10 career mistakes I regret

“It's good when a person learns from his mistakes. But it’s better to learn from the mistakes of other people. ” - Warren Buffet







Life rarely develops as you expect. Because we are just humans. And people make mistakes. Maybe this material will help to avoid at least some.

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Over the past decade, I have gone from a student to an entrepreneur, then to a freelancer, and later moved up the corporate ladder to a blogger and teacher.



Yes, this is not a normal career path , and this is absolutely not what I expected. But life rarely develops as you expect.



Because we are just people. And people make mistakes. I recently received a letter from the reader. He asked about the biggest mistake of my career. It made me think. In writing. I thought a lot.



And after writing more than 2,000 words about mistakes in my career, I thought, "Wow, dude, you made every mistake yourself."



In any case, I decided to streamline the top 10 of my most obvious mistakes. I hope that at least one of these points will be useful to you.

1. Assuming your career is linear.

This is by far the most important lesson I learned. First, I learned that assumptions are not always bad. We often charge too much of ourselves without asking or analyzing.



It is considered that a linear career is a mistake. Who ever said that this is so? When I think about it, I have no idea why I thought it was true.



It all starts like this:



• You get an education.

• Do an internship.

• Stay on the same job for three years.

• Try to become a low-level manager.

• In a few years, you are moving forward.

• And, if you stop, you need to move to another company to a higher paying position.



Or:



• You are a freelancer.

• You start doing work for free.

• You continue to do this for years.

• You cannot make ends meet.

• You get a job.

• You quit a job because you hate it.

• You start your own business.

• And every year you increase prices a little.



One last thing: you are an entrepreneur, you started a business, you grow, you think you are great. You spend more than you earn, trying to attract investors. They take possession of you, and you all fuck up.



Once again: why do we need to do this? It is so predictable. Life is too short for boring things.



You can speed up the learning curve. You can focus on the cost. Learn more, earn more. Try to make a jump. And sometimes when you study, you take a step back. But this is normal, because in the future you will earn more and succeed .



Economic development involves rapid growth. For the first time in history, many companies (not all) do not look at age, gender and race - they are interested in what you can do.



How to become interesting for the employer? Learn faster. Indeed, now, more than ever, we have access to information. Use it.

2. The priority of money

I did it. And, if you do not do the same, three things can happen:



1. You will be forced to do work that you hate.

2. You sell a business or become a freelancer.

3. You will agree to work and destroy your soul.



There is nothing wrong with that, but all this does not give you stability. I'm not trying to stop you from making money.



But, instead of focusing on money, why not focus on other, more important things? For example: training, work experience, a position that interests you, concern for the lives of others?



There is only one simple rule to save both money and freedom: to live within our means. And yes, it is hard.



If you want to know more about how not to depend on money, please read Seneca (“Stoic Letters”).

3. A waste of time

You won’t believe how many evenings and weekends I’ve lost while watching TV, wandering around shopping senselessly or just hanging around.



Of course, entertainment is good, but you shouldn’t relax and relax every free minute you have.



Listen, this is your life and this is your career. Take it seriously.



May I ask you? What can you do? What is so special about you?

If you do not know the answer, it's time to change something. Start learning, practicing, doing something. Do something that will turn you into an expert in any field.

4. Choice of work in the industry

In the last decade, I tried my luck in a number of industries, including the hotel industry, fashion and banking. But in recent years I have been striving for consulting and education.



I wish I could do this before. Work in each industry has its own enormous costs. You need to understand how the industry, the market, to understand people and their unwritten rules.



Most people decide who they want to be (or they simply obey the profession). And when they try to find a job, they don’t care where they work while they get paid for it. Sometimes they want to be entrepreneurs or freelancers, and then they stop worrying about money.



But this is an ineffective strategy in the long run, because you will never become an expert in something. Instead, choose one or two industries that you like, and strive to achieve perfection in them.

5. Comfort zone

"I worked a lot and now I am fine." Think again. You can never be completely sure.



Life is competition. The next person waits patiently until you screw up, and then he bursts in and takes your place.



It's true? Well, honestly, I do not know. But I am sure that many people think that this is so.



Why do I think so? Because it does not allow me to relax. After all, it is important for me not to go out of my comfort zone.

6. Do not ask too many questions

Yes, you are a good person. We understood. But do not be too good.



Other people are waiting for the right moment to take your place, push you, and, ultimately, you will be left with nothing. You don't have to be an idiot. Just know that when you are in business, this is business.



It's all business - art, sports, media, work relationships, colleagues, call it what you want.



If you want to do something, ask yourself what it is. Want to move forward ? And no one will let you do it. What did you expect?



“Hey, you are such an amazing person. Here is a free bag of money. ” This will never happen.

7. Do not follow your interests.

In the arguments on this topic there are always two camps. People who say that you must follow your dream, and those who will tell you that you should not do this.



The funny thing is that people who say that you should not follow your dream do not do it themselves. Do you understand? Why do they urge others to follow their dreams? And vice versa.



Now I don’t really like the question itself - and I don’t like the discussion on this. But all I can say is:

Life is not infinite. Do you really want to waste your time doing what you hate?

8. Do not listen to people.

When a few years ago I received a master’s degree in administration, I thought it was cool. I did not listen to more experienced people than me. This is a big mistake.



Practice differs from the book. I did not understand this.



Now I prefer to be humble and listen to everyone. In addition, this means that I have to listen to less experienced people. But they often have great ideas.

9. Want too much. And immediately

You cannot make giant leaps every day. And at the very beginning I specifically tried to move too fast.



But now I am more patient. Before I started blogging, I wrote hundreds of essays and two large dissertations.



And I worked in the trenches of business and marketing for many years before I allowed myself to train. No one has ever seen the work I have done. And that's fine because we learn.

10. Do not ask for help.

Maybe you are too proud. Maybe you think that people will think that you are stupid. Perhaps you are not so brought up.



But, if you do not ask for help, one thing is guaranteed to happen: you will never get it.



Almost everything in life is the result of the work of the team . Even if you are fully self-employed, you need people. And they need you.



“Single” success stories are fake.



Whenever it seems to you that you cannot cope yourself, try to reach others. Reach out to colleagues, partners, friends, relatives. They will help you, otherwise they are not your team.

Finally: this is your career!

Why not take it seriously? This is the only thing I missed a few years ago. I was too passive.



If you find yourself dissatisfied with your career, or how it proceeds: change everything. This is the only universal advice.



And do it today. Do you know, why? If you don't do it today, when?



Both you and I both know the answer to this question.



PS We recommend another useful article on the subject of work on yourself - 8 clear signs of a successful life, not related to money or fame .



The author of the translation is Vyacheslav Davidenko, the founder of the TESTutor company.