My first entry-level professional job paid enough for a decent apartment with a sofa and TV. As far as I was concerned, this was the good life, and planning for the upcoming weekend was about as far out as I could comprehend.
Lucky for me, I married a brave, visionary woman who was wise and encouraging and saw the greater potential for our future that I couldn’t always see for myself. She believed in me, nudging me along through my doubts and insecurities. (Also, it didn’t hurt that she was studying to become a psychologist.)
In the first fifteen years of our marriage, I progressed from a lowly administrative position to a senior executive. Which only goes to show that we are capable of far more than we think — but we have to take action to fully realize that potential.
Here are the five most important lessons that helped propel me in those early years, and can have a dramatic effect on your career path, too.
1. Time is going to pass anyway, so you might as well do something worthwhile.
It sounds so obvious, but in order to think about the future, you must start with the basic acceptance of the passage of time. Whether it’s an MBA or a college diploma, it’s tempting to put off the hard work of building credentials that could improve your career options. What starts as “I can’t because I’m too busy” soon becomes “I can’t because there’s a new baby” or “Now there’s three kids.” You can either put the time in now and benefit for years to come, or regret it later and wonder where all the time went.
Click here to get the other four life-altering career lessons over at The High Calling!
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