Well, for a couple of years there has been one topic that always came back up in many different discussions, mainly regarding future, live and work. Mostly it wasn't me who was some sort of keen on knowing about those issues, I had the wonderful position to ask questions and tell my viewpoint about this undoubtedly interesting part of life.

I once wrote a paper about management of conflicts within companies and I remember quite well that one of the most prominent reasons for conflicts in the family and elsewhere are conflicts that emerge because the stages of life that the conflicting parties are in are different. That seems obvious. Most of the fights I had with my mother emerged because I saw things differently than her and also different from how I see them now. This is because you find some things really important in a certain stage of your life that might be of no relevance only one year later.

So it seems that the question of how to succeed in your work life is quite dominant in the stage of life that I'm currently in. Whenever the discussion comes to this topic, I always hold the same opinion, because I really believe it. So how do I think to succeed?

• Well, first it is about passion and enthusiasm. Whenever you do something that you are enthusiastic about, than normally you'll be good in it. Probably better than those not being passionate about it. So it is almost always a better choice to do something that you have a passion for than doing something that really frustrates you. Not only because of your mental health, but also because you're likely to be better in it. In most cases you can see if people care when looking at their daily schedule. Going home early is nothing bad and helps keeping a good health. But sometimes you have to finish something, you are in the middle of a thought or just want to read something to the very end. People that are passionate want to stay 'till they are finished (which is seldom the case), not because they have to, because their enthusiasm drives them to.
  Plus: when you're passionate about something and you're better than others, you'll probably have some success and thus be more passionate in return. So being passionate is rewarding.
• Next (something I sometimes lack): be thorough. At least to a level that will suffice.
• Be complete. Asking yourself all possible questions, thinking about alternatives, checking other ways makes better what you're doing and also develops you, as a person.
• Be clever. This seems obvious yet hard to accomplish but it is normally easier than we tend to think. Being clever is just more about trusting your instincts than trying to be the smartest person ever. It is about thinking what could be right rather than trying to know what is right, because there is nothing such as the fundamental truth, we can only try and working to make the best try possible is fine.
• The day before yesterday I had a talk with a colleague about career planning and how to find the most suitable job. In my experience there are two types of persons: some do this strategically, working to get all the skills necessary to get a certain job, and those just taking chances that arise. To be precise: we all have both types in us, some of us just are more comfortable with either one of those ways. So there is no point in discussing whether you should or should not take the strategic approach or just let live emerge, both approaches are valid strategies (because not having a strategy is already a strategy and always trying to do better than before is also very strategic) and both can lead to success.
• One of the most important factors has always and will always be: communication. Talking helps to understand, to see and to know. As long as you don't understand: ask. If you want to see how, what, where and how: talk. Your social network will help you in many situations and you almost always get smarter, thus: talk. And if you want to get more out of everything: argue.

Now this feels fine. Having all that said, something I had on my mind quite a long time. Feel free to comment, I'm very interested in hearing your thoughts about this!