10 Career Lessons You Need to Learn Before its Too Late

10 Career Lessons You Need to Learn Before its Too Late We’re all told to put our noses to the grindstone and keep them there. But too often, we just keep following the path in front of us and working hard and, before we know it, years have flown by and we aren’t where we wanted to end up. Here are the 10 best career lessons everyone should take to heart earlier in their lives and careers, before it’s too late to take the good advice.1. Life is shortBad bosses, unsatisfying jobs, soulless companies, demeaning positions, toxic coworkers. All of these things are easy to overlook in service of â€Å"keeping your head down,† but the truth is life is just too short. Instead of spending your time putting up with all that nonsense and convincing yourself it’s worth it, why not put your energy into finding a better situation while you still have the option.2. Networking mattersYou may hate networking events, but they are going to be invaluable to you one day. The most successful people have the widest and broade st social networks. So get in amongst it around the water cooler, attend the mixer, mingle. Make connections. Your success may depend on the people you get to know.3. Choose health over  wealthWork life balance can be incredibly difficult to achieve. And sometimes it just seems easier to tunnel deeper into work, constantly driving yourself towards success. Don’t let yourself be one of them or you’ll end up burning out- or developing serious health problems from stress. Take care of yourself. Stay healthy and you’ll end up being more successful.4. Get offscreenAt the end of your life, the best and most memorable moments will not be ones you spent staring at a screen. Put the phone down. Walk away from the monitor. Go live your life and make some real memories and change in the world.5. Keep learningThey day you decide you have nothing left to learn is the day you become truly ignorant. Old dogs can learn new tricks. In fact, you should seek them out. Constantly stretch yourself to learn new skills and information. Don’t get left behind.6. DiversifyWhile you’re learning new things, make a point of expanding your comfort zone and your wheelhouse of skills. The more you can do, the more successful you will be. And the more versatile with dealing with life and career challenges. Make sure you’re not just good at only one thing.7. Stick togetherYou may think you can get farther faster if you just go it alone, but the truth is you’ll get farther by working as a team and building something bigger than yourself. Also, teamwork is more and more important in the current economy. Learn to share and multiply success.8. Worry does not equal achievementYou cannot worry your way to success. If you’re anxious, the antidote is simple: action. Hustle your way out of the stress spiral. Push through the fear to find the proactive things that you can do to make a difference in the state of your career (or the world).9. Failu re is productiveThink of every failure not as an end, but as an opportunity for a new beginning. Start a new journey with each failure and you’ll be guaranteed to get more out of life.10. It’s a journey, not a destinationHappiness is not just something you arrive at, magically, after doing what you think you’re supposed to do. Make mindful choices and decide you’re going to be happy with where you are and what you’re working towards, regardless of how far in the future those rewards may be. Approach everything with an attitude of positivity and happiness, and you will find success.

Kinds of Consequences

Kinds of Consequences Kinds of Consequences Kinds of Consequences By Maeve Maddox A reader questions a radio announcer’s odd use of high to quantify the noun consequences: â€Å"For business owners who become the victims of these scams, the consequences can be high. Since when have consequences been high? â€Å"Dire,† maybe. â€Å"Serious,† maybe. â€Å"Severe,† even. High? Never! The English word consequence derives from a Latin compound that combines cum, â€Å"with† and sequi, â€Å"to follow after.† (In English words, cum appears as com- and con-.) A consequence is what results from something that has gone before. I agree with the reader that the appropriate modifier for consequences is one that signifies a degree of seriousness, like dire or grave. A Google search indicates that the phrase â€Å"high consequences† is out there, if only with 35,400 hits. The expression seems to be seeping into general usage from jargon associated with the behavioral sciences. As jargon, â€Å"high consequences† is part of the descriptive term â€Å"Low-Probability/High Consequences.† The term, abbreviated LPHC, is applied to events or- in the context of marketing- products that have a low probability of risk, but which nevertheless could have a horrific outcome in the event of failure. An article in the proceedings of a marketing science conference explains the concept this way: â€Å"Low-Probability/High Consequences  (LPHC) risk† is present in consumer decisions associated with potentially cataclysmic outcomes such as losing ones life or job. Air travel is [an] LPHC â€Å"product.† The expression high consequences has meaning in this narrow context, but is out of place in the general vocabulary. Here are examples of the questionable use of low and high to describe consequences: â€Å"Why does evolution make out that there are such  high consequences  if we dont pass our genes down?- Question posed on Quora site. The High Consequences of Low Interest Rates- Headline in The Wall Street Journal. Actions that show significant differences are those involving Low Consequences, High Consequences, and Suspension.- Book about school testing. In the first example, the word serious would be more appropriate. In the second example, the headline writer was probably striving for a neat balance of words (high-low), but a better choice would be: â€Å"The Potential Consequences of Low Interest Rates.† The third example illustrates the tendency of parents and educators to use the word consequences as a euphemism for punishment. The study compares student behavior that resulted in different degrees of punishment: â€Å"minor, major, and most severe.† Educators and others are also guilty of using inappropriate verbs with consequences. Consequences are results. Consequences follow actions. They may be felt, suffered, or endured, but they are not given, as in these examples from school publications and parent guides: Consequences will be given  in a calm, consistent, brief, immediate  and respectful fashion.- Kindergarten brochure, Wisconsin No  consequences will be given  if student has an excused tardy.- High school guidelines. However, children don’t need to know every consequence that might be given. Whats important is that they understand that  consequences will be given  consistently for certain behaviors.- Parenting book. In each of these examples, what will be given or withheld is a penalty. Another odd use of the word consequences making the rounds on the Web is a sentence that originated in the angry outburst of a moderately literate man expressing anger about cyberbully attacks on his daughter: â€Å"Consequences will never be the same!† The expression even has a definition in the Urban Dictionary: â€Å"to tell someone to stop doing something.† Interestingly enough in the context of this post, the attacks on the girl were apparently the consequences of her own online behavior. Bottom line: Consequences may be major, minor, serious, severe, dire, or unexpected. They are felt, experienced, suffered or endured. Except in very limited contexts, they are not high, nor are they given. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Direct and Indirect ObjectsList of 50 Great Word Games for Kids and AdultsContinue and "Continue on"