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

Alexandra Kharazi

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned came from a patient who wasn’t expected to survive. He was in cardiogenic shock, meaning his heart had failed and was not pumping blood to the rest of his body. I remember reviewing his case and thinking, ‘This is exactly why I became a surgeon — to fight for people no one expects to make it.’ We operated. He lived. Read more>>

Sara Cox

One of the most important lessons I learned came from my early experiences working in various medical office jobs, mainly in reception. I witnessed firsthand how prices were often inflated—sometimes to get the most out of insurance companies, and other times directly at the expense of the patient. It never sat right with me. Seeing how common overcharging was made me realize how strongly I value fairness and integrity in care. Read more>>

Jennifer Higgins

I got my first job in a flower shop in high school and from there I went on to work in a different flower shop through college. I was a floral designer and an event planner, so I did floral arrangements for weddings, funerals, daily gifts, and special events. The details ALWAYS matter in this job. It is super messy. In special events, you are required to work sometimes 72 hours at a time with no break getting paid very little. I loved this job because every day was different and new, but it felt merciless until you saw the end result and how absolutely beautiful it was. I was always proud of what I had accomplished in the end. I learned that hard gritty messy laborious work pays off in the accomplishment at the end, no matter how much you get paid or whether you have time to eat or not. Read more>>

Jen Brown

At one point during my career with the U.S. Department of State, I had the privilege of leading a mid-sized team through a particularly challenging period marked by both personnel and operational hurdles. At the time, I believed that as the leader, I had to have all the answers and shoulder every challenge myself. I was gripping every decision too tightly, and the result was twofold: my team felt disempowered, and I found myself exhausted and overwhelmed. Read more>>

Becky Gordy

When most people think of physical therapy, they think of a large, open gym with a bunch of patients being supervised by a few PTs. Those PTs are running from patient to patient, sometimes passing patients off to techs, sometimes dividing their attention between 3 or more patients. I started out in a clinic just like this, with a lot of young professionals who were diliginelty trying to get our patients better. We were often working past our scheduled hours and through lunch, trying to give our patients the best care possible as well as researching new techniques, research, and interventions to be the best therapists we could be. Read more>>

Amanda Bennett

One of the biggest lessons I learned while working in collegiate and professional athletics was that people value access, not just stuff.
I worked closely with donors and ticket holders who gave hundreds of thousands—even millions—of dollars.
And you know what they wanted most? It wasn’t the game tickets.
It was the experience those tickets gave them. Dinner with the athletes. Read more>>

Hadassah Barrios

Something important I learned happened at school. I had been struggling with academics and was really losing my confidence. One day, another girl and I had a meeting with the principal in a classroom. The principal told us, “I feel like God wants you to pray about your problems.” So we started praying, voicing our struggles out loud, and asking God to be the center of it all. After the prayer, I felt a huge sense of relief. That moment taught me something valuable: you need to invite God into your problems. I promise it makes everything better—but you have to be willing to let Him help you. That was one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned. Read more>>

Breana Brown

During my senior year of high school, I had my required appointment with the guidance counselor about my goals and future aspirations. However, there was nothing said in the meeting that I really resonated with. The talk was mostly about going to college, so that’s what I did. I went to college without any real plan for what I wanted to do. I originally wanted to study anesthesiology, but only because I knew that career made a lot of money. When I started my classes, I did everything right. I took notes, studied, did my homework yet I still was falling behind in class and not doing well on my tests. I switched to the undecided major, but did not enjoy any of my classes. After the first semester I left school. Read more>>