Interview number ten with Samantha Ettus.
Photo: Courtesy Samantha Ettus.
Justin Higgins: "Hi Sam, what life advice do you have for young adults?"
Samantha Ettus: "Hi Justin. One of the great things about young adults is that they care tremendously about thriving professionally and personally. Being thoughtful about your work and your life from a young age, will help you to create and navigate a successful path for yourself.
The first piece of advice is one that I share in my new book, The Pie Life. There are no bad industries, just bad bosses. You can work in the most “family friendly” industry in the world, but if your boss doesn’t value his or her own personal life, it is a guarantee they won’t value yours. Choose your boss wisely.
The second piece of advice is one that will help you get hired and promoted: Work harder than everyone around you and you will be destined to shine. You can be the most talented person in the room, yet if you don’t have a winning attitude, your talent will go unnoticed. The opposite does not hold true. If you have a great attitude, you will be noticed, regardless of how much talent you have. Along those lines, never be caught saying or even thinking, “That’s not my job.” Whether you are in a low level part time job just to pay the bills or you find yourself in your dream job, a great attitude will help you rise to the top.
Thirdly, hard work is not about hours spent. A winning attitude and complete dedication and focus when you are at work allows you to set the boundaries necessary for a thriving personal life."
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A renowned work/life balance expert, Sam inspires corporate cultures and increases employee retention and productivity through her executive workshops and keynotes. Thousands of professionals from C-level leaders to administrative assistants have benefitted from Sam’s unique guidance on how to maximize work/life success. She finds that spark within each of us and turns it into a fire.
Since earning her undergraduate and MBA degrees from Harvard, Sam has become a bestselling author of four books, a writer for Forbes, a renowned speaker and host of a nationally syndicated call-in radio show. Sam’s fifth book, The Pie Life: A Guilt-Free Recipe for Success and Satisfaction, will be published in September 27, 2016.
Sam began her career in media at CAA, Turner Pictures, Nickelodeon and Ziff Davis. She later founded a personal branding firm and soon realized that she couldn’t talk to executives about their personal brands without talking about the elephant in the room: how they were managing their professional and personal lives. Sam’s passion for work/life optimization began.
Sam is consistently called on by traditional media outlets for her advice. She makes regular national television appearances on shows including NBC News, The Doctors, Fox and Friends, Access Hollywood, and The Today Show, among others. She has been featured and quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, Inc, Fast Company and Success Magazine.
Widely known for her interviewing skills, Sam has interviewed an array of personalities from Mary J Blige to Jessica Alba, Sara Blakely and Al Roker. She spent two years as host of leading Internet talk show, Obsessed TV, which she created and produced with tech entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk.
More than 400 experts have written chapters for Sam’s bestselling Experts’ Guide book series, published by Random House. Contributors include luminaries such as Rachael Ray, Richard Branson, Suze Orman and Barbara Corcoran.
Sam has a large social media following and is active in causes relating to women and girls. She sits on the Friends of Good+ Foundation and the advisory boards of Thuzio and Sparks and Honey. She is co-founder of the LA Electing Women Collective and Senator Gillibrand’s paid leave coalition. Sam lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three children.