Today marks the completion of another year in business for glee. It’s been a busy 12 months and I’m excited to be working with so many creative thinkers and industry innovators. As companies continue to seek the best ways to connect with their audiences and position themselves for growth, it’s clear well-crafted content is an essential tool. I’m thrilled my clients have trusted me to develop messages that gain attention and provide value to their clients and prospective clients. 

Next week, I have the pleasure of speaking to a group of students at my alma mater, Penn State, about careers in marketing. As I reflect on my own almost 20-year career in the industry, the message I want to share with them most is that there are so many opportunities in this field to do what makes you happy. After all, “if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” Easier said than done for sure, but it is possible. So on this fourth anniversary of glee, here are a five rules I’d share with my younger self in order to get there:

• Don’t shy away from a challenging project—that’s where you’ll find the most interesting work and thrill of achievement.
• Do prioritize working with people you like—when you team up with someone that makes work enjoyable, keep them around!
• Do the unexpected—just because you thought your career would be one thing, don’t automatically say no to the other thing that comes along because that might just be the right thing!
• Do be honest with yourself about your life goals and build a career around them, not the other way around.
• Don’t be afraid to reinvent yourself—always keep learning about your craft, about your industry (and others!)…literally nothing that I do now existed when I was in college studying advertising.

Thank you again to my clients, partners, friends and family who support me and believe in me. The feeling is mutual. 

As the next year rolls along, please reach out and say hello. And, I’d love it if you shared the rules you’d tell your younger self in the comments!