The best way to build a successful career is not by focusing on what you want out of life but instead by thinking about how you can add value to other people’s lives. When you do this, not only can you be happier, but your career may also develop in ways that might never have occurred to you otherwise.

Don’t focus on what you’ll get out of your job but instead on what you can contribute to it.

  • Focus on what you can contribute to the company.
  • Focus on what it needs and how you can help achieve its goals.
  • Don’t focus on what you can get out of your job or what it may give back to you in return for your hard work and dedication, as this could lead to resentment when those things don’t come through as expected. If a company values the skills and experience of their employees, they can make sure they are compensated fairly. The best way to ensure that is by doing a great job at everything they ask of you while also trying to learn new skills that would benefit them in some way—and not just because it could help land another position somewhere else (which happens).

Work as if you owned the business, and do everything in your power to solve its problems.

It’s your responsibility to take ownership of your career. You can never blame others for not giving you opportunities if you don’t go out and create them yourself. Always be proactive and do everything in your power to solve problems, no matter how big or small they seem.

Take action on things that interest and excite you, even if they aren’t directly related to your job description at the moment. If there is something that needs doing and has nothing to do with work, do it anyway! This shows an initiative that can help open doors later down the road when opportunity comes knocking.

Build a reputation for your integrity and professionalism.

  • Do the right thing even if no one is looking.
  • Be honest and trustworthy.
  • Don’t lie or cheat.
  • Be reliable and punctual.
  • Be a good listener.
  • Be a good communicator.

Always be looking for fresh approaches to old problems, and don’t let long-standing traditions or procedures inhibit you from doing things in new ways.

One of the most important things you can do with your career is to always be looking for fresh approaches to old problems and not let long-standing traditions or procedures inhibit you from doing things in new ways. This doesn’t mean that you should be unafraid of failure; it just means that you shouldn’t let fear stop you from trying something new.

It’s important not to be afraid to try something new because it might not work out, but it could also lead to success. If your boss suggests a new project idea he has been thinking about, give feedback on how feasible it would be (and if there are any potential problems) before deciding whether or not it’s worth pursuing. If certain aspects aren’t practical or possible at this time, tell him why so that he can adjust accordingly. The best way for anyone in any field (especially one like business development) would always be open-minded enough.

Make quality the priority of all your work.

Quality is the most important thing. Quality is not a matter of pride but of principle. It is not something you do for a job or for the sake of your career; it’s how you live your life. I would suggest that quality be made the priority of all your work and thought—that everything else in life should serve to support it rather than be its end goal.

Quality means paying attention to details, taking care with what one does, and doing things right even if they aren’t worth doing at all (or they can be done quickly). You know when something is good because it has been done well. The sound system in your car sounds better than the one at home; the book you read was so absorbing that you couldn’t put it down even though you were tired and wanted nothing more than sleep; the meal was tasty enough that even though there wasn’t much variety on offer—it came from just two ingredients—you still enjoyed eating every last bite!

Do whatever it takes to meet deadlines.

You can’t meet deadlines if you don’t set them. The first step in any project is to identify what needs to be done and how long it may take. This can help you determine the end date for your project as well as other important milestones throughout its lifespan (such as beta testing or launch).

As a general rule, deadlines should be realistic enough that you can meet them but challenging enough to push you and make you want to work harder. If a deadline is too tight, however, it may cause unnecessary stress and lead to unneeded rework once the assignment turns out not to be finished on time. It’s also important to know when asking for help might be more appropriate than trying your best alone—this could mean working with other team members or asking someone else within your organization who has experience with similar projects before deciding whether or not meeting this deadline will require extra resources (like additional manpower).

Give 100% every day and make sure all your coworkers do the same thing.

You should be giving 100% every day. No excuses. You may think that you’re just doing your job, but if you’re not putting in the extra effort and showing passion for what you do, then there’s a good chance your coworkers can notice—and they can take note of it.

If someone on your team is slacking off (or worse yet, making excuses), make sure they’re aware of their behavior and help them get back on track. If they insist on not making any changes or recognizing the error of their ways, speak to their manager about the situation so both parties can come to an agreement about what’s going on with this employee and how best to proceed moving forward.

Don’t settle for anything less than perfect, even if it takes extra time, effort, or resources. (Exception: when it does not matter.)

The most important thing to remember is that perfection is different from excellence. Excellence is doing your best work, and that’s great! But perfection requires you to learn something new or do something differently than what you’ve done before. It’s also important because sometimes it takes more time or money than expected—and in those cases, it might not be worth the investment. However, if you can get close enough to perfection without going over budget or taking too long, then it may be worth considering investing more time or money into making things better than they previously were.


Prioritize results over appearances. People may notice your performance more than they can notice how hard you try to put on a good show.

You can have all the education and training in the world, but if you don’t focus on achieving results, your efforts are going to be wasted. Don’t worry about what others think of you or what they say about your performance. Just do your best and let them make their judgments based on what they see.

Commit yourself to long-term excellence, which means doing all the little things right over and over again every single day without fail.

Commit yourself to long-term excellence, which means doing all the little things right over and over again every single day without fail. This can seem difficult, but there are several ways that you can make this kind of commitment easier for yourself.

The first thing you need to do is learn how to be a leader in your own life. A real leader doesn’t just ask others to commit themselves; he or she commits first and then asks others to follow suit. Many people who haven’t learned how to be leaders miss this important point, and as a result, they struggle with getting others on board with their goals because they haven’t made it clear what success looks like in terms of achieving those goals (and even more importantly, why such success is important).

When you’re trying out new habits and behaviors (like showing up early), making sure someone else does it helps keep you accountable, if nothing else!

Don’t think about what you want out of life; instead, think about how you can contribute value to other people’s lives.

Don’t think about what you want out of life; instead, think about how you can contribute value to other people’s lives. This provides the best possible career development opportunities over time.

Focus on what you can do for your employer (or for any organization for which you seek employment), not what they can do for you. If an organization does not feel like a good fit, it can be very difficult to remain engaged and motivated over time.

Ask yourself how you can serve at work every day and be open-minded about how that role, title, and salary change as a result.

Career development is not a straight line. There can be lots of twists and turns along the way. Be open minded about what you can do to serve others, and be open minded about how that role, title, and salary change as a result.

As you can see, there are many ways to develop a great career. It’s not about having the right degree or being in the right place at the right time—those things happen naturally if you take care of yourself, stay open-minded, and work hard. But don’t let all this information scare or overwhelm you—it’s just a guide! You don’t need all these tips and tricks to have an amazing life; all it takes is one good idea that makes sense for your own situation. And when that happens? Take advantage of it!