Career Advice From High Achievers
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I am always curious to know how people have succeeded in their careers so I love to gather quotes from those who have achieved much. Below is the advice from successful people from many different walks of life, representing several different career paths.


Choosing your career


Steve Jobs definitely knew success. Walter Isaacson, his official biographer, described him as the “creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.” With all of Job’s success, he never gave up on what he loved to do. He said “You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”


Adapting to Change


Ben Bernanke, the former Federal Reserve Chair reminds us to adapt to change quickly. He says “The history of technological innovation and economic development teaches us that change is the only constant. During your working lives, you will have to reinvent yourselves many times. Success and satisfaction will not come from mastering a fixed body of knowledge but from constant adaptation and creativity in a rapidly changing world. Engaging with and applying new technologies will be a crucial part of that adaptation.”


Overcoming failure


Sometimes we fear failure in our career but J.K. Rowling, author of the best-selling children’s book series Harry Potter, says that failure is to be expected. When talking to Matt Lauer on the Today show she said, “I don’t think we talk about failure enough. “It would’ve really helped to have someone who had had a measure of success come say to me, ‘You will fail. That’s inevitable. It’s what you do with it.”


Regularly Evaluating Your Career


Charlene Li, Founder Partner at Altimeter Group, said that a Harvard professor told her to evaluate her career about every 18 months. She went on to add, “It’s 18 months because that’s about how long it takes for a person to master a job — and begin to look for new challenges. Either you find those challenges in the existing job or you have to and find new opportunities. Regardless, that regular evaluation keeps you honest about managing your career, rather than passively going along with the situation that you are currently in.”


Look for opportunities


Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, and best-selling author advises those hoping to advance in their career to consciously look for opportunities to contribute. She writes, “Increasingly, opportunities are not well defined but, instead, come from someone jumping in to do something. That something then becomes his job.”


Dealing with challenges


Challenges often discourage us and keep us from advancing. Author and CNBC host Suze Orman, advises to navigate around them. She says “A wise teacher from India shared this insight: The elephant keeps walking as the dogs keep barking,” The sad fact is that we all have to navigate our way around the dogs in our career: external critics, competitors, horrible bosses, or colleagues who undermine. Based on my experience, I would advise you to prepare for the yapping to increase along with your success.”