When it comes to career, I’ve learned a lot from mistakes and mentors. Some of my key takeaways below

1/ In the end, it’s all about the people and your relationship with them. Who you work with (or don’t work with), your customers, mentors, mentees. Seek people who inspire and guide you.

2/ Speaking of which, treat everyone with respect. You’re not going to like everyone you work with, and not everyone you work with will like you. But it’s possible to treat everyone with respect, and to be respected by almost* all.

*shit happens

3/ Understand the importance of communicating expectations. Often people get mad, not because of an incident, but because they didn’t expect it. Be honest and truthful, which in itself is a skill that gets honed over time.

4/ Communication is a skill set you will work on your whole life. The people you work with, the medium and terminology you use will constantly change. You will change. Reflect early and often on how you communicate. Make sure it represents the best version of you.

5/ Be intentional about self reflection. What motivates you? What do you hate? What are you good at? When are you productive? There are infinite number of career choices, but you won’t find the one for you unless you know yourself.

6/ Keep learning. By reading, listening, and meeting new people. Learn about other people’s work. Expand your knowledge by learning about random things that interest you. Deepen your skills by studying subjects you know well.

7/ Be open. Be open to new ideas, and opportunities. Some of the best ones will come from unexpected places, and they are easy to miss. Listen. Reflect. Make sure you’re not too overwhelmed for this.

8/ Take care of your mental and physical health. Physical health will help w mental. You are a different person when you are well rested, supported, and positive compared to when you are tired, alone, and feeling negative. If you are the latter, ask for help.

9/ Learn to ask for help. My hack for learning this was by offering to help others. Some people who asked for help made me feel good, others didn’t. Understanding the difference helped me overcome my hesitation to asking for help. Giving more than receiving also helps me sleep.

10/ Shouldn’t be this low, but work f***in hard. Not just for others but for yourself. There are great opportunities out there waiting, that you just have to work for. Plus, everyone respects a hard worker. If you’re not motivated to work hard, figure out why and fix it.

11/ To make the most of your time, look for opportunities where you are really good at some things (ideally better than anyone) and get to learn new things (skillsets, etc) or meet new people that can help you achieve your goals.

12/ Set goals. There are many great tools, techniques, and strategies out there. Doesn’t matter what you pick (or don’t) as long as it’s working for you. Ideally set both short and long term goals and reflect on them often.

13/ Make friends. People you can go to when things go bad, or you need advice, opinions, or just someone to listen. These are the most important people in life (family included here). These are the people you talk to at turning points in your career.

14/ Be yourself. Role models are helpful but the best version of you is not someone else. Enjoy the process of figuring out who you are because I don’t think it ends.

If you’re curious about what I’m up to these days: https://twitter.com/yoheinakajima/status/1354129782057779205