If you’re playing the “Who has the most impressive résumé?” game, Sheryl Sandberg is hard to beat. Facebook. Google. The U.S. Treasury Department. McKinsey & Company. The World Bank.
Clearly, she knows how to build and grow a career — but that doesn’t mean her choices were always automatic. When Sandberg was offered the job to be Google’s general manager, she seriously considered turning it down.
So what advice did Google’s Eric Schmidt give her?
“Stop being an idiot. All that matters is growth.”
Sandberg says that’s the best advice she ever got — partly because technology is a growth industry, but also because it meant Sandberg herself would grow: new skills, new connections, new perspectives …
That same advice applies to you.
Say you want to start a business. You may never create the perfect business plan. You may never find the perfect partners. Or the perfect market. Or the perfect location.
But you can find the perfect time to start — because that time is now.
By choosing to start, you choose to grow. You choose to grow more skilled. You choose to grow more experienced. You choose to grow more connected.
Consistently choose to grow, and in time you’ll have all the skills, knowledge, and connections you need.
Success is never guaranteed, but when you don’t choose to grow, you’re almost certainly guaranteed to fail.
Whenever you have a choice to make, choose to grow.
That’s one choice you will never regret.
