1 Treat your career like they say in an airline safety demonstration: "put
your own mask on first before assisting others" (excellent advice I
received from a friend). 2 You have to work with what youve got. You cant do everything, so dont beat yourself up over it. 3 'Failureis the best thing ever. 4 Work with people you like and if you really dont like the people you work with, leave. Life is too short. 5 Focus only on what youre doing. Stop comparing yourself to other people. 6 Get a mentor. Better yet, find several mentors. Find a whole bunch of people who can each guide you on different aspects of your career. 7 Be gentle on those around you. 8 Dont be so easily impressed. 9 Never fear asking questions of people more senior to you. Always be respectful, but if they get defensive or angryremember thats about them and not about you. 10 Dont work 7 days a week. Just dont. 11 Think outside your day job. Theres a big world of worlds out there and theres no reason why you cant live in more than one. 12 Everyone else has their own crap going on too and theyre not thinking about yours (wise words from a beautiful friend). 13 Arbitrary goals are always a good idea. I set myself the goal of giving 3 conference talks within one year (October 2014- October 2015) as a joke. And then it happened! I dont know how, but it did. 14 Get involved in the UX community. Theyre nice people, I promise. 15 Dont be a shitty mentor. I was a terrible mentor to someone in early 2015 and it taught me a lot, the hard way. 16 Dont be afraid to say 'no'. 17 Have an opinion and share your voice. 18 Know your limitations. 19 Seek forgiveness, not permission. 20 Never stop learning. 21 Practice excellent self care. Eat properly, exercise, get plenty of rest and do things that make you happy. 22 Be yourself at workits too damn hard to be someone elseand inauthenticity is beneath you. 23 Treat your client as you would your user. What do they need? What are they trying to achieve? How do they feel? 24 Listen carefully and actively. If you dont fully understand something, dont be afraid to ask. 25 At the end of the day, its only work. Really.