Looking Back for Future Success

by Rico on August 24th, 2008

It’s amazing how two years can pass like Usain Bolt shattering world records. That’s how long I’ve been making a living, from my day job as in the online marketing industry, and of course, as a freelancer.

The danger with letting time pass by so quickly is that there’s a tendency to get too much into what you’re doing right now. The tendency is not to think about the future and your long-term plans.

On the other hand, living too much in the present also means you don’t get to properly analyze what has happened. That’s equally important, because the mistakes of the past teach you what to do in the future—but only if you truly learn from them.

Lessons Learned

Personally, the most valuable lesson my past offers is the benefits of time management. To be honest, my first two years saw me experience problems balancing my personal and work life. After some reflection, I realized that this was due to my failure to maximize whatever time was available to me.

Another lesson I’ve learned is that punctuality goes a long way in establishing a professional reputation. You can be the best designer around, but don’t commit if you can’t submit on time.

Speaking of reputations, before you even start marketing yourself to prospective clients, you have to decide who you are and what you do. If you can boil down everything into one clear and catchy sentence, it will be that much easier to attract the right attention.

Whatever you come up with, turn that into a strong and clear brand that will help distinguish you from other freelancers competing for the same contracts. I failed to appreciate the benefits of branding when I was starting out.

What About You?

Have any of you looked at your past? What valuable lessons have you learned from it, and how do you apply it to your future?

Tags: learning from the past

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