To Succeed, Learn From Those Around You
The staff here at Website Magazine is made up of a disparate
group of individuals who have backgrounds in a wide variety of
media-related fields. From public relations and Web marketing
to broadcast and newspapers, and even some experience as
a Price is Right contestant, everyone here brings something
unique and interesting to the table.
When I got out of college, I worked at my local
newspaper for a few months (the smallest daily publication
in Indiana) before being hired on at the fine
publication you’re currently reading. So, despite the
fact that Peter, our editor-in-chief, had faith in me
(for some reason), I certainly had a lot to learn in a
short amount of time about the Web industry, about
the professional publishing world and about myself.
Although I arrived with plenty of swagger and
confidence in my abilities, the very first thing I had
to learn was to break all of that down and just accept
that there was a lot I didn’t know, and simply
pretending like I did wasn’t going to cut the mustard,
as they say. Luckily, my second major lesson
was the one that would help me grow from an overconfident
youngster into something actually resembling
a professional.
What I found was that the real key to success in
whatever industry you happen to be in is to find a
support system of knowledgeable, capable, helpful
and kind people that have already found their own
success in the field and are willing to share their insights
with you. So, stop, look around, be willing to
admit you don’t know everything and listen to those
who possibly do — like I did.
At Website Magazine, it’s no secret that Peter is
the ringleader and a verifiable genius about all
things Web. But what really makes Pete a great
leader and mentor isn’t just how talented or knowledgeable
he is, but it’s his willingness to set aside
time in his always-busy day to talk with us all about
our work and his readiness to teach us a lesson
about something we were once unfamiliar with or
unsure of. To say that his influence on me over the
last two years has been invaluable would be selling
it short.
And likewise, working with people like Amberly
(our managing editor) and Allison (my fellow associate
editor) has challenged what I thought I knew
about being a professional journalist, and for completely
different reasons. Amberly’s consistently professional
and highly organized approach to her work
is a something to marvel at, and her ability to maintain
her calm under intense pressure kind of baffles me.
Meanwhile, Allison’s constant creative energy, animated
personality and great sense of humor showed
me that there are always more than one way to approach
a project, and that sometimes (usually) my
own narrow thinking wasn’t going to be the best one.
In the broader business world, we usually call
this networking, and there are plenty of ways to go
about doing it. From meeting other professionals at
trade shows to communicating via online forums or
message boards to contacting people you admire via
good old-fashioned email and phone, there are
plenty of ways to put yourself out there and connect
with thought leaders.
So, if you want to succeed, don’t be too timid to
ask for advice, help or feedback from people who
know what they’re talking about, because we all have
different backgrounds and experiences that may just
be the key to solving someone else’s problem, and
without just asking, there’s no way we would ever
even know it. And, wherever you go in life the people,
or rather the qualities they possesses, will go
with you.


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