On 22 January 2013 I reached one of my goals - finally becoming a registered Chartered Accountant with SAICA CA(SA) 

Earlier that month I had just started a new role as a Learning and Development Manager at Auditor-General of South Africa. Amongst my many tasks, I was responsible for induction of new employees and developing technical training for the organization. 

As a young 25 year old i felt OVERWHELMED by the workload, the new role and the demands of just being an adult! It was scary I won't lie. But I was taught to take each day as it came. 

And I did! 

In 2016 I left formal employment and  I established Kolano which has become a home for many other professionals.

My life hasn't been the same since!

Here's 5 things I learnt in the 10 years since qualifying:

1. BUILD a strong SUPPORT STRUCTURE around you - family, friends, get a mentor, get a coach. Join a community or group, attend events in your field of work.

2. BREATHE - Someone has done this before, start there. Call them if you need help. Be present, implement simple but impactful solutions. 

3. Know your JOB SPECIFICATION - Yup! Just like we did at school, you need to understand what you're being required to do. The JD tells you whats expected of you. Identify your strengths, work on your shortcomings. Be humble, build your competence. Focus on building your skills, experience, knowledge, behavior and most importantly your attitude. 

4. Develop a GENUINE PASSION for your job and clients - if you find yourself complaining, remember this --- "If things were perfect in your company or at your client, there would be no need to have you there." Understand what problems you're solving, and get to solving them. 

5. HAVE FUN - Adulting is HARD for everyone, don't take things personally. Speak life, avoid gossip. Embrace diversity, accept everyone for who they are. Focus on commonality, pay less attention to things you disagree on, and more on things that you agree on. Live your life to the max