Hazel Nelson

I attribute my success to patience above all else. Looking back at my career, I was able to stay in my job for so long even when it was hard and I felt like quitting, and that patience helped me develop and find a path forward. I learned that sticking with something long-term is where I find stability, and that's what my previous job taught me - to plan for a career path and stick with it. I'm also proud that I was able to develop the patience to stick with my job, because it wasn't easy being a contractual employee with a daughter, doing loads of work, but I couldn't mess up. The patience paid off after 7 years, and I gained experience and knowledge that you simply cannot buy or pay for. Even though I felt underpaid back then, I cannot buy the experience I gained. I'm humble enough to always remember where I started and how I was able to do it patiently, even though it was tough. My family - my husband and my daughter - are my inspiration, along with my family back in the Philippines, and they give me enough motivation to strive more and start over here in the U.S. Most importantly, my faith and my religion have been crucial. My faith is the first and most important thing, and I believe that when you have faith in your relationship with your Creator, everything will fall into place.

My advice would be: patience is a virtue. That's absolutely true. Even though you've graduated with a good degree, or you have the knowledge, the skills, you're intelligent, you graduated with awards and all that, when you're in the real world and you land a job, if you don't have the patience, you won't be able to stick to a career. What helped me is having the patience - I was able to stick with my job and gain experience. I've seen a lot of intelligent graduates in the Philippines who didn't have the patience to stay in a job, so they step from job to job to job, and it's not good for your resume either. Be patient, be very teachable, and be humble. You have to plan and have a vision board - that's going to be more helpful. Be humble enough to work with people and be taught. Also, your financial accountability with what you're earning at an early age would be great. You have to be responsible with what you earn and where it's going, so you know where your effort and your work is going. Try investing and start investing. Be responsible in all those areas. Even though you work so hard and earn a lot, if you don't know how to value, track your budget, and your finances, you won't go anywhere. Financial accountability, patience, work ethics - these are all important. And most importantly for me, what worked for me is my faith. Have faith in your relationship with your Creator, do service to people, and everything will fall into place.