Young women are eagerly driven by their career and what the future will look like. At one of my freelance gigs, I am surrounded by out-of-college twenty-something-year-old women, where eighty percent of them are focused solely on climbing the corporate ladder. They want it and they want it now! The high salary, the fancy title, and the corporate corner office. Women are slowly focusing less on family life and more on their careers and gaining opportunities. More than men! Men are increasingly becoming mannies, while women are becoming more comfortable being the breadwinners and working sixty hours a week.
I found it remarkable listening to the twenty-something women until I realized I’m one of them in my own right. The only difference is, instead of wanting the fancy title, the cool office, and the high salary, I want the ENTREPRENEUR chair. I want to be my OWN BOSS. We do want what we want and we are willing to work high and low to get it.
So, here is my advice for dealing with your climb up the ladder of success.
Be ready . . . for the changes that are sure to come. Friends will leave, relationships will go away, people will call you names and say you’ve changed. This is life: We are not meant to stay the same person we were in high school or college.
Walk away . . . Don’t be afraid to walk away from bad situations that are not working out. You are on a road to success and do not have time to be bothered and torn down by negative distractions.
Take a break . . . Go on a vacation alone or with someone you respect whose company you enjoy. Life can get hectic and move fast. Never be afraid to slow down for a week’s vacation to Fiji.
Get out of your comfort zone and continue to learn. Take classes. Take risks. Attend plenty of events to gain relationships. Connect with other people who you can learn from and be inspired by. Do things you are afraid to do on a daily basis.
Visualize your goals . . . Write down what you want out of life. Write a letter to yourself that talks about your dream job, salary, where you want to live, and your bank account amount.