Last week we shared seven (7) big life lessons learned from professional experiences. This week we are talking big career lessons that we can learn from everyday life.
Seven Life Lessons and Career Advice from Judith Germano, Founding Member of GermanoLawLLC and Former Federal Prosecutor and Chief of Economic Crimes at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey
1. Step away from something in order to focus much more intensely on it: Sometimes on my long runs, I come up with really valuable business ideas and solutions that might have taken me longer to reach just sitting at the desk. 
Stepping away from an issue or problem and looking at it from a different angle is useful. I think it also makes us happier, healthier and more efficient people.
2. Feel confident in trusting your instincts to take the right next step: Start by asking yourself “what’s the right thing is to do?” Then determine who you might need to ask for guidance or advice on a variety of options. You have to work on finding the balance between trusting your instincts, having good judgment and seeking help when and as needed.
3. Success comes from personal initiative and hard work: I have had many wonderful mentors who have guided and advocated for me, and for that I feel very blessed but, as my parents always taught me, success starts from initiative and hard work.
[] 4. Be a forward-looking person, but have flexibility: I have a map, or plan, in my head but often have ended up taking a different course. I’m all the better for it. It’s that flexibility, openness, and looking at what’s ahead that helps me most.
5. Hear contrary opinions to help you, even if you decide to go/do it another way: I think it’s important to keep an open-mind to all kinds of advice, the positive and the more critical. Sometimes the advice that is the hardest to hear could be the kind that we need the most.
6. Find balance and do not succumb to self-doubt. Take time for careful introspection. Make sure there’s the right balance of confidence and humility in each step you take.
7. Find a process to determine what’s the “right” or best thing in any situation. Working for 11 years as a federal prosecutor, I learned to exercise this on a regular basis. But I think it can help anyone, in many situations: ask yourself if “it’s” ethically sound, legally consistent, strategically appropriate, and best for the interested parties. Remember sometimes it’s best to be aggressive.
Other times it’s right to step back with confidence, wait and then engage when it’s appropriate. And sometimes the best thing to do is to not engage at all, even when it may be tempting and when quiet restraint takes more strength and courage than action.
Everyone needs an advice career “dream team.” Today gather a group of friends, family mentors and even strangers who always offer a positive and important perspective and great pearls of wisdom.