9 growth lessons that I'd share with my 22 year old self

Recently I got a chance to interact with fresh graduates hired by my employers. They all were quite young 22 something engineering graduates, full of passion and excitement. Each one of them had lot of questions regarding their first job and future career growth. They wanted to know about the work they are going to do, culture of the company, growth prospects and what company can do for them.

Most of them were clueless about professional world and the challenges they are going to face over their next 40-50 years of work life. When I saw them, I could see image of my 22 year old self, starting career with a big IT company.

It has been more than a decade since I graduated from my engineering college and lot has happened in between. I have grown in every aspect of life. I have worked with some of the best companies in India, started failed ventures, did lot of mistakes, got married, have a kid and still working hard to achieve my dreams. Life is certainly lot better than what it was 10 years back. Still way to go.

However things could have been better if I would have known the success lessons in advance at the time of graduation. If some how today I get a chance to go back in past and meet my 22 year old self than I would like to share him some lessons learned in hard way.

1. Think big, act big - Most of the people have a short vision about their life and goals. They do not think beyond few months or a year down the line. But successful people think from a very long perspective. They make short (1 year), medium (5-10 years) and long term (20+ years) goals and than work backwards to achieve them. Always write your goals on paper, make a plan and than take massive actions.

2. Take risks and do not afraid of failures - Failures are the stepping stones to success. Every time I failed, it made me stronger and helped me succeed in later parts of life. Nothing is achieved without taking any risks. However take calculated risks. Try new things. Fail fast. Do not become part of status quo. More you try, more you learn, more you grow.

3. Read as much as you can - Reading makes your mind sharper and expand your horizon. Read from diverse range of books (finance, business, management, motivation etc.) Make books your companion for life. It will help you refine your thoughts. Be a voracious reader. Spend 1 hour daily reading something in your chosen field. 

4. Write daily - Pen down your thoughts via blog or journal. It will help you focus, reflect and aid in your learning. Share your work with the world. It help you project as an expert. Try to write at least 500 words daily. You can use your work to become an author by publishing books. This will further aid your growth.

5. Analyze your weaknesses - Many of us are not aware of our strengths and weaknesses. Think hard, take help from your friends, seniors. Understand where you lack and than work hard to fix them. You may need to read books, take coaching classes or may be do some thing else. Whatever be it, just do it.

6. Build relationships - Meet people in your field and outside. Help them, get to know them. Network that you will build in your professional world will help a lot in achieving success at all fronts.

7. Have a growth mindset - Always have a sense of urgency in everything you do. Have a growth mindset. Whatever work that you do, try to do in best possible. Think about how you can move faster than your peers by working harder and smarter. Learn new ways of doing same work smartly. Set your bar high for your growth. Do more than what you are paid for.

8. Think yourself as an entrepreneur - Even if you are working for somebody, always consider yourself as a businessman. You are in the business of providing top class services and value for which you are paid your fees.

9. Work life balance - Most important lesson is to understand that family, health comes first. Whatever job you are doing is for your own and family's good. Maintain balance between the two. There is no point in staying late in office when every body else is doing the same. Instead find ways to do your work faster and smarter. Take less breaks during office time. Come on time, leave on time. Innovate in order to lead a good life.

If I had known all these when I was 22 years old, life would have been certainly better. However that does not mean that every thing is lost. It is just a beginning. These lessons are time immortal. They are relevant to people of all age and even today I am trying hard to follow them as much as possible.

Tell me what more lessons you could have shared with my 22 year old self.

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