The Art of Value Creation
In my opinion, the most important metric of success to any young professional is if you are able to create value or not for the company. The sooner you are able to create value by yourself and become (more) independent from formation and training the better.
You have to realize that no matter your CV, your profile and outstanding skills, results will guide and determine your professional life. That is why it is extremely important to find the right job for you, the job where you can exceed yourself and measure your performance.
As Forbes shared on the article "20 Things 20-Year-Olds Don't Get”, time is not a limitless commodity. Surely we - the young - have time to make mistakes, to travel around the world, to enjoy life by itself but keep in mind that it always have a cost. The sooner you realize the powerful value of time, the greatest asset that you have by your side, the sooner you will become valuable.
When I started working while taking my bachelors, I had a great amount of feedback about being in a hurry, about being impossible to conciliate it with my studies. Nonetheless, I managed to be one of the top students, and most important, I have years of experience while the majority of my colleagues with my age have months. Believe me, it makes a difference.
I strongly advise you to analyze your contribution in your daily job life. Think of it as a NPV, and remember to only consider the incremental value, nowadays it is more and more important to be able to apply unique competencies. All this comes with work, with being the first one to arrive to the job and the last one to leave and to still work from home until you are the best in what you do. If you do it, you will have control over your life.
Lastly, look for a mentor. Look for people that you can admire, and be smart about it. The most important people in my life are the ones that always criticize me, they make me a better professional. Don't be foolish to the point of getting offended with feedback. The ones that are bold enough to criticize you, are the ones that will make you improve over time.