What I’ve Learned: Threadless Edition

re: Friends - Working with or for your friends can be amazing. It can also end in flames. In my case, it was a wholly positive experience. I wouldn’t trade any of it for anything, except maybe a little more.

re: Next Steps - If given the choice between an impressive entrance or a graceful exit, I will always choose the latter. I’ve said it before, but relationships are everything. Invest in the right people. The dividends pay out constantly.

re: Distance -  It’s tough.

re: Sharing - It’s important to have candid conversations with people who matter. This is obviously true for your personal life, but it’s just as important for your professional life as well. If you have ideas for how to make things better, share them. If you see a problem looming, light the signal fire. Keeping quiet isn’t doing anyone any favors and speaking up shows that you care. Just make sure to present your thoughts in a caring and objective way. The moment you raise your voice is the moment you lose your audience.

re: Aspirations - Personal goals matter. Set them. Even if you don’t hit them, you’ve spent your time striving for something. Striving is good.

re: Friendly Competition - Playing competitive games with coworkers is a surprisingly valuable team-building activity. Everyone secretly loves being part of a team and who doesn’t love winning? Want to get to know your coworkers? Play with them. Seeing how people lose is just as important as seeing how well they win.

re: Personal Growth - If there’s nothing about your current position that makes you a little scared or intimidated, you’re not pushing yourself hard enough. Not everyone agrees with me on this point, but life moves quickly. You’re going to be old soon. Nobody wants to read a boring memoir. You’re writing yours right now. Make it exciting.

re: Ambition - Comfort is death and stagnation is merely the process of slowly losing ground. If you get comfortable in your position, your days are numbered. An ambitious, hungry person will readily take your seat, and they won’t look back.

re: Karma - If you put positivity into the world, you will see it returned to you.  This goes for the way you treat your boss and the way you treat the barista who makes your Americano in the morning.  Treat everyone you meet with genuine respect and your life will never suck. 

re: Mimi - Working next to my wife everyday for several years was awesome. It took us a second to get the hang of it, but once we figured it out, it became one of the biggest perks of my job.  I hope we get to work together again.  She’s crazy smart, and awfully cute.

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