Linda Bonanno's Weblog

“Best advice I ever got” from Fortune Magazine

“In a world of uncertainty, we could all use a little advice. So we asked a host of influential leaders to share with us the wise words that changed their lives forever.”

Thanks to my friend Richard for pointing out this article to me. Lately I’ve been struggling a little bit with what to write about as I have been spending a lot of time on my job search and I really don’t want to write about that ad nauseam. This article made me reflect back on my career to see what advice really sticks out for me.

I remember many years ago when a promotion opportunity didn’t go well for me. I was extremely upset about it and I was having a tough time getting back into my existing role. I think part of the problem is that my career up until that point had been very successful. I hadn’t gotten much strong push back or negative feedback about my work. This time I received a bit – and it wasn’t information that could easily be dismissed because it clearly impacted my future career growth. I was crushed.

My poor manager at the time – who wasn’t the bearer of the bad news had to deal with me in my distress. Thankfully he finally hit upon the one phrase that put what happened into perspective – “Get Over It!” It doesn’t sound like much, but it was what flipped the switch for me. This is the key bit of advice that I’ve taken to heart. Everyone has problems both big and small. Their impact on you depends on how well you are able to learn from them and “get over it”. Resiliency is the key to future success!

“I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.”
- Thomas Edison, Inventor