Be fearless.

One of the traits that I look for in the company I keep is confidence. When I say 'be fearless', I know that that's literally impossible. I fear a lot of things, all the time. I fear loss, loneliness, hangovers, weight gain, etc. When I say 'be fearless', I mean 'be fearless with what you know' (in this world).

I have met a lot of people in my life that have been kind, sweet, intelligent. While I was in college, I felt like those were almost the only kinds of people you would ever meet - the only kinds of people that were in the entire world. After I joined the working world, outside of the college bubble, I realized quickly that this was not the case. For the longest time, I had my guard up. And that was that; no more people would be be in my inner-circle and invited to know my inner-thoughts.

I began working at Acxiom and I started to observe the people I was working with. And for the first time in my adult life, I noticed someone who possessed this quiet confidence. It wasn't an obnoxious kind of pseudo-confidence that a lot of insecure people sport. It was almost like this positive energy that was calling out to me.

During my first few weeks, my at-the-time boss pulled me into a conference room and said that he thought I was ready to begin working on actual clients instead of just training. He asked me who I would like to work with and without hesitation I said, "Chrissy." And we worked together for at least six months.

In those six months, I noticed that I was starting to become more confident in my choice of people. Chrissy turned out to be the most considerate, most giving, most relatable person I had met in a long time. She knows what I'm feeling or what I'm thinking almost before I'm about to say it. She also works very damn hard. She can pull twelve or thirteen hour days and wouldn't complain an ounce. I admired that, and I decided that that is the kind of work persona that I aspire to be like.