He who dares to teach must never cease to learn.
–Richard Henry Dana

Throughout the past 20 years, I’ve been privileged to experience some very different types of work. Sure, I’ve felt the joy (and struggle) of pursuing my passion–but I’ve also had jobs that others would consider very…”unglamorous”.

Since beginning this column over a year ago, a number of readers have reached out to me for advice on their own work life. The individual situations differ slightly, but most questions are variations of the following:

• Should I quit my job?
• What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?
• What should I do to sharpen my leadership (or emotional intelligence) skills?

I try my best to respond to these requests, since I love connecting with readers. I always emphasize that I’ll never tell someone what to do, because they’re the ones responsible for the decisions they make and their consequences.

But I’m always happy to relay principles that I feel have proven successful in my experience.

Looking back, here are a few of the lessons I’ve passed on:

Happiness is an attitude, not a set of circumstances.

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