Yes, we all have our eyes looking upwards, focusing on the next step(s) on the corporate and business ladder. And we all want to get there asap… but sometimes that focus on getting there as fast as possible and hinder us. We need to remember that a steady climb will often get us there earlier — and in better shape.
I remember early on in my career I was unbelievably anxious to become everything all at once.
Climbing the corporate ladder couldn’t happen quickly enough. I mean, I was in my early 20’s and I had stuff to do!
However, no matter how much or how hard I worked there was always one definite in life, time. You can’t speed it up.
It’s inevitable that you need to put in the hours, months and years before you have the real life experience and also credibility to be taken seriously.
It wasn’t until I finally listened to my mother did things start to change. There were two pieces of advice she shared with me throughout my anxious times when I thought I deserved more or was frustrated I wasn’t climbing the ladder fast enough.
1. We all start at the bottom
Everyone starts from the bottom and works their way up. You can’t skip that step. If you don’t learn how to do something yourself how will you know if the people you hire are doing it right? Plus, you’ve always got your own back if you need to step in.
2. Focus on learning
The second piece of advice literally changed my corporate career instantaneously. Learn as much as you can when you can. In fact I was taught to see my employer as paying me to learn and try new things. As a result I took on multiple projects and spent hours of my time (with their budgets) learning new things on the job.
Being young and ambitious can be dangerous if you’re not surrounded by the right people. When you’re young, one compliment can make you feel invincible and possibly more worthy and valuable than you really are. This is when your ambitious anxiety can take over and blind your focus and realty.
Value and respect is built over time. Some people achieve this in a shorter amount of time than others however their sacrifices to get there are often greater.
The fact of the matter is that time is not something you can control. There is nothing you can do to speed up time. All you can do is make the most of the time you have.
