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Esther: Welcome back to the BusinessMakers Overtime Show heard here and online at theBusinessMakers.com/overtime. I'm Esther Steinfeld.
Katie: And I'm Katie Laird.
Esther: And we've got a really cool Chapter 3 right now because you showed me this really cool article about people who have kind of said, "This is what I would have told my 20-year-old self," and I thought it'd be kind of cool if we asked some of the people who listen to our show and some of our past guests what they would tell their 20-year-old selves.
Katie: If they could go back in time. So I was particularly inspired by this piece because it actually features - it's on NPR and "All Things Considered", and it featured Karen Walrond, one of our former guests.
Esther: Oh yeah.
Katie: And number one, NPR is like "aaaaaah" to me because I'm just that geeky. And number two, it is such an amazing idea to just think about. You know, you've grown, you've failed, you've succeeded, all this stuff has happened. Like what exactly is it that you'd wanna say to your miniature, much younger, less troubled self hopefully? (Laughter)
Esther: Yes. Well one of our past guests, you may remember him, J.R. Cohen. He was the manager at Coffee Groundz, which is a little coffee shop in Houston, Texas that was making news literally across the country because they were placing orders through Twitter and fulfilling order through Twitter, and they were bringing together this incredible community. Well J.R. told us that his best advice would be to do what you love and that seems simplistic, but at the same time, I mean how powerful is that, you know?
Katie: Exactly. So don't listen to what people think you should be doing or what you think is gonna make you the most money and somehow you're gonna find happiness there.
Esther: Right.
Katie: But yeah, just stick to what makes your heart beat. I love it.
Esther: Right. Some people's suggestions were more, you know, about personal fulfillment and growth, that kind of thing. You know, Carrie Ryan, she has an agency here in Houston called Crying Out Loud and her suggestion was to work on acquiring more friends and contacts than stuff, and I think that's smart because when you're young, when you're in your 20s maybe, you're finally getting your own paycheck, you're making your own money, you're spending it on God knows what, you know. You're going shopping -
Katie: Lip gloss.
Esther: Yeah.
Katie: And beer. (Laughter)
Esther: Right, beer. Probably lots of beer. And just things you probably don't need that much. And it's better to work on the relationships than the stuff, you know.
Katie: Exactly.
Esther: People are gonna like you for you. So I thought that was cool.
Katie: Another listener, Katrina Esco, who's KatrinaME on Twitter, her advice to her 20-year-old self was, "Invest the full amount that your company matches for your 401K."
Esther: That's smart, you know.
Katie: It is!
Esther: That's more tactical advice, but you know -
Katie: Set yourself up right from the beginning.
Esther: Yeah. Those are things you don't think about. You don't worry about your 401K when you're 20 years old. Why should you, unless you have to, obvious some people do. But most college kids or people just getting into the workforce are not necessarily concerned with their 401Ks nor do they even know what it means really.
Katie: Exactly; so just - yeah. Arm yourself for what comes ahead.
Esther: And Amy Whittall, she also has an agency in Houston called The Black Sheep Agency, and she said, "Don't waste time in a job where learning isn't a top priority."
Katie: I like that.
Esther: That really takes a certain amount of leadership though. You know, if you're not in a job where the management is concerned with your growth, then you should -
Katie: Run.
Esther: Right, it's time to rethink that job.
Katie: Yeah, just run away.
Esther: It's one thing to get a good paycheck and it's another thing to feel like you can walk away from that job with, you know, being better than you were when you started.
Katie: Exactly, and much more marketable. (Laughter)
Esther: Mm-hmm.
Katie: So another one of our absolute favorite listeners, Brian Block, briguyblock on Twitter.
Esther: He's with Peer Pont Communications.
Katie: Peer Point Communications.
Esther: Mm-hmm, another great PR agency.
Katie: Yes, a biggie, a biggie,
Esther: Mm-hmm.
Katie: His advice to his 20-year-old self is, "Say thank you from the beginning. You can never say it enough or be too grateful."
Esther: And I think a lot of people have that to work on.
Katie: Exactly; and actually to follow that up, Brian's other piece of advice is, "Grow the beard sooner." (Laughter)
Esther: He does look very distinguished with that beard.
Katie: He does, you know, he does. It doesn't apply to everyone.
Esther: No, not to me and you.
Katie: I think we probably wouldn't work it out as well. (Laughter)
Esther: Doesn't apply to us, but some people, you know, beard looks good.
Katie: Exactly. So our listeners may remember Monica Danna who has been on the show a couple of times now, including -
Esther: She co-hosted.
Katie: As a co-host, as a guest co-host. She's awesome. Her advice is to ask more questions when she didn't understand something.
Esther: And it's so hard to do that, isn't it?
Katie: It really is!
Esther: It's so hard.
Katie: Like you want to appear smart and capable and ready and - you know, sometimes as youthful as we were, sometimes being as young as you are just starting out in a career means that you're concerned that maybe you'll sound stupid or ignorant if you're just curious and wanna know -
Esther: Yeah.
Katie: - when in fact, a lot of times people take it the wrong way if you have nothing, you know, you're just trying to figure it out yourself. You don't wanna get their advice. It's like, "Hey, like I've been around!"
Esther: You don't wanna bother people, you know. Sometimes when you're young you feel like you're bothering people who already know how to do it.
Katie: Exactly.
Esther: We have another listener, Keith Mackert. He says, "I would tell my 20-year-old self, yeah, I know you need a paycheck, but take a chance now and again that's outside your comfort zone."
Katie: Oh.
Esther: That's a really good one.
Katie: That is good.
Esther: And you know, it's never too late to do that either, even if you're not 20, you know. If you're 40, if you're 80, it's never too late to sort of just step outside your comfort zone, do something different once in a while, or pursue a hobby on the side that could make a little extra money -
Katie: Exactly.
Esther: - that could turn into your full-time gig, you never know.
Katie: Exactly, so take your advice now. You don't have to be 20. (Laughter)
Esther: Exactly.
Katie: So one final tip, and this is actually from a website that I found called "LettersToMyYoungerSelf.com". Here's a great quote from Nancy Brinker, Founder of Susan G. Komen Foundation and also a US Ambassador, an incredibly active political figure. She says, "I can tell you right now that you're path will be filled with cement walls, but don't let other people's judgement about that determine where you can go. You'll meet highly educated people who are very snobby about their advanced degrees and who'll look at you like they smell something bad, but don't let it bother you. They've never had to succeed unconventionally so they won't recognize your true worth."
Esther: Wow, that's a good one.
Katie: Wow! Right?
Esther: That's really good.
Katie: Go Nancy. (Laughter)
Esther: I like that a lot. And actually I have to say one more because this comes from my dad.
Katie: Ahhh, let's hear it.
Esther: So my dad as you all probably know is a CEO himself and his advice was more from a CEO perspective as well. It's kind of like Nancy's, you know. Someone that's made it along the way that didn't start out with much and kind of took an unconventional path and he says, "To seek advice from everyone like mentors, peers, employees, investors, consultants, but make sure you make the final decision."
Katie: Yeah.
Esther: So basically like Nancy said, kind of believing you're in your own worth, trusting yourself, doing things that you believe are going to work. And you know, it's great to take advice from other people. It can change the course of how things are gonna go, but at the same time, if you know what's in your heart and you can execute on that, I think that goes a long way.
Katie: Exactly.
Esther: So thank you to all of our Twitter followers for participating in this. It was so much fun to get everybody's feedback -
Katie: This was fun.
Esther: - we can't wait to do it again.
Katie: You guys are pretty smart. I like ya. (Laughter)
Esther: I know, exactly. I'm glad we could share all of your wisdom and what you would have learned. You know, I wish we could go back in time. We need a flux-capacitor -
Katie: Exactly!
Esther: - to send ourselves - (Singing) "Gotta go back in time." But those aren't real, yet.
Katie: Yet. Maybe John has one in his closet.
John: You know it!
Katie: That's what he's been working on on the weekends.
Esther: Run for it Marty.
John: He and Huey Lewis and The News are going back in time.
Esther: And with that, let's bring our 50th show to a close.
Katie: It's been an awesome one.
Esther: Thank you for a great 50 shows everybody, it's been really fabulous getting to know everybody, getting to know the listeners. You tune in every week and tweet and email and Facebook, and send us comments on the website. It's awesome.
Katie: Yes, you're awesome.
Esther: Yep. Here's to another 50.
Katie: Woo-hoo! (Laughter)
Esther: You've been listening to the BusinessMakers Overtime Show heard here and online at theBusinessMakers.com/overtime. I'm Esther Steinfeld.
Katie: And I'm Katie Laird.
Esther: And we'll see you for 51 next week.
Katie: See ya.