What does it take to be the first? Trailblazers across industries weigh in

In 1982, a boy born in Mangalore, India, becomes the first person in his town to attend a prestigious university. Across the world in Charleston, South Carolina, a young woman starts a career in finance before becoming the first woman to lead Smith Barney and Citigroup. Years later, a boy in Killeen, Texas living with a single mom who made $20,000 a year went on to be the first person in his family to go to college and start a company. Around the same time, a first-generation immigrant from West Africa is admitted as the first Black woman into Y Combinator.

What does it really take to be the first to accomplish anything? That’s the question we sought to answer with LinkedIn’s latest editorial series spotlighting leaders across industries who achieved something great for the first time. We heard from more than 50 experts who realized dreams ranging from being the first in their family to go to college to being the first person of color or the first woman to lead their organization. Their stories provide a roadmap for those from different backgrounds and interests reaching to accomplish something different than those who came before them.

While our series makes it clear that leaders can come from all sides of the globe and all backgrounds, it’s also evident that not all who reach for greatness achieve it on the first try. The young boy from Mangalore — Anant Agarwal — didn't get into his first choice graduate school and was denied from his first dream job while the woman from South Carolina — Sallie Krawcheck — was fired in her subsequent role after leading Smith Barney. These stories -- and others that we’ve seen outside the professional world this year -- tell us that sometimes breaking down barriers or glass ceilings takes several swings of the ax — which is where you come in.

What were you the first to accomplish? What were the critical decisions you made leading up to your achievement that set you up for success? How are you working to ensure that you are not the last person to achieve what you achieved? Write your post here; be sure to use #IWasTheFirst somewhere in the body of your piece.

For inspiration, here are some of the key takeaways from leaders who were the first to cross major milestones in their industries.

When you don’t know what to do, do a lot so the odds of hitting the right thing increase.

Founder and CEO of edX Anant Agarwal got into the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology Madras before search engines or the Internet really existed. I “couldn’t Google ‘How to get into IIT?’ nor could I post the query on Quora or Reddit,” he writes. So what did he do? He continued to study math -- a subject he had a proven knack for -- but also tirelessly studied subjects that came less naturally like chemistry, physics and English.

“In the absence of one clear, no-fail approach, your best bet is to do everything you can think of to achieve your goal.”

Turn down the good business opportunity for the great one.

When Ellevest co-founder and CEO Sallie Krawcheck became Director of Research of Sanford Bernstein, she received a call from Goldman Sachs to run their research department. She declined and waited for a better opportunity, leading her to be the first woman to run Citigroup. Learning to say no to opportunities as you advance in your career is essential for success, she writes.

“I am certain (well, 99.9999% certain), I never would have had that great opportunity if I had accepted any of those earlier good-to-very-good opportunities.”

Don’t let fear of the trail rule your ability to blaze.

In Your Corner Founder and CEO Bea Arthur didn’t know that she would be the first Black woman to attend Y Combinator. If she did, the 30-year-old probably wouldn’t have applied in the first place. That’s why she advises the entrepreneurs she mentors to see fear for what it really is.

“Fear is a very powerful emotion that holds people back in many ways, but it’s much easier to overcome when you don’t surrender to it.”

Refuse to accept the status quo.

Janet Napolitano was the first woman to serve as the Attorney General of Arizona, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security and, today, the president of the University of California. When a position of power is historically held by a man, she writes, a paradigm is created about what that leader should look like. That’s where you have to come in and challenge that notion.

“Changing that paradigm takes persistence, determination and fortitude to change people’s assumptions about how something should be and to redefine what’s possible.”

If the first, work hard to ensure you won’t be the last.

Localeur Founder and CEO Joah Spearman grew up as the youngest boy of a single-mother home. His mom worked two jobs throughout his childhood, earning between $12,000 to $20,000 a year, but that didn’t stop him from being the first in his family to graduate from college. Now he aims to show others from similar backgrounds that the path toward an education and starting your own company isn’t as far off as it may seem.

I am motivated to “become the kind of person who would make my mother proud while also creating a fundamentally new and lasting legacy of accomplishment and excellence in my family for generations to come.”

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Arizona State President Michael Crow on being the first in his family to go to college

Monsanto's Chief Technology Officer Robb Fraley on creating the first genetically modified plant

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Author Daniel Goleman on being mindfulness to the western world

Entrepreneur Benita Singh on launching her first business 

Pathbrite's Heather Hiles on being the first Black woman to successfully exited a venture-backed company in the United States

x.ai's Dennis Mortensen on his first in artificial intelligence

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