Pay attention to Your Defining Moments

Pay attention to your defining moments regardless if they are big or small. At the recent Create + Cultivate event, Chelsea Handler was a keynote speaker, and I have to say that I didn’t know too much about her prior to the event, but she was hands down one of the best speakers I’ve ever seen. She was kind, funny, motivating, and really resonated with me. [Watch her keynote here] One of the things that stood out was when she talked about defining moments of her career. She talked about when she opened at Rockefeller center, and discussed the importance of being present for your big moments based on what is important to you.

Everyone sees success differently, so big moments will be different and have a different scope for each person. One of the defining moments of my career happened recently, and it made me realize how far I’ve come. I had a classmate from UC Santa Cruz reach out via LinkedIn to get some resume help, and it was really big for me. It may not sound important, but getting to the point in my career where an old classmate reaches out for advice and to work with me is really defining. To me, that shows that I’ve come far enough to be recognized as an industry professional, and it means that my business which I started only a year and a half ago has become real. It means that I’ve been able to take charge of my career make a name for myself. People told me that I wouldn’t be able to make a living as a resume writer and that I wasn’t going to be able to establish a solid business, so when someone from my past reached out for advice, it made a huge impact on me.

Again, this moment may not seem as huge to you as it felt to me, but that’s the point. There is no rule or guidebook as to what should be defining. What shapes us and makes us individuals are the little moments and victories that we see as big. Maybe one of your defining moments is finally standing up to your boss, or to a family member or friend; maybe it’s when you finally have enough money in the bank to feel secure, or maybe it’s something personal that only you know about. Whatever those moments may be, pay attention and acknowledge when something important (to you) happens. Be present, take account of what it means for you, and be proud.

Your life is what you make it, and no one should be able to tell you what is or isn’t important. Pay attention to your defining moments and be proud of all of your accomplishments, both big and small.