10 Things I Have Learned in Business and Life

10 Things I Have Learned10 Things I Have LearnedMaxims for Life and BusinessKate Carruthers

FITT Lunch, Sydney

28 June 2006

#1 Realise that your #1 Realise that your career is not your career is not your lifelifeKeep up your

relationships with family & friends, don’t neglect hobbies

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#2 Have a realistic #2 Have a realistic self perceptionself perception Take the time to

learn about your strengths & weaknesses

E.g. there is no use trying to be an accountant if you cannot add up

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#3 Be kind to #3 Be kind to yourself and to yourself and to others others Kindness costs

nothing and makes you feel better.

If a situation is already bad it doesn’t get any better when we are unkind to each other.

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#4 Have a roadmap of #4 Have a roadmap of goals & steps to goals & steps to achieve themachieve themGoals without

plans are unlikely to be achieved.

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#5 Be flexible, always be #5 Be flexible, always be ready to develop an ready to develop an alternate planalternate plan As John Lennon

said “Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans”

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#6 Don’t take anything #6 Don’t take anything that happens at work that happens at work personallypersonally Most negative

stuff that happens at work would happen to whoever sits in your chair.

Even if it is personal, refer to back to # 1.

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#7 Know your boundaries#7 Know your boundaries

Have a clear idea about what you want, what you are willing to give, and what you are willing to take.

Be willing to walk away if necessary.

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#8 Decisions are made by #8 Decisions are made by those who turn upthose who turn up

Participation is important!

And it is powerful when accompanied by enthusiasm and passion.

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#9 Apply yourself#9 Apply yourself

Each day take a positive step towards your goal.

If you fail one day, get back to it the next day, this will get you there in the end.

Failure is really just practice.

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#10 Don’t give up on #10 Don’t give up on something you care about something you care about without good reason. without good reason. Many people

quote Winston Churchill in this regard, but they often fail to quote him in full.

It is worth reading the full quotation …

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Churchill said: Churchill said:

“… this is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.

Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”

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‘10 Things I Have Learned’ is available for download on: http://www.slideshare.net/carruthk

More about FITT here: http://fitt.org.au/

©Kate Carruthers, June 2006 10 Things I Have Learned 13