Date: Monday, February 5th
Time: 4:59 PM
I’m speaking to a few people in this newsletter.
Those that are:
At the beginning of your career and have ambitions to make a quick impact
Feeling stuck and not progressing
Confused and stressed about what next step to take
I’m writing this post because I’ve been in the same place you are.
Once I figured out 5 simple lessons— my career went to places I once couldn’t imagine.
3 promotions in less than 3 years.
From a shy professional to a confident and trusted senior leader.
Solely responsible for a $10 million annual budget and the development of 18 commercial sales reps.
It took me years of making mistakes and slowly learning these lessons.
You don’t have to make the same mistakes or take as long as I did.
I’m sharing these valuable lessons so that you can maximize your career and get ahead of 99% of people.
The journey starts here:
Picture your career as a bus route and you as the driver.
Lesson One: You are the driver of your life and career
This first lesson is going to sound incredibly basic and obvious but it's an important one.
You are the driver of your life and career.
Don't ask someone else to sit in the driver’s seat for you.
It's such an obvious statement but having dedicated years to leading people — I saw this happen too often.
Most people are waiting for someone to come and hitch them along with a rescue truck.
It’s your job to take responsibility.
Take control and give your career what it needs to progress.
People won’t support you until you give them a reason to get on board.
Without taking responsibility, you're going nowhere.
Lesson Two: Prioritize what matters to you
Your starting point is where you're at. Your destination is what you decide.
The route won’t be linear.
You’ll be rejected. Someone else will get the promotion. You’ll make mistakes and lose customers. You’ll be fired or made redundant. Your business will fail.
You’ll set out on one route, realize you don’t like the direction it’s headed, and make a diversion.
There’ll be times when it feels like you’re stuck in a traffic jam or looping in roundabouts.
You might have to go back to point A — don’t let your pride get in the way.
— This is the journey. Embrace it.
Most people are on paths they don’t enjoy.
Following what they are told to do instead of pursuing what they enjoy.
The last thing you want to do is follow someone else’s route on a journey you don’t love.
Let your values guide the way.
Sustainable well-being and joy should always be intertwined with your choices.
Lesson Three: Be someone people want to help.
Bus drivers need to get passengers on board and so do you.
Colleagues, mentors, customers, suppliers. You name it.
How do you get people on the bus?
Consistency, trustworthiness, and relationship-building.
If you demonstrate:
Consistency = repeating the right behaviours
Trustworthiness = do what you say you will do
Prioritize relationships = develop valuable relationships
— You will never have to worry about being a valuable asset.
Whether it’s customers, colleagues, or hiring managers — those are the qualities that everyone values.
Part two of the series will dive deeper into what to do once you get people on board. I’ll also share one of the biggest lessons I learned in my career that helped me remain valuable.
Stay tuned.
Live Free,
Niall
Readers Reflection
What behaviour change can you make to become more consistent and trustworthy?
I’d love to hear what valuable lessons you’ve learned in your career. Share your responses in the comments below 👇
If you enjoy reading TFAB, feel free to share it with friends! Or click the ❤️ button on this post so more people can discover it on Substack 🙏
How I Can Help You
Combining my coaching certification with several years of leading professionals — I can help you:
Become a more valuable asset, earn more, and gain promotions
Make it easy for you to discover and attract the right culture for you to thrive in
Achieve sustained career satisfaction by aligning your career goals with what matters most to you