The other day I was being interviewed and I was asked: “What is the best advice you have received in your life?” I spent a few seconds thinking and 3 tips came to mind that have been very important in my life.
I wanted share them with you (I order them chronologically based on when I received them). They have been very useful to me; I hope they are also useful for you.
- “There is nothing more profitable than training”. I remember perfectly. As if it were today. It was on June 19th, 1998 at my graduation party at ESADE. Among the personalities who gave the speeches was an investment expert with a position of high responsibility in a financial institution of international prestige. I do not remember the name of the person or the institution he represented. But I do remember his wise advice perfectly. He said to all the students present: “I have spent my whole life studying financial markets. I have analyzed investments in fixed income, equities, options and futures, in raw materials… and I have never been able to discover an investment that is more profitable than training”. Both in time and money, I was fully convinced that nothing in our professional life would have a greater return than training. And he encouraged all of us to continue training throughout our professional lives.
- “Underpromise and Overdelivery ”: Another of the great advices that I have received in my life. I don’t remember the date in detail, but it was 2001 when I started my professional project as a freelance. I do perfectly remember the person who gave me the advice. He was Lluis Martinez – Ribes, an expert in neuromarketing and a professor at ESADE (where I had the pleasure of having him as a professor). Lluis, now a personal friend, has been the person who has helped me the most in my professional career. He always recommended me to “promise less and deliver more”. The well-known “underpromise & overdeliver”. He advised me to be prudent in the promises and not to guarantee anything that I was not able to fulfill. And above all, always offer customers something more than they expected. As a marketing expert, he knew well what he was talking about. Offering something more, surprising the client with unforeseen contributions, offering greater added value is essential to achieve customer satisfaction, loyalty and also to succeed in the professional and business field. A great tip, which I have tried to keep in mind throughout my professional career.
- “Most people overestimate what they can achieve in the short term and underestimate what they can achieve in the long term.” This quote is from Tony Robbins, possibly the best coach in the world. About 10 years ago I started to read his books and to follow him as one of the great world leaders in personal development. In this sense, if you like this topic, I recommend you to watch the documentary “I’m not your Guru“, available on Netflix and focused on the figure of the American coach. Robbins says that one of the big problems we have in our society is that most of us expect too much in our short term. We live in the society of immediacy. We want to learn English, lose weight … or whatever, quickly and with the least possible effort. Many people abandon their challenges because they ask for things in the short term that are impossible to obtain in a short time. Many people create high expectations in the short term, do not quickly achieve their results and quit. Robbins also says that most people are unaware of what they can achieve in the long run. They underestimate their potential. For example, reading one book a week for several weeks will hardly make you much wiser. Now, reading a book every week for a few years will put you on another level. We are not aware of all the wonderful things we can achieve in the long term. And I can’t agree more with this advice from Tony Robbins.
There are 3 tips that have marked me a lot. They have helped me in my professional career and for this reason I wanted to share them with you. I hope you find them useful too.
