The Path of Trial and Error

From the time I started my career journey to present day, I have always felt as though I was learning by trial and error. Though I’ve experienced working and collaborating with others often, I never had the opportunity to have a guiding mentor to help me avoid mistakes along the way.

Instead, I often learned on my own, figuring out what worked and what didn’t. Though there is certainly a lot of benefit in having a mentor, I’ve found that this way of learning holds its own unique value. It would have been much easier to have someone “on the inside” to give me the information needed to avoid all of the errors and road bumps I’ve stumbled across. But now, because of those mistakes and experiences, I am able to provide more insight to others who are looking for advice.

If I can pave the way for someone else, why not share my experience? People often say they want to keep their "inside info" a secret because they worry about helping the competition, but I tend to think the opposite. I am in the mind frame that if you help others, it can only be a benefit in the long run. I'm a big believer in what goes around comes around. I also believe in building the industry as a whole, so that we all grow, do better, and contribute the most we can to the communities we serve and live in.