Almost every single interview yielded this insight: perseverance, above all else, is the number one factor in building a career to be proud of.
Sam Meenasian, director of operations at USA Business Insurance, told Business Insider he spent 12 painstaking years getting where he is today, in an industry that requires you to be tough as nails: insurance.
"I started out with small personal lines sales, writing auto insurance for local clients," Meenasian said. "I have been through the insurance transition starting from door to door sales to putting flyers on cars in the hopes of getting one call out of the hundreds of flyers passed out."
Often, those years of perseverance are anything by glamorous — but they can build grit, resilience, and yield life-changing results, according to Meenasian. "After struggling for all those years and working on minimum wage or commission basis, I now own a successful commercial based insurance agency," he said.
Surya Kant, the president of North America, UK, and Europe for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), had a similar lesson to share.
Not only has Kant experienced a similarly long career trajectory, but through it, he's been able to work in countries around the world, and in many different areas of the consultancy business:
"I started out at the bottom of the totem pole here at TCS, and stuck with the same company throughout my entire adult life," Kant said. "It may have taken a long time, but I've achieved my goal of becoming a leader in a company I love."