Graduating from a university located in what some call a “fly-over state” meant not many in-state ad jobs existed.  I remember hearing someone from the industry say that you’d be lucky (at that time) to land an entry-level ad job with a starting salary of $22K-$25K (which is equivalent to $30K-$34K in 2018).  As an underclassman, I set my sights on $20K to prevent feeling let down in the future.

Success comes by choice, not circumstance.

We must be “at cause” for our results.  If we allow our current situation (or worse, our past situations) to mandate what we can and can’t do, then we’ll never get unstuck.  We must choose to get unstuck.  We must decide to succeed.

Being “at cause” means to take ownership of our attitude, mindset, action and results.  Take ownership of your circumstances.  If you aren’t happy, make a change.  Get rid of the things in your life that aren’t working for you.  These could be physical things, time commitments, money commitments, relationships, jobs or even beliefs.  When you get rid of these undesirables, you’re making room for something better – even if you don’t know what that is yet.

What do you need to let go of in order to achieve success? 

My junior year at Oklahoma State University, I landed an internship as an art director at Leo Burnett in Chicago.  During that internship, not only did I let go of the belief that I’d be lucky to land my first real job but also the belief that I would only earn $20K starting out.  (I also threw out any chance of working anywhere that wasn’t a big city.)

My first entry-level ad job was in San Francisco earning DOUBLE what I was told to expect.

Choose to own your success.