50 Career & Self Development Tips: Welcome to the New You!

“Find an Occupation You Love and You'll Never Work a Day in Your Life.’

-Confucius.

Laugh at your failures and shortfalls and you will enjoy your profession and live a much longer happier life! Self-deprecation is an admirable trait. Find humor in all stressful situations. This instantly change your state and will help you to focus on turning a crisis into an opportunity.

Comedy is often a result of tragedy plus time. With your business career truncate the time and find humor in your shortcomings immediately. Rather than be depressed given a perceived failure, smile and cheer up because your future incredible success in business is a result of that failure. You will be grateful later in life that you”failed”.

There are so many amazing examples of executives that have failed or have been fired which forced them to realize their dreams by starting their own company. Frustration often leads to breakthroughs in your career.

Here are some incredibly inspirational examples of people that were fired. Thank goodness they were or we wouldn’t enjoy the benefits of their future business empire creations:

• Tomas Edison was fired by Western Union.
• Michael Bloomberg was fired which made him get his revenge by starting his financial empire Bloomberg. Without getting fired he wouldn’t have ever become the Mayor of New York.
• J.K Rowling hated her job as an administrative assistant. She quit and found her passion, which was writing the Harry Potter books.
• Walt Disney was fired by a publication he worked for.
• Madonna was fired from Dunkin Donuts
• Robert Redford was fired from an oil company.
• Lee Iacocca was fired from Ford. So he turned around and led Chrysler.

All these amazing people lost their jobs because of a lack of passion for being someone else’s bitch (sorry about the strong language but I want to make a point). They then became incredibly successful because they focused on their passion.

Find out what your passion is and what you were put on this planet to do. What is your calling? What is your raison d’être? Find your passion and you will always be happy in business and in life. If you feel suffocated in your current job, then find your passion, write a business plan and quit.

When I started my second company, I was stressed out and I took a drive alone down the beautiful California coast. I stopped by Carmel and I went for a long walk as I often do to come up with personal and professional goals. I stopped by a beautiful old church and I sat down and collected my thoughts.

A priest was there and sat down next to me. We spoke for a while about what I was trying to accomplish in life. I mentioned that I wanted to make as much money as possible so that I could give my children the standard of living that I wanted them to have. What he told me that day was incredibly prophetic and just what I needed to hear:

“Chris, 50 years from now your children will not look back on you and remember how much money you made. They will look back and reflect how good of a father you were.”

I was blown away by his comment and I thanked him profusely for imparting this incredible wisdom on me. I now know in my heart that money does not equal happiness. Please don’t make it your primary goal. Find your passion in life and the money will come whether you want it to or not! Then you can focus on giving it away and making the world a better place.

I have seen money destroy friendships and families so many times. Money can destroy your relationship with many people including your children. Give most of your money away to charities and only keep enough to keep your family happy as counterintuitive as that might sound.

Whether or not you think you can, you are correct. You need to accept the fact that if you want to be the CEO of the company you are working at, it’s not hard to do unless you tell yourself it is. It doesn’t matter what level you are at either as there are countless examples of people that have started in the mail room and then risen to become CEO. Don’t be negative. I promise you that you can become the CEO regardless of your education or rank at the company.

Similarly, you can start any company you want to and disrupt an entire industry regardless of your education. Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs don’t have university degrees. What they have is an unquenchable thirst to leave a dent in the universe. Believe in yourself and you can accomplish any goals you want to in business.

We can sometimes overestimate what we can accomplish in a year but we ALWAYS massively underestimate what we can accomplish in a decade. There are no limits to what you can achieve in business except the ones that you personally set. Whether or not you think you can, you are correct (that was worth repeating).

In every challenging business situation, it is imperative that you see challenge as an opportunity. I am a firm believer that with crisis comes opportunity. Rise to the occasion when a crisis emerges

Condition yourself to embrace change and enjoy difficult situations. This will help you deal with the perceived stress and profit from adversity. Always ask yourself in business “what is positive about this event and how can I enjoy and benefit from it?” If you hate an uncompromising situation or position you are in, meditate on the issue and condition yourself to accept the fact that the end result from this situation will be very positive for you if you achieve ‘X’. Focus on X and make it come to reality.

The belief that anything is possible leads to amazing accomplishments.

The glass is not empty.

The glass not half empty.

The glass is not half full.

The glass is ALWAYS full!

Don’t let the bastards get you down. That’s right. If you can, going forward disassociate yourself with negative people. Friends with negative attitudes are not worth having. Surround yourself with positive people that believe there are no limits to what they and you can achieve. Surround yourself with people that are incredibly successful as their success, confidence and positive outlook on business and life will rub off on you and vice versa.

Surround yourself with positive people and the chances of you being extraordinarily successful rises 1,000,000%. I have never met a successful entrepreneur, investor or CEO that doesn’t have a positive attitude. Richard Branson is the quintessential example of a positive role model. I believe that his cheerful and positive outlook in life and business is the primary reason for his incredible success. His positive attitude is the cornerstone of the happy and positive corporate culture at all of his Virgin companies. Try flying Virgin America or Virgin Atlantic or one day Virgin Galactic and observe how amazing the attitude is of all of his employees. A company with an incredibly positive corporate culture will no doubt be much more successful than a company filled with negative people. A negative person would never consider launching a galactic service or taking on the airline industry. Richard Branson clearly avoids hiring “those” people.

You need many Yodas in your life and in your career. You need mentors and you need to mentor others in order to reinforce what your core beliefs or critical success factors are.

Make sure that your Yodas (or mentors) are in a position that you want to be in one day. Are they successful professionally? Are they successful personally? Did they achieve a great work/life balance? Are some of their past accomplishments your future goals? Can you trust them? Do you enjoy their company? Can they offer you constructive criticism so that they can help you to seek continuous improvement?

It is extraordinarily rare for an executive to rise to the top of any organization or for any entrepreneur to be wildly successful without many mentors. Hewlett mentored Steve Jobs and Steve Jobs mentored Marc Benioff from Salesforce, which is now the largest employer in San Francisco.

People are flattered when you ask them to mentor you. They always say yes when you ask them. Ask and you shall receive mentors. They will help you achieve your goals in life.

When you invest in companies or industries or sectors, a simple successful approach is to follow the smart money. Warren Buffett is incredibly successful so let’s invest in some of the companies that he does.

I know that this section seems like common sense but if you invest in companies that smart money investors invest in then you will more often than not have a winning investing strategy.

Always be skeptical when a friend or a businessperson asks you to invest in a company that no name investors have already invested in. If you are in a situation like this, ask yourself a basic question which is “Why am I so lucky to be given this opportunity?” The reason, unfortunately, is because the smart money passed on this investment. You should pass on this investment as well.

Be a contrarian and think different when it comes to getting a job. Everybody sends their resume to companies. Don’t do this as the odds of getting an interview are extraordinarily low.

How do I get a job then? Well it all comes down to the relationships that you already have or will have soon. What does that mean? It’s simple as all you need to do is set up informational meetings with as many people as you can at the companies you want to work at.

You are probably asking yourself this question: “That doesn’t make any sense. Why would someone want to meet with me anyway and how do I get these meetings?” It is simple. Use LinkedIn. We are covering using LinkedIn several times as it is crucial that you leverage this social media gold mine (because most people don’t).

In the business school classes that I teach, I start off every first lecture with a simple question as follows: “If I told you that if you did at least 20 informational meetings with strangers at companies that you wanted to work at then you will get the job of your dreams. If this is the case, how many of you would set up these informational meetings?” Every single student lifts their hand in agreement. Then at the end of the 15 session course that I teach, I ask how many did 20+ informational meetings. Only 1 or 2 hands go up. Those that did the 20+ informational meetings all get jobs without exception.

So are you telling me Chris that if I set up 20 or more informational meetings that I will get a job? That’s right. Try it and you’ll amaze yourself.

Ok so once I get these meetings what should I do or say? Just be yourself. If the person you are meeting with is from your home town talk about your home town. If this person went to the same school as you did, simply talk about the school. Relationships are more important than product knowledge so the first half of the meeting should be an informal discussion about what you have in common with this person (i.e., the school you went to, where you are from etc.). Then during the second half of the meeting you should transition to a discussion of your career goals. Towards the end of the meeting you need to ask if the company is hiring. If not, ask when they will be and follow up at that point.

This strategy works but you need to meet with many people in order to see the results.

I recently had dinner with one of President Bush’s White House employees in the early 1990s. As I always do when I meet someone successful or that works with someone successful, I ask what makes that person successful. For President Bush, as it is with all successful politicians, it comes down to having superb relationships.

President Bush treats people like celebrities and celebrities like people. Learn as much as you can about people you meet by asking them questions. Let them talk about themselves and smile. Remember their names too. People love talking about themselves and they really appreciate it when you use their name often in conversations.

Treat all people you meet in business like good lifelong friends. Don’t jump right into business topics in a conversation. Always start with personal questions like how was your weekend, or do your children like their new school, or something that people love talking about, like their favorite sports teams etc. Treat everyone like they are your friends and treat people like celebrities and celebrities like people.

When I worked at Goldman Sachs my mentors would always tell me to “be long term greedy”. I didn’t fully appreciate it at the time but it makes perfect sense to me now, especially when it comes to investing.

I worked in the hedge fund industry for several years after leaving Goldman Sachs and I hated the industry because investors only rewarded you if you were successful with short term results. The problem with this approach is that you are often right for the wrong reasons and vice versa. Each month has only 20 business or trading days and each quarter has only 60 business or trading days. It is mathematically impossible to generate positive returns every quarter year after year after year.

The best investors have a long term outlook. In fact, before I do due diligence on any company as a potential investment candidate, I ask myself one very basic question:

“In 5 years will this company be more relevant or less relevant than it is today?”

Sounds pretty simple! It should be because the best investors see the forest from the trees and understand that investment trends last much longer than we think. I always ask myself this basic 5 year question before I do any due diligence on companies. Nobody is better at being a wise long term investor than Warren Buffett.

I remember when I was an MBA student at Columbia University in the late 1990s and Warren Buffett was teaching one of our classes on value investing. One of my classmates pitched a technology stock to him. He very politely interrupted 30 seconds after my classmate pitched the stock and said “Son thank you very much for the idea but I don’t have enough visibility where this company is going to be product cycle wise in 3, 5, 10 or 20 years.”

He was right as 6 months later the technology company my classmate was pitching went belly up; there is a reason Warren Buffett is called the Sage of Omaha.

Since I am a proud Canadian, I have to end this chapter with a quote from the greatest athlete ever, the great one (Wayne Gretzky). Gretzky was so incredibly successful because he didn’t skate to where the puck is. Rather, he had a longer term strategy as he skated to where the puck was going to be. Love that guy!

Give and you shall receive. This statement has been true since the beginning of time; those that are generous with their time and mentor others are much more successful than those that are not. Why? First of all it is the right thing to do as others helped you to get to where you are today, but by mentoring others you also reinforce your core beliefs and remind yourself what the drivers of success are.

I am honored to be on the board of a wonderful charity called the LEMO Foundation, whose mission is to eradicate poverty through scholarships to those that are less fortunate. LEMO’s core mission statement is brilliant:

“Don’t expect to accomplish your goals unless you help others accomplish theirs.”

I love this concept! Some call it karma and others call it paying it forward. Everyone should seek mentors and mentor others; you will be much more successful in the long run if you practice what you preach.

When you first think of an incredibly ambitious goal, you are so fired up and excited to start the journey. Before you start the journey you can clearly see the top of the mountain, which is a metaphor for your goal.

Once you embark upon your journey you are full of energy and excitement as with each step you get closer and closer to your goal. Then much later in the journey you become frustrated as you can no longer see the top of the mountain. As a result, your pace deviates a bit and is perhaps slower than it once was.

You wonder what happened to my goal? Why can’t I see the top of the mountain anymore anyway? Well the reason is simple; the reason is that you are half way up the mountain and your goal is within reach. Finish what you started and reap the rewards. Be long term greedy and realize the harder you work, the luckier you get.

Don’t be cheap when it comes to education and self-improvement. You are your biggest investment. Continuous improvement is of paramount importance when it comes to your success in business or life in general.

Spend more than you think you can afford on education, including university degrees, online education, books, audio books, podcasts etc. Whatever it takes. You do have time to read. Yes you do; you can listen to audio books or listen to online lectures. If you have Wi-Fi and a stationary bike at home you can watch online courses at Udemy.com for example.

Be a voracious reader. Read as many books as you can on successful business people. What are their secrets? Learn from them and watch your career take off.

One of the best pieces of advice I have received in my life was from a client at Manulife Financial when I worked at Goldman Sachs. She told that the second you return from your vacation, open your calendar and look out 6 months and book your next vacation.

Of course I didn’t take this advice as I was in my 20s and felt like I had endless energy. Then I hit a wall and became incredibly unproductive. I had worked too many weekends and too many hours per day. In hindsight all I needed to do was take a few weekends off and a whole week every 6 months.

When you work too hard without taking breaks you burnout and become incredibly unproductive. If you work for 3 months, for example, around the clock without many breaks, then I am a firm believer that it will take you more than 3 months to “unburnout”. The results can be catastrophic for your career and even your personal life. Pace yourself and take breaks often.

As humans we are only supposed to be incredibly stressed out when we are fighting for our lives. We were not meant to have heart attacks because of non-violent means.

When a lion is chasing a gazelle, the gazelle’s physiology dramatically changes. The gazelle’s heart is pumping very fast as it runs as fast as it can to survive. The gazelle’s body uses every ounce of energy to focus on surviving. Other bodily functions temporarily cease working as it tries to outrun the lion. The gazelle’s immune system shuts down. The gazelle’s reproductive system shuts down. The gazelle actually ages in the process.

Similarly, when we feel too much stress at work and don’t treat our systems the way we should, we get sick much easier, we gain weight much faster, our heart can stop working and even our reproductive capacities are adversely impacted.

I have several friends that couldn’t seem to conceive. As a couple they became so incredibly stressed out with their perceived conceiving issues that they stopped trying and adopted wonderful children. Shortly after adoption, they had no problems conceiving because they were no longer stressed out.

Stress will kill you; don’t be the gazelle. See stress as a challenge and not as a threat. Learn to take breaks. Don’t walk into the propeller. Hakuna matata! : )

We tend to take sick days because we are physically under the weather. We need to also take at least one day off per year when we are temporarily ‘mentally under the weather’. This is usually caused by overexertion and not taking enough breaks.

Why should we take that day off? Because if you are too stressed out, you might have a short temper and upset your coworkers or customers. If you are overly stressed, take a day off. Your career will thank you and remember to pace yourself and take breaks often enough so that you don’t need to miss work too often.

We tend to take sick days because we are physically under the weather. We need to also take at least one day off per year when we are temporarily ‘mentally under the weather’. This is usually caused by overexertion and not taking enough breaks.

Why should we take that day off? Because if you are too stressed out, you might have a short temper and upset your coworkers or customers. If you are overly stressed, take a day off. Your career will thank you and remember to pace yourself and take breaks often enough so that you don’t need to miss work too often.

Always be 100% transparent in business, especially with the risks of the product or service you are selling. I tell my investors and customers what the risks are of investing in my products or services within 5 minutes of our first meeting. It’s the right and ethical thing to do. It also leads to trust which is of paramount importance in business.

Disclose all risks to your clients or prospective clients before doing business with them. To state the obvious, they will be incredibly upset if you don’t as they will always find out the risks at some point, which could result in painful litigation. The only reason you might not offer 100% disclosure is in the rare situation when you can’t divulge an issue due to confidentiality reasons. If this is the case and if the investment or product/service has significant risks that outweigh the potential returns, then don’t sell the product/service. Life is too short to destroy your reputation and compromise your values.

When I worked at a large hedge fund called Citadel, management hired 25 year CIA and FBI veterans to teach us how to tell if a CEO is lying to us. Here are some of the key takeaways:

1: A liar often gives long winded answers to a simple yes or no question.

2: A liar often does not make eye contact when answering a question and the answer contains a lie (unless this is their normal demeanor).

3: A liar often puts their hand on their mouth when answering a question with a lie.

4: A liar often shakes his or her foot when answering a question with a lie (unless they drink too much coffee)!

When you start a company you need to protect your family. Don’t set your company up as a sole proprietorship. Rather, set it up as a Limited Liability Company (LLC). Setting up an LLC is not expensive and if for some crazy reason your company gets sued, then the liabilities are limited to the assets of the company and not your house.

If you are working for someone else, you need to have a contract that clearly outlines your compensation structure in case you get hit by a bus. This way your family is taken care of.

I know that this sounds like common sense, but sometimes we are so focused on building our careers and our companies that we forget about protecting those that we love.