Career, Meaning, and Success: Over 100 Tips in the initiative of CareerDailyNews and SmartMoney

Within the initiative of CareerDailyNews.com (professional media for career stories and tools for building and developing personal, corporate, advertising, and employer branding) and Stoyne Vasilev, author of https://smartmoney.bg/UmniPari/, we asked people - What is the most important career advice you have heard in your life so far? 

We collected over 100 responses – wise, practical, and sometimes provocative, which outline the picture of how different professionals see success, work, and personal satisfaction. We organized them into several main lines that most clearly show trends in people's thinking.

***The names of people are in Cyrillic or Latin to be authentic with those in the social network where we organized the survey!

PHILOSOPHY FOR LIFE AND CAREER

Stoycho Nedev: “Do what brings you pleasure and you would do even without money. That way you will never work.”

Rosen Dimitrov: “Do what you like and do it with desire and heart.”

Sava Mihailov: “Freedom is a feeling, you choose.... If you feel free, everything works out, and not just in your career...”

Stanislav Milchev: “Always do more than what you are paid for.”

Krassimir Stoyanov: “Learn mom, so you don’t have to work.”

Radoslav Tsekov: “Don’t live to work, work to live! - we are not Germans, we are Bulgarians.”

Tsvetanka Nikolova: “Put your soul and heart into what you do! Then you will get satisfaction. Money is just a bonus.”

Zahari Georgiev Vitanov: “The stupidest thing you can do for money is to get a job. The smartest – to realize that your time is worth more than any salary. Build something that works for you, instead of you working for it.”

Petar Trifonov: “Quit your 9 to 5 job Immediately!”

Adrian Mitev: “Stay hungry, stay foolish.”

Stoyan Sv: “Don’t work for money.”

Iliya Shekerdzhiev: “If you are good at something, never do it for free!”

Vladimir Minchev: “Where there is a lot of work, I have no work.”

Stoyan Todorov: “Work.”

Tsvetan Tsvetanov: “Work for your name, then it will work for you!”

Marieta Dimitrova: “Don’t take advice from poor people.”

PERSISTENCE, LEARNING, AND DEVELOPMENT

Ivan Krusashki: “If you stop developing, you start to stagnate - there is no constant position. You build up your whole life!”

Miroslava Veleva-Radkova: “Always walk the extra mile, and you will be guaranteed to be noticed!”

Dessislava Stanoeva: “Always build and maintain your direct connection with the people you serve, because whoever controls the direct line – controls their life and career!!!”

Silvia Berova: “A specialist becomes one by themselves and with a lot of reading.”

Remax Ivanovi: “THE 1% RULE! Every day strive to be 1% better than yesterday...”

Vladimir Vladimirov: “LEARN!”

Adriana Yankova: “For the lazy, there is always a weak season, while for the hardworking, every season is strong.”

Pavlina Ilieva: “Well-prepared work is half done…”

Naso Stankov: “Everything is discipline!”

Liudmila Ilieva: “The tale of the deaf frog and how she alone climbed...“

MONEY AND STRATEGIES

Biser Kunchev: “Whoever cannot manage their money cannot manage their life!”

Marin Mitev: “You don’t need more money, but a better strategy.”

Elitsa Zhekova: “There are no irreplaceable people in business. Put yourself and your health first...”

Vladimir Yosifov: “When hiring people, ask them how they spend their money!!!! If they can’t spend, they can’t earn.”

Nikolay Rashkov: “You will achieve more than me, but I will live better!”

Pechev Vess: “Take care of your health... Never sell your time for money... Start as early as possible...”

Veselin Antov: “Buy 10 apartments and rent them out long-term.”

Ivailo Ivanov: “Invest in yourself and your qualities, no one can take that away from you.”

PEOPLE AND RELATIONSHIPS

Georgi Malchev: “If you overcome natural laziness... Enjoy every moment together and give your maximum.”

Alexandra Dzhandeva: “Have an opinion and a clear position. Defend them. Don’t intrigue behind people’s backs.”

Stela Stratieva: “Don’t say to the client 'I apologize for the delay.' Instead, say 'Thank you for your patience.'”

Hrisanthi Alexandrova: “Carefully choose your employer, because you will fulfill their dreams.”

Teodor Krastev: “Treat your people like your children - teach them, respect them, and sometimes play together.”

Krasimira Stoyanova: “Don’t take out that work where you earn your bread!”

Sevim Ganeva: “Where you earn your bread, don’t take out that work.”

Lyubomir Slavchev: “The most valuable career advice I have heard is when I go to a new place to pay attention to those who first start to treat me well...”

Milly Vanilly: “You have to be an actress and a hypocrite in the profession, otherwise you won’t survive.”

Ivan Sherov: “Better try/risk to do something than to live your whole life in fear...”

BALANCE AND HEALTH

Mihail Tsankov: “With smart people, anyone can, the trick is to do it with those you have.”

Miroslava Mircheva: “To succeed, you must step out of your comfort zone. 'Eat the frog.' Always give a little more.”

Emanuil Bogoev: “If an 18-year-old asks me, I would tell him to try and change as many jobs as possible...”

Denis Selnichki: “Take care of yourself!”

Aneliq Dimitrova: “It’s not the strongest or the smartest who survive, but the one who is most adaptive...”

Katya Bielenberg: “Look for a new job.”

Analyzing over 100 pieces of advice, it is clear that people emphasize five main themes: the meaning and philosophy of work, the need for persistence and learning, proper money management, the importance of relationships with others, and maintaining balance and health. It is interesting that although many of the pieces of advice seem simple, they are the result of personal experience and reflect values that are universal and timeless.

Career success does not have a universal recipe. Everyone walks their own path, but the words of more than a hundred professionals remind us that the truth is often in the small steps – to love what we do, to take care of ourselves, to be honest with the people around us, and to learn constantly. Perhaps this is the most important advice – to never stop searching, to develop, and to live fully.