After all, I was choosing to walk in the front door of Morgan Stanley every day. I didn’t have to. I could make a different choice. I had to stop throwing away my power by focusing on what was wrong and focus on ways, to use a baseball term, “to knock the cover off the ball.

The 50/50 rule means that when people meet you for the first time, before you ever speak, there is a 50/50 chance that they think you are smart and a 50/50 chance that they’ll think you are stupid. These perceptions are, at least in part, created and destroyed by how you express yourself verbally, how you use your voice.

You can’t be what I call selectively motivated, where you can only work hard and smart when things are going well.

The goal is to create a “chit,” or IOU, so that, assuming you continue to perform well, the organization feels like it owes you the next time.

I'll always take an artistic endeavor over a career move.

The focus should be on becoming a strong and
influential personality – cultivate compelling communication skills, focus on building trust and learn how to expand and leverage your professional network.