INSTANT MBA: Find Out What Has Meaning To You And Go After It

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Today's advice comes from Kay Krill, president and CEO of Ann Taylor, via Bloomberg Business Week:

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"I graduated from college, and I did not know what I wanted to do. Macy’s came to campus to interview for their training program, and I thought, 'Let me give it a try.' I got the job and fell in love with the industry. The president of Macy’s at the time said, 'If you don’t wake up every morning dying to go to work, then retailing is not for you; it has to be in your blood.' It was in my blood."

Krill says you need to be passionate about what you do. The more you put off pursuing your dreams, the more unhappy you'll be in the long run. The secret is to know what you want and fight for it. Although this is easier said than done, once you embark on the long journey of saying 'no' to those things in life that don't matter, you will find yourself a lot happier. It's a long term investment that is worth the effort and the sooner you realize it, the better.

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"One of my favorite mentors said to me that you have to learn to jettison the people and things out of your life that just don’t matter and put 100 percent of your energy into things that do have meaning to you. That was very liberating for me. I used to go to all these places because I couldn’t say no. Now I pick and choose, and I say no very easily, because I know what’s important to me. I only wish that I learned how to do that earlier in my life."

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