I tended to in other organizations.

If like me you have the option to work in your family’s business, the best approach would be to get experience in other organizations – say for 2 to 5 years – and then go carry your family’s torch.  The reasoning behind this is very much in line with what I wrote in an earlier post about college graduates with entrepreneurial spirits (like me) getting a day job before jumping in to their own business.

What do you think?

(Photo from Jill Greenberg’s exhibition End of Times)