Okay, so these aren’t specific to writers or writing, but they have important messages, nonetheless.

First, is 5 Signs It’s Time To Quit Your Job by Sallie Krawcheck.

I think I bookmarked this one for her fourth reason on that list: “My stomach hurt…particularly on Sunday nights.”

For me, when I feel that clenching feeling in my stomach at the thought of going to work, I now know it’s time for me to quit that job and move on as soon as possible.  In college I had a job that was not ideal for a number of reasons.  It started off good, but towards the end I dreaded going to work every day.  I thought I couldn’t quit, so I trudged on day after day.  Until the day my manager said something so ridiculous I couldn’t keep it in anymore and I got myself fired.

And ended up at a job that paid about 50% more than that job had.

So, when you dread going to work every day, get out before it either destroys you or you get fired.

I also believe that if I’m not laughing at least once a day something is wrong in my life and I need to change it.  But I will say I disagree with her about the working on a plane thing.  I had the exact opposite opinion, which was that if I was so busy with work that I felt I had to work on my flight to and from an assignment, then something was wrong and I needed to step back and change things.

The second article is If I Were 22: Advice From a B Student by Mark Weinberger.

Since I like to claim that I’m an A- student–I always aim for the A range, but anything higher than an A- seems like too much effort for too little return–this article appealed to me from the get go.

Some great gems in there:

“The world will find your limitations. Only you will find your opportunities.”

“The future is never made by those who focus on limitations. It is made by people who focus on possibilities.”

“Finding that balance between your career and the rest of your life is crucial. No matter how fast your career is moving, you need to stop occasionally and evaluate what really matters to you. If the life you’re building doesn’t leave enough room for the people and things that you love, then you need to stop and change course.”

A few things I learned from the corporate world that are in line with his comments:

Almost no one you work for or with is going to encourage you to take big risks.  They’d rather you got in line behind them or next to them and slowly worked your way through the ranks without rocking the boat too much.

If you don’t insist on a balance between your personal life and work life, your work life will take up more and more of your time until you don’t have a personal life left.  You have to insist on limits.

And he’s also right about what your degree is not mattering once you get into most jobs.  It’s about ability to deliver and to learn what you don’t know.

So there you have it.  Some work and life advice from two very successful people and one not so successful but highly opinionated person.  Haha…