What 90s Music Taught Me About Life, Success, and Business (Part 1)

Music has always been (and continues to be) a great passion of mine.  Here are a few things 90s classics taught me about life, success and business.

“Your silence whispering misunderstandings/There’s so much you need to realize” -Mariah Carey, All in Your Mind (1990)

You go to work every day and do your job fairly well; you’re not soaring above and beyond, but you’re not sinking either.  Your superiors aren’t giving you positive or negative feedback, they’re giving you no feedback, so it’s hard to really get a gauge on where you stand.  Naturally, you begin making assumptions about your job status, whether it’s that you’re doing well or doing poorly.  Stop that right now.  Check in instead.  Pull your supervisor aside and ask them any or all of the following:

1. What can I do better?
2. What can I do for you right now?
3. What can I do for you in the future?

These questions are simple, but they the key critical time frames—the (remediable) past, the present and the future.  Your superiors will appreciate the opportunity to address improvement, whether it’s your individual improvement, or the way you contribute to the team.

“Well, the years start coming and they don’t stop coming/Fed
to the rules and I hit the ground running/Didn’t make sense not to live for
fun/Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb” –Smash Mouth, All Star (1999)

While it’s critical to focus on your career
and have goals (and work toward them), your life outside of work needs the same
type of nurturing.  Take time to focus on
your passions, try new things, and venture outside of your comfort zone.  New experiences, whether they are vocational,
digestive, literary, or otherwise, are great ways to increase your pool of
ideas, broaden your creativity and gain new perspectives.  All work and no play is a recipe for
limited thinking and cranky employees.

“Back in school we used to dream about this everyday/Could it
really happen? Or do dreams fade away/Then we started singing them/They said it
sounded smooth/So we started a group and here we are/Kickin’ it just for you” –Boyz II Men, Motownphilly
(1991)

The whole basis of business is that an
individual or group of individuals share in a vision together and are committed
to making that vision a reality.  Whether
you’re an entrepreneur starting up, or want to join an already successful team
at a larger corporation, like attracts like.
When you sincerely share in a company’s vision and mission and believe
in their brand, products, or services, you’re more likely to create a positive
impact with the work you do and success and prosperity will naturally follow.

Check in next week for Part Two!

Elle Hernandez is the Marketing Associate at C-Suite Assistants