If you told me 1.5 years ago that I would be spending a Saturday morning at a meetup for newsletter people I simply would have laughed at you.

But alas, at the ripe age of 23, I attended the ATX Newsletters Creators & Operators Meetup (and it was a pretty good vibe).

Everyone shared about their own newsletters, platforms their using, growth strategies, all the things.

After getting some feedback on this very newsletter you’re reading right now, I thought it might be nice to share some life and career advice from people way smarter than me.

I read a book

One of my old CEOs + a few other important people important to me recommended I read the Defining Decade when I graduated from college. Such an iconic book.

My top takeaways are below…advice applicable to all ages.

1. Not making choices is a choice all the same
   
   There’s so much power in motion. Sometimes the best part is in the process of reaching a goal. The choice not to act is still a choice. The outcome is still going to be influenced by inaction.
    

2. There is always something you can do to improve your situation 
   
   It’s supposed to be hard sometimes!! But everything is figure-out-able if you focus on the things that you can control and try let the rest be.
    

3. Accept that there are no right answers, just decisions you make
   
   In a lot of situations, there isn’t a universally correct choice. Just do what you can with the context available. Different choices lead to different outcomes, but none may be definitively “right”
    

4. Don’t pretend that there’s no particular life you want to live
   
   Girl be so for real. We all want to be young, hot, successful baddies. If you want something, work for it. If you need something, ask for it.
    

5. Your first job is just one piece of the puzzle. One thing at a time.
   
   S/o to the post grad girlies out there right now feeling absolutely no direction in their lives. The first job you do in the real world is literally just the first thing. Careers are long! So much time to be everything else you’re dreaming of.
    

6. The best decisions are the ones that are both interesting and they make sense for your life
   
   That’s it. That’s the Tweet.
    

7. Doing something later isn’t exactly the same as doing something better
   
   There are always great things on their way to you. Sometimes you get more information on something if you think about it longer. Taking action sooner could be just as good, or even better, than waiting for the "perfect" time.
    

8. The best time to work on your marriage is before you have one
   
   Be the type of person you want to be in a relationship with. If you’d only marry a patient, kind, and understanding person, you have to be one, too.
    

9. Knowing you WANT to do something isn’t the same thing has knowing HOW to do it. And even knowing HOW to do something isn’t the same thing as DOING IT WELL
   
   “Want” and “know” aren’t enough! Whatever you want, get your reps in to actually develop expertise.
    

10. Your life is going to continue past this decade of your life & you might even want it to be great, so put the work in to make it happen
    
    Anything worth having genuinely takes work. It makes sense that we all want to lead great and fulfilling lives, and we owe it to ourselves to set a solid foundation for all the amazing things to come.

Shoutout to Meg Jay for all her wisdom in the Defining Decade. She had some bangers in there fr.

We all have so much life to be excited for!

Hope you enjoyed!!! See you next time

Xo,

Bella Rose