Susan A. Yen

I'm such a goal-oriented person. I see where I want to be, and having that vision of the type of life I want to have helps drive me to do better and want more. I know there are little steps in between to get there, but I don't allow myself to be a hurdle to the vision I have for myself. I also don't want other people to be a hurdle for me to get there, whether it's family, friends, or relationships. I've gotten out of relationships because they weren't benefiting me. I've gotten out of friendships because we weren't benefiting each other. Sometimes you have to keep your family on the sideline because, listen, I love you, but this is how I want my life. This is what I want for me so that I can be happy and feel successful and fulfilled. I have a goal in mind, and I need people to help me, support me, and give me advice when I need it as part of my team. Or, quite frankly, get out of the way.

Trust yourself, and understand that not every piece of advice that you're going to get is meant for you. At first, it didn't make any sense to me, but when I sat with it a little bit more, I realized that everyone's always going to say something and give you advice, whether it's your parents, your mentors, or your friends, and everyone's always trying to steer you in a direction. But you're not meant to go in every direction that people suggest. My mom will give me advice about something, and I'll listen, but that doesn't mean it's meant for where I am in myself. So you really need to understand that not every advice is meant for you. And if it is meant for you, then trust yourself that you're going to make the right decision. Because ultimately, I'm the one that has to live this life, and I'm the one that has to sit in my decisions and be okay with it at the end of the day. If I'm not okay with that decision, then the consequences are mine alone. I can't blame the person who gave me the advice. They just gave it to me, and they didn't tie me up and say I had to take it.

Just because you don't think it's for you, try it anyways. We often look at job descriptions, positions, and areas where we think we don't fit, and we think we're not good enough. But I don't think that's true. I think we undermine our abilities to just be better and be the best that we can be. We hold ourselves to this weird standard where we look at job descriptions and think it's too high or too much, and we don't think we're going to get the job, so we won't apply for it. Or there's a raise coming up and a salary negotiation, and we're like, well, we're not going to ask for more because we don't think we're going to get it. I lived a good portion of my life just undermining my own abilities and putting myself in this pigeonhole where I'm making the same amount but doing way more work, or I didn't go for a position because I didn't think I was going to get it because I'm afraid of the answer no. But ultimately, if you just try, the worst response you can get is finding out you're not qualified, and that's okay. You tried. But what if you are? What if you did it and you pushed yourself? Or the answer is no, and that's okay too. You tried and you pushed those boundaries. I think we should always just go for the things that we think we can't, because I think we can.

I think there are definitely a lot of challenges and an abundant amount of opportunities. One of them is this whole AI growth. It's such a huge thing and a huge buzzword. It's a learning curve with how do we utilize this new technology and learn how to use it to make my job a little bit easier, not use it to take over my job, which I really don't think is ever going to happen. But people are really scared and nervous about it. I just think it's about learning how to use these different versions of AI, whether you're using ChatGPT, graphic design tools, video creation tools, there are so many ways to use AI. If you don't figure out how to use it and utilize it, then there are going to be some problems later on. I think it's easier to stay in the old path and in your comfort zone, so it's about getting out of our comfort zone, asking questions, and wanting to learn about different platforms. On the same path, there is an opportunity to grow, to learn something new, get a different job, or learn something more about yourself and figure out that you might have a talent in something that never existed before. Like, I now love graphic designing. I'm not a professional, but now it's a little bit easier with AI. You can give descriptions, and I find it really, really fun. I don't know if it's something I want to do later on in the future, but it is a little bit easier for me. I'm really just rethinking and re-evaluating my career again. I've been doing this for a decade, and there are places I want to grow. I want to increase my talents and be able to tell people I can do that thing that the other account manager can't do.

Personal time. Not even just personal time, solo time. I value that a lot in my personal life and also in my career. I think I work really, really hard and a lot, and I forget to take time for myself. Even if I'm on vacation or with my family, I have my phone in my hand and there's a message I need to answer. But I don't need to answer that stuff. Things can get taken care of, but if you're not taking care of yourself, if you're not mentally connected to who you are as a person, it's really difficult to take care of everyone else. So I really value time to myself. Even in relationships, I need Susan time. I need me time. I really need to be able to check in on myself and ask myself, am I okay? Especially as a Black woman in an industry that is quick-moving, and I feel like I have to work a lot, lot, lot harder to get to where I am, I don't really check on myself, and I don't think other people really check on me. So I'll go sit at the beach or go to a park or take myself on a vacation, take myself out to dinner, and I just won't have my phone on me. I'll just sit there and enjoy myself, celebrate myself, have me time, and ask myself, am I okay? Are you good? What do you need? That's important in my career, and I joke we just don't do it as much as we should.