6 Cliché Life Lessons You Already Know, But Will Re-Learn In The Corporate World
1. Life is a jungle.
The corporate world is a jungle. You’ll find all kinds of species here (people from different places, from different age groups, different sexual orientation, different religion and culture, different background, etc.). You’ll sometimes feel lost in the middle of nowhere, and don’t know which direction to go (too many things to do in a short period of time, too many opportunities and choices, or maybe too little?). You sometimes lose track of time (day isn’t so much different from night, is it?). Sometimes it’s really quiet and calm, most of the time it’s chaotic. You’ll never know what’s waiting for you or what’s going to happen next.
2. It’s not how much you earn, it’s how much you save.
You will encounter this line in almost every financial book there is. Financial mentors, investors, and people who made it big in the business world believe that no matter how much you earn, if you don’t have financial literacy, if you’ve got the wrong mentality, and if you spend more than you earn, you will always end up broke and in debt. If you can’t be responsible with a small amount, how can you be entrusted with larger ones?
3. Life is not always fair.
An enigma that has always baffled me. No matter how much you try to be kind, considerate, patient, understanding, and respectful, there will always be someone who will treat you the opposite way. You did nothing to deserve such treatment, but you receive it anyway. When you’re in this situation, it is best to remember that “hurt people hurt people”. It’s not your battle, but their battle with themselves. Be the better person, and however tempting it is to give them a dose of their own medicine, it is always wise to walk out and walk away.
“Be kind for everyone’s fighting a hard battle. Be kinder still, for not everyone is winning”.
4. Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.
The demands in the corporate life may cause you to lose focus and forget about your priorities. Deadlines, urgent deals, team/corporate events may steal your time from the things that matter most; your relationships or your health. It is okay to be dedicated to your job, but in doing so, one must not forget the essential and the vital, or forget to really live altogether.
5. You can never please everybody.
“You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, but there will always be someone who hates peaches.”
So there’s no point bending over backwards for everybody at all times because some will appreciate your effort, and others will always think it is not enough. No matter what you do, you will always be too skinny, too fat, too short, too tall, too loud, too quiet, too incompetent, or too competitive. Soon, you will learn that you just have to do what you must do, stop competing with others, and try to be better than yourself instead. Life’s less complicated that way.
6. “Never take life too seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.”
Enough said. 
