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MENTOR MONDAY:Ā Which of the following do you believe has the most significant impact on your professional success?

Iā€™ve got to go with the lifelong learning mindset,Ā which was not my default setting, by the way. I actually had to learn to be a lifelong learner.

Iā€™m not sure when exactly I realized I needed to changeĀ my approach to learning, but I do recall what it was like before this magical transition.

It was probably around age 18 (you know, the superhero age), when I believedĀ I had learnedĀ everything I ever needed to know, and anything beyond those basics neednā€™t worry me. This was not only a ridiculous train of thought but also a terrifying one since my main source of information up until that point was throughĀ theĀ Las Vegas public education system.

Luckily, I embraced lifelong learning while my brain was still developingĀ and haveĀ radically improved my lifeā€™s trajectory as a result.


I used to believe there was a great deal of fortune involved, mixed with the networking aspect, in order to boost rapport and be the ā€œbestā€ prospect for a business. However, it has become an evident truth that none of this is possible unless there is a mindset of lifelong learning. Otherwise, it seems to feel more of a type of dream chasing (or chasing the life someone else is living) rather than understanding what it takes to be better and grow from a more learned perspective.


First off, I have to say that all of the options listed are A+ šŸŽÆ. Clearly somebody who knows her stuff making this poll!

Without hesitation, though, I choseĀ a mindset for lifelong learning.Ā It starts there IMO. Iā€™m lucky that trait comes fairly naturally to me. On the other hand, Iā€™ve really had to work on ā€œleveraging my personal talents and leaning into my strengths.ā€ Iā€™m a perfectionist and look for external validation constantly, so itā€™s taken a lot of self-work to get to a space where Iā€™m able to acknowledge my unique individual strengths and focus on them (versus just saying yes to everything).


Lifelong learning is the key to a successful career. It keeps you updated and informed on the changing businessĀ environment.


I believe that a mindset of lifelong learning has the most significant impact on my professional success. Rather than just focusing on my existing skills, I think that a mindset of always being ready to learn is essential in allowing myself to expand andĀ become proficient in other skills. When I was an intern back in college, my preceptor would always tell me, ā€œYou donā€™t know what you donā€™t know!ā€


I believeĀ it has been a combination of mindset of Lifelong learning and networking.Ā I agree with Matt, I think at the root, you need a willingness and eagerness to learn and to improve to be a strong candidate for any opportunity. You can always learn a skill, but you can not teach someone who is not willing to learn.Ā 


I do think it is a combination of everything. In my experience though it has primarily been leveraging my unique skill set and a little bit of luck (though Iā€™ve seen luck be the biggest player to many individuals). When I try to approach a job the same as those around me, I find that I am less successful. We each bring out own unique spin and thoughts to a position and that adds an element that canā€™t be replicated, and will lead to future successes.Ā 


I think itā€™s a mix of the Lifelong Learning but also Leaning Into Your Skillsets. I have always found learning challenging and feel that at school we were never really taught ā€˜howā€™ to research and learn (it was always just ā€œGo to the libraryā€). Now in my ā€œadultā€ life I have a few techniques, but itā€™s been very much trial and error.Ā 


Understanding of who you are, your strong and, the most important, weak parts, working of them and being a better version of yourself - the best thing that i realized and that had a huuuge impact on my personal and professional life.Ā 


Finding something that I liked to do, and learning as much as I could about it.


To add - being resilient amidst challenges and being able to learn from mistakes.Ā 


Lifelong learning is a crucial part, but I think that Leaning into your strengths (while recognizing your weaknesses) is just as important. We should never always be the ā€˜smartest personā€™ in the room, if so, we are in the wrong rooms. I seek to surround myself with talented, smart individuals who can complete a team where each team member knows their role, but has opportunities to grow.Ā Ā 


Knowing who you truly are and being okay with that.Ā  Always strive to better yourself for you, not others.


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