Throughout the course of your career you’ll say yes to a number of opportunities. I encourage people to do this but I also know how important it is to set boundaries.

Let’s look more closely at how you can keep your inner peace and maintain a healthy balance in your life.

It’s been a month of events and travel for me and I had the chance to think about my own insecurities and observe those other people have and how they deal with them in a professional context.

Like much of my writing, the ideas for today’s newsletter have been plucked from real life situations and from sitting still and listening, so I hope you find something helpful in what I’m sharing this Monday.

Your colleague got a promotion, your best friend married the love of her life and your brother cashed in his company stocks to take a year off and travel the world.

Jealousy hits and it’s not a nice feeling. “Why does this never happen to me?” you ask yourself. You feel less content with what you have and frustrated at the pace of your own progress.

Most of you enjoy learning new stuff and you thrive on building new skills.

I love being surrounded by people like you who take life in their own hands and find ways to improve the opportunities that present themselves. Maybe, like me, sometimes you get a bit tired of the ‘self improvement hustle’ and just want a break?

When was the last time someone used jargon and you had to ask for clarification? How often do you think “if only we could all speak plain English instead of this mumbo jumbo”?

In our professional context there is no shortage of technical language which builds barriers instead of bridges.

That’s where being able to explain complex things in simple terms makes you stand out.

Your personal brand can open doors to new opportunities, helps you make connections with great people and is how others know you before they meet you in real life.

Maintaining your personal brand consistently requires a bit of effort so today I want to share one simple thing you can do that takes 30 minutes or less and can have a big positive impact.

You can learn about data from textbooks, but to get real world experience in solving business questions with data, you need practical exercises and – ideally – a bunch of people who help you create a solution.

The following examples work very well for building data skills, and can also be applied to other topics.

Everyone talks about ‘having a career’ as if there’s a single, unmistakable definition of career. There isn’t. And there isn’t a simple, straight career path you can follow either.

The path is not a straight line you can see from start to finish. Instead it’s a collection of stepping stones, scenic detours, twists and turns, hills and valleys.

The best piece of advice I received from a mentor was to ask more questions.

Asking questions seems like a minor skill but can really set you apart in any conversation. If you’d like to become a better question-asker, then this is for you.

Think back to the last time someone shared a document or code they’d written and you were delighted.

What made the difference to the average work you see on a daily basis? I bet it was their attention to detail.

You have your skills, interests, talents and bring a unique perspective to everything you do.

That makes you someone worth learning from and I want to invite you to entertain a thought: How can you share more of what you know and pass it on to the next generation of data professionals?

It’s important to build and nurture relationships inside your organisation and beyond.

Over the last decade I have focused on building a network that benefits the people in it and connects me with a diverse group of professionals.

Today I want to share my tips for how you can build a strong network that you enjoy and that people want to be part of.