December 24, 2009

In Retrospect

December 24th, 10:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time—I can’t believe a year went by so fast…time to see what we have, time to see.

I know that New Year's Eve is usually the time that people like to look back and evaluate the past year, but the previous line (from the musical Rent, as my fellow Rentheads know) has always inspired me to use Christmas Eve as my yearly marker.
2009 has been a momentous year for me. I’ve finished my undergraduate education, moved away from home, and began pursuing my dream of a career in publishing in New York City! I can certainly say I’ve learned a lot about myself. Most of these lessons have turned out to be pretty applicable to publishing. On this chilly Christmas Eve, I thought I would share of a few of the lessons I’ve been lucky enough to learn from 2009.

You can’t move backward. So move forward. It’s better than standing still.

Sometimes you get the chance to fix your mistakes. And sometimes you don’t.

Great achievements are worth all the effort. No matter how small it looks to someone on the outside, I know how much I’ve accomplished and how much work it took to get here.

Don’t bother networking. Just make new friends—the network will follow.

If you don’t have the confidence, fake it. Eventually, you’ll convince everyone that you’re confident—including yourself.

Publishing as an industry may be competitive, but publishing people are just people.

Choose a path and follow it. If you don’t like it, choose another one.

Listen to advice and wisdom—don’t be afraid to ask for help from people who have been there. Asking for help is not weakness, it’s turning your own weaknesses into strengths. It’s also allowing the wise to make an investment in you. Aren’t you a worthwhile investment?

Love what you do. Passion is contagious.


Whatever struggles I may have, I certainly love what I do. I hope that's still true at this time next year. And every year after that.

Sincerely,

Rayna

4 comments:

  1. I love this Rayna! Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Wow, I'm impressed by your list and the lessons you've learned. So much of it I can apply to my own life. Thanks :)

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