Joan Rivers, famed comic and most recently host of Fashion Police on E!, died September 4, 2014 after complications from throat surgery in New York last week. Rivers spent decades in the entertainment industry, building a prolific career that saw her first as the lone woman in the boys club and gaining even more success as she aged in an industry known for its youth. A natural boundary pusher, there is no shortage of tributes on the internet today featuring her comedic gift. I would like to praise her incomparable work ethic, as anyone who saw her 2010 documentary saw in action. Rivers was also one of the women featured in the documentary series project Makers, the largest video collection of women’s stories. If you haven’t watched the acclaimed series already, you should. Here are Rivers’ best quotes from her Makers segment for anyone working hard to build a fulfilling career that you love and believe in.

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Chelsey Goff (@cddg) is Chief People Officer at Law Street. She is a Granite State native who holds a Master of Public Policy in Urban Policy from the George Washington University in DC. She’s passionate about social justice issues, politics — especially those in First in the Nation New Hampshire — and all things Bravo. Contact Chelsey at cgoff@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [David Shankbone via Flickr]

Chelsey D. Goff

Chelsey D. Goff was formerly Chief People Officer at Law Street. She is a Granite State Native who holds a Master of Public Policy in Urban Policy from the George Washington University. She’s passionate about social justice issues, politics — especially those in First in the Nation New Hampshire — and all things Bravo. Contact Chelsey at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Joan Rivers’ Best Advice to Build a Career You Love appeared first on Law Street.

It’s that time of year again. Everyone agonizes over resolutions, mistakes, new beginnings. For the next few weeks, we get to make vows of change and actually believe ourselves.

So, while we can still be optimistic, let’s try one of mine together, shall we? And it might even be more manageable than losing those 20 pounds or writing that novel. Let’s stop apologizing.

Now, don’t get me wrong. There’s a time and a place for an apology. If you accidentally run over someone’s pet, apologize. Profusely. If you forget a major meeting, apologize — and pray that you’re not jobless. (But if you are, use our job board.) But I’m thinking that we all might do it a little too much — I know I do.

People (especially women, but I think we can safely say that everyone has this issue) tend to resort to “I’m sorry” too quickly. And this kills you at work. When I was in my last year of college, I started a business that I continued for the next four years. Being a young person in New York City (where naïveté is eaten for breakfast) who started a business requires a certain amount of balls. And I didn’t have them. At first.

When I first moved here to grow my business, I didn’t realize that I would have to grow myself first. I quickly learned that people will question you, push you down, and try to make you doubt yourself and your vision. Don’t apologize for who you are, what you’re trying, and what you’ve planned. If you’ve properly executed a business plan, don’t apologize for it — out loud or within. You won’t make it if you do.

In this blog as well as Capitalista Careers, I write about entrepreneurship, kickstart campaigns, and new career ventures. But the very first step is self confidence, and that is diminished if you are an over-apologizer. We should try, when possible and appropriate, to wipe the word from our professional vocab.

For instance, when you mishear someone, instead of “I’m sorry?” replace it with “Can you please repeat that?” If you do something incorrectly, instead of “I’m sorry,” try “I’ll make sure to do that better in the future.” The slight adjustments will do wonders for your confidence, and the way others perceive you. You want to be strong, and you can do that while still being polite.

xo, The Capitalista

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Alexandra Saville (@CapitalistaBlog) is the Media and Writing Specialist at Law Street Media. She has experience in the publishing and marketing worlds and started her own publishing company right out of college. Her blogs, The Capitalista and Capitalista Careers, focus on the young and the entrepreneurial.

Alexandra Saville

Alexandra Saville is the Media and Writing Specialist at Law Street Media. She has experience in the publishing and marketing worlds and started her own publishing company right out of college. Her blogs, The Capitalista and Capitalista Careers, focus on the young and the entrepreneurial.

The post Sorry, Not Sorry appeared first on Law Street.

We’ve all been there. Many of us stay there — in a job that just doesn’t feel like our career. What do you do about this? Lose your will to live? No. But some people do fall down the slippery slope of losing their will to work. Or at least, to work hard.

It’s tough to stay motivated in a job that isn’t motivating. This wasn’t your goal. Wasn’t your dream. Maybe it wasn’t even your second or third or tenth choice. It is how you pay your rent.

In my previous post, we looked at the internal struggle people face who are looking for more from a work situation than just a paycheck. This generation of people entering the work force crave more than clocking in and clocking out. But sometimes it’s just all about the bills. It has to be.

That doesn’t mean that your dreams need to take the back seat. Today’s society is a breeding ground for a whole new model of entrepreneur. And guess what? It could be you. That entrepreneur is more creative than lucky. The great thing about the surge in technology, and other social advances, is that you can have so many things going on on the side. You want to start a business? There has never been a better time. With crowdfunding possibilities it might even be simpler to fund than ever before. You want to be a writer? You can start a blog. Self-publish a novel. The list is endless.

Maybe there is a way to have it all. At least as far as work goes. Maybe slinging cappuccinos isn’t your forever-and-always career. Maybe your administrative position really is just a way to make ends meet. You can still develop yourself and hone your skills. It takes time and dedication. It will feel like you’re working two full-time jobs. But maybe this will lead to the full-time day job that you’ve always wanted. So, develop a plan. Look into your funding options. Think about your goals. Put in the work after work. You never know where it might lead.

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Alexandra Saville (@CapitalistaBlog) is the Media and Writing Specialist at Law Street Media. She has experience in the publishing and marketing worlds and started her own publishing company right out of college. Her blogs, The Capitalista and Capitalista Careers, focus on the young and the entrepreneurial.

Alexandra Saville

Alexandra Saville is the Media and Writing Specialist at Law Street Media. She has experience in the publishing and marketing worlds and started her own publishing company right out of college. Her blogs, The Capitalista and Capitalista Careers, focus on the young and the entrepreneurial.

The post What’s Love Got to Do With It? appeared first on Law Street.