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What is the best advice you have ever received from someone you truly admire?

There are so many things we are told as young adults we have to follow, sometimes it sticks with us, but sometimes, it doesn't. What have you learned that's allowed you to keep going and find what you love doing?

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Elizabeth’s Answer

One of the best pieces of advice I received was while I was on an internship in college. I'll paraphrase it as it related to a project I was working on that continued to "fail" parameter after parameter. But the general idea boiled down to this: Failure of a project doesn't mean failure of the person, it simply means you disproved your hypothesis.

Learn to fail gracefully, and be willing to learn from your "failures".
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Nancy’s Answer

One piece of wisdom that really stuck with me came from a friend's grandfather. He used to say, "With these horses, ye shall plow this field!" This nugget of wisdom can be applied to any project. Sure, you might wish for things to be different, like having more team members or different ones. But the reality is, you've got the team you've got. Your task is right there in front of you, waiting to be done. So, it's up to you to figure out the best way to get the job done with the team you have.
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Erica’s Answer

I once had a mentor tell me, "We can do for today what would feel impossible to do for the rest of our lives." This has helped me persevere when times are difficult, whether due to a big project at work or a family crisis. It is easier to keep perspective when I remind myself that the challenges are temporary. If I had given up in my career when things were difficult, I would have missed out on many opportunities to learn and grow.
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Mario’s Answer

The best piece of advice that I have ever gotten from someone that I admire was to remember that as long as I’m putting passion and dedication to the opportunities and activities in my life, the success will come naturally. As long as you worry about doing your best at what is in front of you then the awards, opportunities, respect, etc will come naturally. There’s no need to force things, timing, and opportunities!
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Aman’s Answer

A close friend of mine shared her grandfather's mantra with me: "Grow where you're planted." This advice hit differently during a tough time when I considered moving to a big city in search of more opportunities. Instead, I decided to invest in my local community. By volunteering and collaborating with local artists in my town, I not only expanded my network but also discovered a wealth of inspiration right at my doorstep. It reminded me that sometimes the best opportunities come from nurturing the resources and relationships you already have.
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Robert’s Answer

A long time ago there was a guy named Bruce Williams who hosted (part of) a late-night talk show called TalkNet. I was working at IBM building hard disks on the graveyard shift the summer before starting college, and planning out my future. I called in to get Bruce's thoughts on my carefully thought-out plans. He laughed at me and told me that you can't plan out your life, you have to take it as it comes. I was mad at him for this, but time proved him right.

I started out as a chemical engineer and though I was very good at that, I didn't stick with it because I didn't like it. I ended up a pretty long way away from my plans, instead writing (chemistry) books and repairing scientific instrumentation. But I'm happy now!

I'd tweak his advice a bit, and tell anyone that life is like going down a river in a canoe: you'll have varying amounts of control, and so it is good to have some idea of where you want to go...just floating down the river without direction doesn't work well. But you can't paddle back upstream (go back in time; no do-overs), and sometimes the river will control your path more than you can hope to. You have to adapt both to what you learn along the way, and what life throws at you, and make the best of it. But Bruce's was still the best advice I ever got.
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Amariah’s Answer

Occupy yourself with a variety of activities and form solid friendships with people and discuss your individual interests. You might get ideas. Also, read, read, read--as reading does wonders. Learn as much as you can. Broaden your horizons.
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Aoife (Ee-fa)’s Answer

Seek out a reliable mentor. This could be a colleague from your workplace, a scholar from academia, or a contact from your network. Ensure that this individual is someone who can provide you with sincere guidance and possesses the necessary knowledge and experience to offer you beneficial advice.
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Michael’s Answer

"Send the elevator back down" as you progress in your career you will have achievements, but it's truly important recognize those who have done the work with you and supported you in your achievement. It's unlikely that you did this on your own in a management role. So as your career grows, make sure to give the thanks to those who helped you, and give opportunities back to help others grow their careers.
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Brandon’s Answer

(Keep moving forward) in a sense always try and learn everything you can from people, never complain about the task you have been given just learn from it and keep a positive attitude.
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