Significant Career Lesson From a Non-Profit Founder at Forge Optima
Gary emphasizes that "grit" has been the most successful lesson in their career, specifically the ability to learn from setbacks, be introspective about what could have been done better, and pick oneself up after being "punched in the face," because ultimately, life teaches lessons, and growth comes from paying attention and being willing to change, which requires grit to stay the course through difficulty.
Grit, Resilience, Self-improvement, Learning from Failure, Introspection
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Gary Lu
CFO / NPO Founder
Biomerica and Forge Optima
UCLA
Economics
Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical, Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking
Finance
Worked 20+ Hours in School, Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. The importance of grit in overcoming career challenges and learning from setbacks.
2. The value of introspection in understanding personal shortcomings and identifying areas for improvement.
3. The necessity of continuous learning and growth from life's lessons to adapt and succeed.
Transcript
What is one lesson you have learned that has proven to be successful in your career?
Grit. Absolutely grit.
Even when we mentioned starting young and working, you're going to get knocked down, you're going to get punched in the face, metaphorically, hopefully not physically. It's about being able to learn from that, being introspective, and understanding what you could have done better.
How do you pick yourself up from that? How do you learn? How do you grow? Those are the areas I would say that are most important. Because in the end, when you're grounded in those things and you continue to learn life's lessons, life teaches you a lot of things.
The question is, are you paying attention? Are you willing to change or grow from it? That is one of the largest key components, period. And in order to do those things, in order to stay the course when things get difficult, you need grit.