Social Media Strategist Shares The One Piece Of Advice She Received From Her Billionaire Boss That Made Her Career Take Off
She explained that one piece of advice helped her figure out who would be able to help her career grow.
Anthony Mujica Viera | Shutterstock A social media strategist shared some advice that she received from her boss that ended up making a rather huge difference in her career.
In a TikTok video, a content creator named Courtney Johnson admitted that on the first day of her former job, she received a bit of insight that she's been sitting with ever since, and something that she credits as being the driving force for why her career began flourishing.
A social media strategist revealed the one piece of advice she received from her billionaire boss that made her career take off.
"I used to work for a billionaire. I directly reported to him, and during my very first month of the job, he gave me advice that completely changed the trajectory of my career," Johnson began in her TikTok video. "I've been holding onto this piece of advice."
She explained that her former billionaire boss once told her that it's important to take advice iteratively, meaning do not take advice from someone who is ten paces ahead of you in their career and instead take advice from someone whose only one to two paces ahead of you.
She used Taylor Swift as a way to illustrate her message.
Johnson provided some examples, such as if you wanted to break into the music industry and you had access to get advice from someone like Taylor Swift, it wouldn't be wise.
That's because Taylor Swift is so far removed from starting out in the music industry that her advice might not be attainable.
Instead, Johnson's former boss would advise that it would be helpful to seek advice from a smaller band who might've just booked their first festival and have 100,000 streams on Spotify. Instead of Taylor Swift, this small band might only be a few paces ahead of you and not yet big enough where their advice doesn't provide actionable steps.
"I think this is what gets people really upset when they're following influencers because oftentimes these people are way too many steps ahead of you," Johnson continued.
"You're always gonna fall flat in taking their advice or being influenced by whatever they're influencing you on."
This career advice can help anyone feeling overwhelmed by the possibilities of their goals.
Sometimes, when we hear a billionaire or someone in the one percent giving career advice, we tend to roll our eyes because a majority of the reason why they're in that position in the first place is because of privilege and luck.
There's nothing more frustrating than a billionaire trying to relate to the struggles of building a business and launching a career when, nine times out of 10, they didn't have to do much work themselves.
However, there's something refreshing about receiving career advice that's a bit more practical. Broad general advice can be inspiring, but it won't actually help you move forward.
It makes sense to seek advice and insights from someone who isn't too far removed from the place that you're at in your career. They have already walked the steps you need to walk and can give you actionable steps to success.
Truthfully, it's all about networking with the right people who can relate to your current struggles and also offer you actionable tips and tricks that can help you make the most out of your career. They might even be able to give you what-not-to-do tips to get where they are even quicker and easier!
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.