35 unique lessons from 10 years of career
Such is life, my friend :)
Hello hello my friend,
On 8th April 2015, I joined my first ever full-time job.
Which means, I completed a decade of formal work experience earlier this month.
So I sat down to reflect on some of the life (especially career) lessons these 10 years have taught me, that might be helpful to you too. Enjoy:
Please work hard. Even if your current job is not your dream job. Wherever you go, you take yourself with you. Which means, you will carry the work ethics of your current job to your dream job. It is your job to make sure they are worth carrying.
No one wakes up one morning very certain of what their passion is. Passion is like a flower, it opens up one petal at a time, one day at a time, and continues blossoming infinitely. What you gotta do, instead, is to follow your curiosity. What is something you cannot get out of your head? If you do the thing that you are lovingly curious about every single day, cash and customers follow. Trust me on this.
Nothing is worth escaping your physical and mental health on. Read that again please.
People will always make fun of you. If you follow the herd. Or if you do your own unique thing. So why not do your own unique things? Haters gonna hate. Doers gonna do nonetheless.
With the right intent and a positive frame of mind, anything (and I mean anything) is possible.
Opportunities do not send you an email reminder 24 hours in advance before they come over. You gotta build the muscle of showing up towards the things you feel nudged towards.
If you want money, growth or any other career opportunity, ask for it. The world is rigged in favour of people who let others know what they deserve.
Be the person who figures out solutions, instead of staying married to problems. Problems are like carbon dioxide, they exist along with oxygen. What you gotta do is look for oxygen anyway. One provides you with life, the other one chokes you. The dance of solutions and problems is exactly like that.
Work will always be there. However, if someone loses a parent or a family member or is going through a tough time emotionally, be there for them.
Also, be there for the person who has just gotten a promotion or is going through a great time. Celebrate them. Be genuinely happy for them. People need audience more than applause. It ain’t do no harm to you bro to be there for them <3. Also, please know that the energy you give out into the world is the energy you attract.
Respect your boundaries. That is how you teach others to respect them too.
All advice that comes from well-meaning colleagues is not etched in stone. Everyone has different perspectives and experiences that stem their advice. Your role is to look at your values while you evaluate their vision. Everyone’s life is different. You decide based on what is right for you.
I am not a fan of 70-80 work weeks. But I am certainly a fan of focus. If you work with focus for extended periods of time, a lot of jobs would require less than 40 hours.
If you love your work, you will be working even when you are washing dishes. I once read that when people fall in love, they are willing to be devastated. Love for work ain’t any different.
Always invest (or save) at least 30% of what you make. My personal standard is 50% of what gets credited. NO exceptions. It makes you the master of your habits and money. Otherwise you’d be a slave to money even if you make 8-9 figures a month.
Always build an emergency fund for at least a year. No, you aren’t going to do that just for 6 months. Thank you.
Resist the urge to work on the weekends. Like we spoke before, work doesn’t get over ever. You have to, have to plan your work like the VIPs have their plans for days or weeks laid out. I learnt a lot from Robin Sharma’s weekly design system and still implement it. (You may google the term and use it now :))
The goal of work is not to stop working. The goal of your work is to get to a place where you work on your conditions and choice, not because you hate it but you have bills to pay.
Never, ever, ever ship something that you are not proud of. Your work is your signature. Sloppy work = sloppy you. Something I do for my work of book writing: Step 1: Write. Just write bad, but write. Step 2: Let it rest for at least 24 hours (ideally 48). Step 3: Edit. Step 4: Sit on the couch and edit it on iPad/phone and not laptop. Step 5: Ship it. It ain’t easy, but I haven’t found any other definition of building a strong personal brand.
Never cheat. Of everyone else, you have to be able to meet the person in the mirror with utmost dignity. Please don’t lose their respect.
If you have been working with someone for 2 days, 2 weeks or 2 years or even 20 years, always admit when you have made a mistake. There is no upside bigger than speaking your truth even when (especially when) your voice shakes.
Be grateful for your work. Now. It puts food on your table. You just need one visit to a railway station or a bus stop or a place where people sleep near the footpath, to see how blessed you are.
Never be seen complaining, not even to yourself, said Marcus Aurelius’ Mom to him. Your complains become your self-fulfilling prophecies.
Eat on time. Move for at least 3 minutes after ever 30 minutes. Sit in correct posture. Have the right light. Drink a lot of water. This is the OG corporate skincare and healthcare routine no one would tell you.
All the days I have done good work in the past 3,650 days is when I began the morning on a piece of paper: What will make me win the day today? And write 3-5 to-dos. All the days I haven’t been productive are the days I haven’t written down my to-do’s on a piece of paper. There’s a pattern right there. Paper and pen win hands down.
No work, presentation or a conversation with a boss is a good enough excuse to order in, because you “didn’t have time”. Khichdi or dal rice or curd rice take less than 5 minutes to prepare. Less time than even choosing to order! Protect your physical energy and health because that is the most important thing in the universe, baby.
I am the person who carries home made food to team lunches, because once you are addicted to high vibration food cooked at home, everything else puts your energy down. I don’t care if people talk behind my back or not, but in the strange world we live in where daaru is normal but dal rice is looked at with raised eyebrows, I would doubt anyone’s qualm anyway.
If you are curious to learn, you will always figure out a way to enjoy your work. This applied to me even when I hated my job.
Never gossip about any of your colleagues or your boss with anyone else. A, because the world is small, b, because gossip drains you of your power, and c, if you really wish to change someone, boss babes and boss boys learn to communicate in a respectful manner.
Understand people. Do not think they are against you. They are pro themselves. A lot of your communication would shift for the better.
When I was an internal auditor in my first job, my manager taught me a life lesson that is still super useful: Be friendly, but don’t be friends. Translated: Be nice to people but don’t be vulnerable, especially with people who are your work buddies.
My first team leader used to lead two zones (Delhi and Mumbai) while working from Delhi (and sometimes travelling to Mumbai), but he was always in office before 9.30 am, and left office sharp at 6.30 pm 95% of the days. Despite the fact that most other zone leaders used to lead just one zone. And, he was the most effective and one of the best leaders I have worked with. Lesson: Time management is very much possible. You can complain about “so much work”, or you can do good work and go on with your life.
If you are a good person, a good employee and a people pleaser, you would be required to stay back in the job even after you had resigned. Most cases it does not make sense. Once you have decided to move on, note down the reasons you made the decision. Visit them often. And then, don’t budge, baby.
The world, no matter how much “AI-ed” it has become, is still a world of referrals. And referrals travel through the work you do. So, my buddy, do good work, and you will have a lot of good work.
At any point of time, I am ghostwriting for at least 3 CXOs from different industries, and keep talking with other CXOs often. There is one and only one common factor of all their successes: Build systems. Design your life. So that those systems become automatic, and your mind space is freed up for the next challenge you are designed to achieve.
2 Raw One Liners:
Run away often.
People will always have an opinion. But you get to live your life with yourself. Your job then is to make sure others' opinions don't cloud your inner voice.
3 Real Gratitudes:
I worked from Mumbai from Thursday-Saturday this week. Stayed at my cousin’s home, worked from his office. It was technically a work trip, but I am literally enjoying here like a vacation. So I’m grateful to be able to enjoy these privileges with family. More on that next week :)
The sea. I walked at the Dadar beach only, but, people like me who are devoid of sea, sea heals my friend. It does heal.
View of the Sea link and Shivaji park (yes we are doing a Mumbai edition today), but I have a picture for you too :)
Alright then, my friend.
Have a great weekend.
Stay raw, stay real, and never stop reading.
Nishtha Gehija
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Instant access ebooks for your reading, and spend some time with yourself:
The Corporate Life Handbook: The book everyone working a corporate job needs :)
The Career Changing Guide: My bestseller so far :)
How to Deal with Heartbreak: Because, life happens :(
Every Writer Needs to Read this: I wish I had this one, when I was starting out as a writer
This is What You are Looking for (Paperback): Small Life Lessons for a Happier Life