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A few weeks ago I turned 36 years old.
I think this is the first time that I say my age openly on the internet, and it is that until a few months ago I thought that being young and having a good professional career was the perfect combo to take over the world.
But the reality is different. Being young is amazing, but having experience and some fang is much better. I would have liked to have this wisdom at 21, that someone would have told me: “Georgie, look, the bottom line is that you’re watering it” or “Okay, Georgie, that’s fine father” … but it didn’t happen.
Hope these 10 tips help someone and they are very happy and successful!
1. Nothing is (so) important
They taught us that any situation in marketing It can be chaotic and things work out with more chaos. That’s not going to change – until Gen Z rules the world – but what can change is the way you take it.
No heartache will make the problem go away. Do not worry. Don’t get hooked. Nothing happens. Breathe and learn. I promise you that no difficulty is so great: everything will take its way.
2. Say NO
Not always the best answer is YES. When you are facing a complex situation (bomberazos, delivery date, etc.) and you have already exhausted all the possibilities, it is totally valid to say NO.
Maybe at first your answer will generate some problems, but in the long run an honest NO is better than a YES that is not accurate. When you must give a negative, explain why and find a solution in which everyone involved feels comfortable.
3. Self recognition
When we get out of college we are used to applause, grades, and cheers for passing the accounting exam.
The marketing world is not like that. Don’t expect your boss to hug you every time you do something right or for a client to send you an email thanking you for the extra hours you gave to their project.
Sometimes recognition is implicit in the day to day. Are you giving your 150%? Are you calm with your performance? In the professional world many times “No news, good news.”
4. Time for you
Yes, the 20s are the stage in which you have to professionally demonstrate what you are made of. Yes, you will have to wake up, get to the office before everyone else, make copies, act as driver, maid, companion, assistant and dog walker; And besides all this, you will have to find time for yourself.
When I say time for you, I do not mean to throw yourself on the couch to watch Netflix, I mean to do things that you are really passionate about and make you feel happy and fulfilled. It sounds a bit cheesy, but one day you will realize that time passes very quickly and that you could have read more, learned to play an instrument, spend more time with your family, or just take more care of yourself. All these activities will give you a lot of peace and tranquility in your 30s.
5. The importance of instinct
Listen to your instincts. 80% of the time you will be right. For better or worse. In life there are things that you will understand easily, others that you will not be able to understand at that moment and there are things that you will never understand.
Do you remember that time a new client gave you a bad feeling? Or when that new great idea that all of Mexico was waiting for left you with a sense of deja vu? In 8 of those 10 situations, the mixture between your mind and heart will have the answer. Trust you, kid.
6. The importance of relationships
“I don’t come here to make friends, I come to work.” Ok, let’s relax that reality show competitor attitude and think: how much time of your life do you actually spend at the agency? Let’s say 8 hours a day (delusions!) Multiplied by 5 days a week, by 4 weeks a month by 12 months a year …
The least we can do is try to have fun, create healthy friendships, tolerate to the intolerable and even to indulge when it is allowed (we all know cases like this, and even those that end in bodorrio).
7. Save
This is self-explanatory, yet it is one of the most difficult to learn. In the 20s my maximum was to buy the “it” bag of the moment, go out to eat with my friends in the best places in the area, travel the world … Anyway, enjoy the fruits that my hard work brought me. in the form of fortnights.
Soon you will realize that that very expensive rent in the Countess could well have been used in the down payment of a house, that omitting some nights of partying could have helped to have a mattress for emergencies, among others.
Nobody takes it away from us when we dance, but it is time that we begin to look at our future (even if it sounds like an insurance company).
8. Nothing is forever
“If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” Nobody knows what tomorrow holds. Maybe in a few weeks they will offer you the position you have always dreamed of, maybe you get bored with advertising and go globetrotting, maybe a television maxim will discover me and I will become the new great sensation of the moment, possibly it will bite me a dog and for not having saved I am furious.
Anyway, what I mean is that we can’t take anything for granted, we don’t know for sure what’s going to happen tomorrow, so let’s take it easy and check our priorities, okay?
9. The routine of inner peace
It’s so easy to get addicted to work, believe that NOBODY can make it as meticulously perfect as we can, and refuse to delegate; believe that the client is the most important thing, and let the agency end up killing our creativity.
Let’s remember to sleep our hours, take a shower that encourages us, eat at our times, give time to family, friends and flirt at the moment, exercise (even if it is walking to the coffee machine) and feel full.
10. Uniqueness
In your early 20s you will realize what things you are really good at and what you are not so good at.
What talents make you special? What makes you different? What gives you value? Focus on those things and polish them. That is what makes you unique. There is a long road ahead and it is much more beautiful and simple when you are yourself.
I hope you liked my post. What would you say to your younger SELF? #SeanSerios
Thank you very much for reading me.