Alisa Sane

I would say discipline is what I attribute my success to. You know, we're talking about Generation X here, where we moved very differently back then. We didn't have all these gadgets. I like being by myself. I don't mind being alone. I like myself. I'm committed to that one person - my husband, my daughter. I like being a mom. I'm loyal. Being loyal to the person, whether that is your friend, or your husband, or your best friend, or your child. And being loyal means you can trust me. On top of that, I remember somebody saying something on LinkedIn about your word. I was one of those sticklers about that. I just remember people actually keeping their word, and it just rubs me the wrong way when people don't.

The best career advice I ever received was to do more listening than talking. When you're in your field, especially when you're just starting out, you should ask questions, but not while others are talking. Do more listening, more note-taking. It's a little bit different now when people are starting out, but I definitely did more listening and more asking questions. That's what worked for me as a Generation X professional coming up in the field.

Right now, I would definitely tell young women to have more income streams than just your job. Because right now, as you can see with things moving, one paycheck is not going to do it. You really now, with the way the world is working, you really need to have multiple income streams. You just don't really need to just rely on this one thing, because the way the world is, you can do so much more than when I was coming out back in the 90s. You should be booming, you should have your hands on everything. And please do not tell everyone what you're doing. Not even your BFF. Everybody doesn't need to know what you're doing, every moment. Keep that to yourself. Be silent and move. Silence is key.

I would say the biggest challenge and opportunity is to challenge yourself to think outside the box. Allow yourself to think outside the box. When you confront something - whether it's a job, a person, an opportunity in another country or another field - and you ask yourself, does this seem right? Does this feel right? You know, it's not exactly what I wanted, God. But why does it feel so good? Challenge yourself. Take a leap, take a chance. People need to stop judging based on what they think things should look like. Get real about what's really important. Stop playing with these games about what you hope this person, man or woman, wants to look like. You need to get to the core value of what matters. Start looking beyond all this physical stuff in your head and these preconceived ideas.

My most important values are to stay consistent. Please stay consistent. And I would say, keep a small circle, especially for women. Keep a smaller circle, I'm telling you. It really works very differently if you keep a small circle. People say, oh, well, I have a lot of friends, I have a lot of friends. Really, really, keep a small circle. I'll tell you, it works really well. People will show you who they are, and when they show you who they are, don't just call it forgiveness. When they show you who they are, you need to believe them.