As the year draws to an end, I come to sit and think about the events, people, and feelings that gone by too quickly this year. I thought it was oddly appropriate to reflect after reading The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger. Indeed, 2020 has been one hell of a ride. I’ve decided to pen down the lines I resonated with from the book.
Surround yourself with people who are good.
Graduating this year was hard. Trying to find a start a career was harder. Rejection emails keep coming and the silence that comes after each application becomes daunting. I laughed and joked about the job market but my heart was anxious. Statements such as ‘times are hard’ or ‘everyone is in a similar state’ fall through with every Linkedin notification, reminding me to congratulate a friend who got a job. I doubted myself and questioned my capabilities. I want to say that it’s normal to feel terrible and it is a difficult situation. I only managed to pull through with friends and ex-colleagues who check in on me and remind me of my worth and capabilities.
Ask questions you need to ask, admit without apology what you don’t know, and learn what you need to learn as quickly as you can.
Stepping into industries that are unfamiliar to you, this is a line I hope resonates with every fresh hire in their jobs. In the working world where everyone is likely more experienced and knowledgable than you are, don’t have to put on a front and pretend you know everything. It is easy to stay quiet and let things pass you by. But ask. Ask why things are done the way it is; ask about their thought process when completing a task; ask to set expectations and for feedback. This will help accelerate your understanding of the company and your work. Being fresh shouldn’t be used as an excuse but a reason to spur you to work hard and study what you need to know for your role and learn the ropes quickly.
Do what you need to do to make it better.
It is easy to utter ‘I don’t have time/energy etc’ and convince ourselves that ‘good enough’ is good enough when it comes to work. Rather than seeing work as a to-do list to check off, work is more like plasticine that we play with as kids. You can always mould it to be better. I have been guilty of just wanting to get things done quickly rather than trying to do what I need to do to make that piece of work a better one.
This relentless pursuit for betterment is a mindset is not about perfectionism at all cost but about creating an environment in which you refuse to accept mediocrity.
The importance of taking responsibility when you screw up.
We will make mistakes and it is impossible to avoid them. But it is possible to acknolwedge those mistakes, learn from them, and set an example that it is okay to get things wrong sometimes. It is however not okay to undermine others by lying about something or covering for yourself first. It is incredibly humbling to witness leaders at workplaces admitting to mistakes, rectifying them, and moving on instead of harping on which other person is at fault. They do their best to not let their ego get in their way of making such decisions.
Once you have many of them, they’re no longer priorities.
As said by Iger, priorities are the few things that you’re going to spend alot of time and alot of capital on. You will undermine their significance by having too many, and nobody (not even yourself) is going to remember them all. After I graduated in May, I wanted to embark on 4810189 things. I was going nowhere with anything because there was no prioritization. Everything seem important and pulling me in different directions. What I realized is I can have numerous interests or I am easily influenced by friends to add items to what I want to accomplish, but I should only choose maximum three that I want to focus on each time. This helps to manage my own time and energy.
I have been extraordinarily lucky despite this pandemic year — to graduate, to start my career, to be healthy and safe. Counting the blessings I have to strengthen myself for the upcoming year.