Melissa Romano Harris

I attribute my success to the values my grandfather instilled in me - he was my guiding light and the one who really shaped my foundation. He was born in Tecate, Mexico, came to America and joined the Army in World War II, serving in the Philippines, and was granted U.S. citizenship for his service. He never took that for granted and worked really hard in the wine industry, making an impact himself. From him I learned an old-school work ethic where you take pride in your work. I treat every job I've ever done, since my very first job working in a deli making sandwiches, as if it's my own company, and I give it the best that I can. When people can see the worth of your work, it provides you with more opportunities, and that's exactly what has happened in my career. I also credit finding work that I'm passionate about - when you love your job, you never work a day. I've never gone home feeling like I did work or woken up wanting to call in sick. I've been very fortunate to work for people who treat me as an equal and provide me the space where I can be myself, work autonomously, and be accountable for my own work. My current boss has a cornerstone value that everybody should be treated and given the same opportunities, from partners down to support staff and receptionists, with equal access to benefits, bonuses, and medical coverage. Giving employees the power to work autonomously and advocate when they need to really empowers us, and when you treat your employees with kindness and respect and appreciate their work for what it is without micromanaging how they do it, you get better results and better work from your team.

The best career advice really comes down to what they always say - if you love your job, you never work a day. I've been fortunate to have had amazing mentors throughout my career. My first boss, the owner of the court reporting firm, hired me because during the interview I was smiling, and every time she asked if I had done something or could do something, I completely just said yes, I'm willing to learn it, I will do it, no problem. She was always so great to me, giving me her inspiration and guidance. The advice was more personal and specific to me, but the core message was always about finding what you love and have passion for. When you find that passion, everything you do doesn't feel like work. I don't go home feeling like I did work or wake up the next morning wanting to call in sick. I've never had that feeling, even when I had a 45-minute commute. When you find a person to work for and work with who treats you as an equal and provides you the space where you can be yourself and work autonomously with accountability, and when you work as a team with accuracy, that's when you truly thrive.

I would LOVE to influence a new generation of women into positions like I've been fortunate to be in.

Honestly, my advice applies to all aspects in life, not just one's career. And I continue to practice, daily, what I give as advice.

The advice I would offer would be:

• Start whenever and wherever you can but JUST START.

Whenever you can start, if it's at 19, or 50, and whether it's as a receptionist, assistant, or anything else, it doesn't have to be in the legal field, because every experience builds skills, confidence, and momentum.

But the BEST ADVICE I can give, and something I continually practice myself, is:

• NEVER FEAR ANYTHING NEW, especially change.

And this really applies to EVERYTHING in life.

If there's something you want but feels unfamiliar, or you're afraid of the unknown, or afraid of change, just know that the thing people fear most, is just rejection, or simply receiving a "no." But rejection, or a no, just leaves you where you started, only now you have more knowledge and experience, so you truly have nothing to fear.

JUST TRY. KEEP TRYING. Always give it everything you have.

Like so many moms say: "you can do anything you put your mind to."

There is a lot of truth in that, and it's really a testament to what we are able to achieve.

I've observed how confidence grows, and the differences between men and women.

Confidence grows from a willingness to act before feeling completely ready.

In society, many men are taught to try, fail, pick yourself up and keep moving without attaching their self-worth to the negative outcome.

However, women are more likely to hesitate, worry about failure, about judgment, or worry if they're fully prepared, and if they fail, they sometimes will feel their self-worth is now defined by that negative outcome.

Failure is not the opposite of success, it is a PART OF IT.

Get comfortable with change, and experience failure, because failure becomes valuable knowledge.

The knowledge from failure or rejection sharpens your skills, develops resilience, and ultimately it builds your confidence.

It's that confidence which accelerates you forward, open doors, create stronger connections, and leads to opportunities you may not even see yet.

So, of all things, don’t be afraid, of technology, or the innovation happening around us. Stay curious. Keep learning every day.

Continue pushing yourself to grow and become the best version of yourself.

Even if you think you’ve reached your peak, or think you're the best you can be, there's always ways to improve, enhance, and most importantly, EVOLVE.

KEEP GOING, because there's no glass ceiling.

There's no ceiling to what you can achieve and do.

There's always another level, more opportunity, or more challenges waiting beyond where you are today.

Just keep reaching for what you want, because that pursuit may lead you to your greatest success.

In any field sometime the challenge is being afraid of rejections but know that rejection is just an opportunity to grow. From failure is the place of growth.

My values in both my professional and personal life are rooted in integrity, honesty, and accountability. I have an old-school work ethic where I take very high pride in my work. I treat every job as if it's my own company and give it the best that I can, because when people can see the worth of your work, it provides you with more opportunities. I embrace a customer-first mindset and prioritize building and nurturing strong, mutually respectful relationships. I believe in remaining grounded in authenticity in everything I do. One of the most important values I've adopted from my current boss is that everybody should be treated and given the same opportunities - from partners down to support staff and even receptionists, everyone should get the same access to benefits, bonuses, and medical coverage. Giving employees the power to work autonomously and advocate when they need to is empowering, and when you treat your employees with kindness and respect and appreciate their work for what it is without telling them how to do it, you get better results. In my personal life, family time is equally important to me. Spending time with my boys and husband, especially in nature, is dear to my heart because this is something my mother instilled in me at an early age. We like to be out in nature doing little day hikes, going to parks, lakes, fishing, doing things that are inexpensive so we can enjoy each other and not worry about all the frivolous things. It's not about making sure we have a cabana at the beach, it's about just going to the beach and enjoying the water and the solitude. Getting grounded and getting out in nature is so important because we keep a busy lifestyle, and I think that's the difference between Europeans who are the happier people on Earth - they get out in nature, they hike, they sit at the beach.