We asked some brilliant entrepreneurs, artists and creatives to reflect on lessons they’ve learned at prior jobs. We’ve shared highlights below.

Meghann Trapp

I am an Air Force veteran and served 10 years. During my time in the military, I had many times that were challenging, frustrating and seemed impossible to get through. Specifically, I was sexually and physically assaulted while deployed. There were times I didn’t think I could continue on and I knew I had to dig deep and keep putting one foot in front of the other. Read more>>

SkyMajor

The greatest lesson I learned was money management. Working in the banking industry taught me a lot of financial skills. I come from a family that taught me how to save money and manage money. My mom used to say, “A stick better not break”, meaning nothing can go wrong and you basically have no room for error especially with your finances. Read more>>

Chanel Robe

In my early 20s, I was a people-pleasing project management consultant who worked with corporate companies. I loved people and believed in providing the best client experiences and results possible. These qualities eventually led to me burning out twice. The first time happened during my first major client project. Read more>>

Bara Mann

One of the most impactful acts of kindness occurred in my college days and was served up by one of my now-favorite professors, Janet DeGrazia. Read more>>

Gwen Dittmar

I was speaking at an event today and I was reminded how much my former career taught me about how we discover our path, our next steps, our aligned health and healing protocols, and approaches to making radical changes. Read more>>

Markese Hayden

After many years of working for the railroad I was looking for a serious change in my work environment, Back in 2019 I had the opportunity to become a Fitness Director at a Senior Community Center in Baltimore. If you know anything about working with older adults that you have to really be adaptable to all situations. Everything on the surface seems completely different from their lives and my life yet we both had one common connection. Read more>>

Maureen Ella

I was working in a full-service salon where I initially worked as a nail technician. While I enjoyed craft, a persistent feeling nudged me towards seeking more. Determined to broaden my skill set, I enrolled in a cosmetology program to complete the hours, while continuing to serve my clients at the salon. Read more>>

Eric Van Gogh

The biggest lesson that I’ve learned from a past experience is to be open-minded. Everything said can be turned into a lesson one way or another. Don’t just sit inside of a box because you will never be able to grow above that. The only way you can strive for greatness is to take risks and to be free with opinions and criticism. Read more>>

Torey Varner

The more experience I have, the more lessons I learn about myself, what my work preferences are, the type of environment I thrive in, my worth, and much more. There is one specific experience at a previous job that taught me a lot and gave me my power as a young professional. I was about 2 years into my injecting career and came upon a job offer that seemed incredible: decent pay, room for growth, and a lot of educational opportunities. Being newer in the industry, I hopped on the offer due to the guidance and elevation it was supposed to provide me. Read more>>

Keirsten Greggs

The most important lesson I learned from a prior job was knowing when to move on to the next opportunity. In 2011, having exhausted every available stretch project, special assignment, and talent development opportunity within the TA/HR department, I was promoted and transferred to a newly created role outside of TA that would allow me to utilize the skills I had gained in one of the business units I had been supporting. Read more>>

Felicia Sullivan

No leader is infallible. We all make mistakes and cringe-worthy missteps, but it’s how we resolve the mistake that matters. It’s the after that people remember. I was once in a meeting with a direct report who had a habit of shutting down other team members’ contributions when she felt they were wrong. Let’s call her Sarah. Read more>>

Kimberly Duffus

Some lessons and experiences I learnt from my last job was patience, compassion and treating people fairly (all relative I know). I flew for a 5 star airline in the Middle East for a couple of years and meeting hundreds of new people was a daily occurrence. We had every single type of customer / guest profiles / backgrounds you could think of… from people leaving their villages for the very first time – to the royal family…  Read more>>

Stacey Diaz

My pivotal lesson as a business owner stems from my time as a production manager in television production. The demanding nature of that role, with its long hours and high-pressure situations, ingrained in me the paramount importance of a strong work ethic. Read more>>

Nadine Nicola Green

I spent 18 years as a Skilled Nursing Facility Social Services Director. I always went above and beyond the job requirements because of my love for people and my passion to help God’s people. Eventually it became painfully obvious that my dedication was being exploited for the “good” of the company but to my own personal demise. Read more>>