You Mean I Won't Be 23 Forever?

How to get better? Get older.

An accomplished journalist and friend of mine (not of the Gen Y persuasion) recently gave me a very simple and valuable tip the other day. I asked him what advice he would give to someone like me who wants to be a better journalist.

He promptly said: "Just get older."

Well, that's good to know.

He would scoff at the idea that getting ahead is about working extra hard (although I'm sure you do not make it where he has by twiddling your thumbs). I garnered from our convo that he just picked something he was pretty good at and pursued it efficiently. It doesn't seem like he got too weighed down by his ambitions, and it turns out he ended up in a good place, covering a coveted beat for huge news organization.

Understandably, recent graduates -- especially journalists -- are freaking out about finding work and continuing in their career. I understand the need to work hard and do all of the right things -- I will not stop blogging about mundane career conundrums, such as whether to use Arial or Times New Roman in your resume. But the overall point is: If you do what you are supposed to do and you picked the career that is the right fit for you, why shouldn't you be successful some day? Baby Boomers can't work forever; someday the job market is really going to need the youngest folks.

It reminds me of that wonderful quote from a Jane Austen book: "How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation?"