Melissa Mann spent decades looking for work she actually loved before she found it at SpeakInc. A year in, she pulled back the curtain on what that first year taught her, and the speakers who shaped the lessons along the way. Here are the lessons she shares: 

1. It took decades to find work worth doing well

Finding the right fit was only the beginning. Now the question is what she can build with the time and energy this stage of her career gives her. She's still working that part out, and she's at peace with that.

2. Growth doesn't move at the speed you want it to

Not everything clicks on the first try. Rachel Druckenmiller has a line Melissa keeps coming back to: an invitation is proof enough that you're qualified. Say yes first. Let the growth catch up.

3. Loving the work makes the lines blur

Working from home, working all the time, and genuinely loving the work is a strange combination. The boundaries get messy fast. Sara Ross has become something of a north star here, a reminder to notice the cortisol spike before it takes over the day.

4. Rest has to be claimed, not earned

There's no finish line that unlocks permission to rest. Erin Stafford's approach to avoiding burnout starts small: something as simple as driving in silence to let the mind reset. Melissa is still learning to let herself have that without checking a box first.

5. AI can hand you a list. It can't read the room

Julie Holmes, whose newsletter on AI prompting is essential reading, is proof that the technology has real value. But finding a name isn't the same as knowing if that name is right for a specific stage, a specific audience, a specific moment. That judgment call is still entirely human.

6. Trust is the whole business

When an event lands and something genuinely shifts for someone in that room, that's the entire point of the work. Barb Betts built a career on this idea. Her 5x5 Method, five messages a day to five people with zero agenda attached, is a masterclass in building the kind of trust that outlasts any single event.

7. Nobody gets anywhere alone

Stepping into a new stage of a career takes courage, and courage is easier to find with a crew behind it. Diana Kander puts it simply: you can't reach a goal alone. A year in, Melissa is thinking about how to extend that same belief to someone else now that she's on the other side of it.

Seven lessons, seven speakers who helped shape them. If any of these resonate, or if you've got one of your own, we'd love to hear it.

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