The most powerful ideas to accelerate your career: 1. You don’t owe an employer loyalty. You owe it to yourself to get a job that pays you the value you create.

2. Two traits will make you indispensable: Get stuff done and be easy to work with. 3. Hard work is critical. But even more important? What you work on and who you work with.

4. Specialists are overrated. Generalists are underrated. Create a mighty stack of complementary skills. Example: A creative who understands sales and marketing. (Inspired by David Epstein and Scott Adams)

5. Master the 4-bullet update. Powerful people are busy (they might not remember what they asked you to do). So give an update with this outline: • Here’s what you asked me to do • Here’s what I did • Here are the risks/blockers • If given more time, I'd do this…

6. Embrace your weirdness. "Weirdness is what sets us apart, gets us hired. Be your unapologetically weird self. In fact, being weird may even find you the ultimate happiness." —Chris Sacca

7. Don’t complain or gossip. Ever. Nobody likes to hear complaining. So why do we do it ourselves? (Respectfully standing up for yourself is different.) Separately, when you talk bad about others, people wonder if you talk bad about them too. Just don’t do it.

8. If you want an edge, treat yourself like a mental athlete. Prioritize your brain health: stay hydrated, take long walks, eat nutritious foods, and have a strong rest ethic.

9. Remember ALL the names. A person’s favorite sound is their name (H/T Dale Carnegie). I have a theory about their 2nd favorite sound: The names of their loved ones & pets. Whenever you hear one mentioned, write it down. Later, ask *by name* about them. You will stand out.

10. Success isn’t a zero-sum game. Your greatest asset (and joy) will be a network of people whose lives you’ve positively impacted. "Great leaders create more leaders, not followers." —Roy T. Bennett

Which of these ideas hits the hardest for you? Thanks for reading! Follow me @Ben Meer for more content like this.