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What Would You Tell Your Younger Self?

Twelve women MBAs at the Haas School of Business share advice to younger selves

Do you ever wish you could wave a magic wand and go back in time to “re-do” an event from your past? Maybe you wish you could relive all the fun you had in college? Or remember more clearly the moment you met your spouse or partner? Or tried harder to learn French or to play the flute? Or listened to your grandmother talk about her childhood again?

Forté recently asked women MBA students at the University of California at Berkeley Haas School of Business – a question:

If you could go back and talk to your younger self, what advice would you give?

Here they share their wise perspectives:

Put in the work, but recognize that success is mostly about the relationships you build.  – Sarah Yates

The reason you’re intimidated is because you haven’t broken the problem down into small enough pieces yet. – Emma Jeffries

Don’t let yourself off easy or avoid the challenge out of fear or insecurity.  No one really has it all “more figured out” than anyone else.  – Amanda Parker

Things always seem impossible before they get done.  – Joanna Guo

Tell others your dreams. Help comes from the most unexpected places.   Michelle Hernandez Rosa

Learn to fend for yourself.   Nahita Nishmin

Find those you admire, and ask them to share their secrets instead of envying them from a distance. – Anne Kramer

Learn to love the unexpected. Your greatest and most formative experiences are likely not in your five-year plan. – Natalie Osterweil

Believe in yourself and other people will follow. – Carla Colindres

You are your most valuable resource. Do not consider the time that you spend on you as a waste. You need to keep your resource healthy and happy. You will be surprised how many ideas and solutions came to me after I went running or had a good sleep. – Julia Nechaieva

Bosses are people, too – you will work much more effectively together if you think empathetically about the ways in which your boss, too, might feel insecure, unprepared, or overwhelmed. – Kim Ayers

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