There's plenty of people out there who seem to have it all in their lives. They're in jobs they love, making a good amount of money, and seem to have that work/life balance thing down pat. How are they doing it? Here's some life advice you'd normally never hear from the people who have it all, and how to use it.
‘Do something you are passionate about’ Mary Barra
Mary Barra is the CEO of General Motors and her advice to have a happy and successful life.
In her own words ‘Do something you love. If you are doing something you are passionate about, you are just naturally going to succeed, and a lot of other things will happen that you don’t need to worry. ‘
This is a great piece of advice for anyone. When you are doing something you love, success is naturally going to follow. You love what you do so much that you are constantly improving, you are confident and happy.
‘Embrace failure’ J. K. Rowling
Even if you do something that you love, you are, inevitably, going to fail sometimes. Just like Rowling, who got rejected a great number of times before a publisher accepted her. But she never gave up and now she is one of the most popular authors on the planet. However, you shouldn't see it as a bad thing, but rather as an opportunity to learn and grow. Besides, life without failing means that you haven't tried.
“It is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all. In which case, you fail by default“.
‘Keep your eye on the prize’ Helena Foulkes
Sometimes you fail but that doesn’t mean that you should stop working towards your goals. Keep believing in your goals and keep working towards them. If you have this in mind, you`ll find a way to overcome every obstacle. Even Helena Foulkes, Executive Vice President of CVS Health Corporation, says so.
“You know what the finish line is that you really want to get to but, along the way, it’s not always pure joy. There are really hard moments. But if you keep your eye on the prize, it’s part of what drives you to get there”.
‘Be honest’ William Handcock
This may come as a surprise to you. Successful people can't be honest, or they'd never get anywhere in life would they? Not so, according to PR Manager William Handcock from Origin Writings and Writemyx: “An honest person is someone you're much more likely to trust' he says. 'Whether at work or at home, if you're honest with people, they're more likely to be open with you.”
Being honest is the best way to get ahead. You may rub some people up the wrong way, but the majority of people you meet will appreciate your candour. If you're honest, people are much more likely to stick around.
‘Patience is a virtue’ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patience_is_a_virtue) Multiple sources
It's an old saying, but it's true. If you're always frustrated because your call hasn't been answered right away, or no one's getting back to your email, then you're going to spend life irritated for no reason. Especially with your goals, you have to be patient and build up your success slowly and in a right way instead of doing it quickly and ending up with mistakes.
Other people have other things going on. Maybe they can't answer because they're in a meeting, or attending to their children. Imagine how it would be if the shoe were on the other foot. If you're patient, people will be patient with you. Just like that, if you are patient with yourself and your goals, you will have a lot less stress in your life and you might actually enjoy the journey.
‘Listen to yourself’ Mark Zuckerberg
A lot of people are going to tell you that you are wrong and that you should do things differently. When you are young, this is even more obvious. However, you should listen to their advice, analyze it and if you don’t feel like listening - just don’t. No one knows you better than you know yourself. No one can dispute that gut feeling that you have.
“The most important thing is to just have faith in yourself and trust yourself. When you’re young, you hear that you don’t have experience to do things, that there are people that have more experience than you. But I started Facebook when I was 19” - says Cynthia Robb, a Business writer at Academicbrits and 1Day2write.
There you have it. Follow this life advice and you can become much more successful and happier in your own life.