The choice of your profession and level of success will impact your lifestyle, financial independence, and sense of self. Needless to say, it is crucial to be successful in your chosen field of work as it will eventually affect your quality life.
Successful people often take the road less traveled, endure adversities, and invest more effort than ordinary people. Success does not happen by accident or coincidence.
Here are the 10 pieces of career advice to help you propel your career to the next level.
1. Be Authentic
Nobody likes to work with a corporate robot in the workplace. Sheryl Sandberg has a great quote: “Motivation comes from working on things we care about, but it also comes from working with people we care for."
According to psychologist Brené Brown 1, building meaningful connections relies on being truthful. When people are willing to reveal their vulnerabilities in social situations, it allows them to connect and develop a closer relationship with others.
2. Be Passionate
Passion can be contagious in a positive way. When you are passionate, people hear you from your voice, see from your actions, and feel your momentum. You get intrinsically motivated in whatever you do.
When you possess a passion for your business, you will work tirelessly to create the best products or services demanded by the market. Customers can feel the authenticity from your marketing campaigns or initiatives; it builds brand loyalty and inspires your staff to deliver their best performances.
"The only way to do great work is to do what you love". Steve Job.
3. Be Focused
Do you know what common characteristics Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have? They are both high performers recognized by the world, paying attention and focusing on their area of expertise, technology, and the stock market, respectively.
Focus drives results, a crucial factor for start-up companies to drive revenue. Your employees need to juggle multiple tasks and contribute in various ways, and you need each of them to be "A players" to run their domain of expertise autonomously.
In AYP, we practice listing the "commit to 5" weekly to create successful work. When we have a goal, we focus entirely and drive for accomplishment. Consult our experts on how to do it. You will be amazed by the huge impact in a cumulative period of time.
4. Look Forward
What voices do you commonly hear when you catch up with your friends at a café? Complaining about life problems, how terrible their bosses are, or how bad their employee's performance is.
As a human being, it is easy to dwell on the past and not move forward. However, if we do it often enough, we develop mental blocks that prevent us from focusing on our tasks; this can hugely impact our performance.
Successful entrepreneurs visualize what will happen in the next 10 years, encouraging positive affirmation, and always look forward to creating value for their businesses.
5. Take Ownership
Confident people take ownership because it empowers them to feel good and responsible. Imagine that you are the owner of your work, and you own the authority to perform the best.
When you take ownership of your work, you feel more confident and gain respect. Why? In reality, most people would only take ownership if they gained credit from it.
Taking ownership requires great courage, especially during a crisis. By doinng so, you gain your people's heart and trust.
"Most people would learn from their mistakes if they weren't so busy denying them".
6. Be An Artist
Do you concur that following orders is way easier than being creative? By being conservative and following instructions, you wouldn't make a mistake.
Be creative and contribute your best crazy ideas for your company.
7. Stay Persistent
Most people cannot handle rejections or adversity well. In fact, solving complex tasks and making tough business decisions isn't easy at all.
World-famous basketball legend Michael Jordan has missed more than 9,000 shots and lost 300 games.
Ultimately, it is learning from his repeated failures that made him successful.
The ones who remain persistent are those who persevere, and keep at it until they are successful.
8. Embrace Your Fears
Are you afraid of not achieving your targets? Are you feeling apprehensive about trying out new business ideas?
Here's a new perspective for you to try out: You will never know the outcome if you never even give a try for it.
Turn your fear into possibilities. Your fear will soon become your greatest regret in the future. Hustle is the antidote to fear, so start moving now.
9. Don't Make Excuses
Making excuses is a "self-handicapping" behavior classified by psychologists. Why do people make excuses at work?
According to Freud 2, the primary cause of our excuse-making is a deeper, unconscious drive to protect our ego from experiencing fear and embarrassment.
Admitting our weaknesses is akin to confronting the inner monster in our hearts. However, this prevents us from attaining and fulfilling our true potential.
The unwillingness to admit our mistakes increases our anxiety and shame levels, putting up more obstacles on the road to success.
10. Enjoy The Moment
What can an employer do to motivate employees to enjoy every moment at work?
One suggestion is to create a "Ringing the bell" practice as an expressive way of communication to increase employees' motivation and build confidence among the team.
Congratulate those who won big deals for your company, and tell them directly how awesome they are. When you start celebrating success and embracing imperfection with encouragement, you will see positive changes in your employees.
When you feel passionate about your work, you will feel as though you are fulfilling a mission. And that alters how you view your work and everything you do.
Launch Your Career with Confidence Now!
You have read through the end. Ready to propel your career to the next level?
Dear employers, who could resist hiring someone who ticks all the 10 boxes?
Need more advice? We are more than just an HR advisory company.
- We offer EOR services (employer of record): hiring remote employees.
- We help global employers build business presences abroad without incorporating legal entities.
- We provide PEO services (Professional Employer Organization), and we are the experts on matters pertaining to employee benefits, workers' compensation, risk, and compliance.
Get a special HR solution customized for your company now
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