Quit

This advice is simple: Quit. Now why would I tell you to do that? And, quit what? Perhaps you just graduated or are fresh in your first job. Maybe you don't even have a one yet. Let me explain.

It’s not quit in the sense of giving up when things get too hard. This isn’t about hopelessness or a sense of failure. It’s quit in a much bolder sense. Quitting to try something new, to gain a fresh perspective, or to embark on a new endeavor. Quitting is risky. And risk is an exact expression of your courage.

Landing your first job is somewhat easy. That’s what your time at ad school prepared you for. What is much harder is the decision to leave it. To leave your first job and take your second. Or leave your second to take your third. No one is teaching you how to do that in school, guaranteed. Yet, when you move into new situations and places, you change your perspective, and you learn things. Every new place you work will have a different vibe to it with many unique personalities and a culture all its own. I am recommending you get exposure to as many as you can.

You’ll gain an advantage in your career when you continually go out and experience more of the world. This is what travel teaches you; what working at a new place or in a new city teaches you; what exposing yourself to change and risk teaches you.

Be curious, travel, discover, experience. Curiosity and courage will have a profound affect on your creativity. You are entering a field where creativity is key. Creativity is what will set you apart from your peers. And creativity, I imagine, is what got you interested in Advertising in the first place.

By exposing yourself to change, by making the tough decision to switch jobs, by testing your courage, by quitting – you gain so much. And if you truly believe in the choices you make, there is no question you’re making the right decision.