Advice for New Grads

I put together something special: it's all the advice I'd give to to anyone starting out in the industry. Listen on to find out more.

P.S. I started a Substack - sign up here: https://thecreativeleadworkshop.substack.com/

--------

I’m Cathy Davenport Lee, and I hope today’s episode leaves you feeling inspired and ready to push the boundaries of your creative career.

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and sign up for Lunchbox Notes—my free encouragement and advice letter for creatives. Stay connected for more insights, tools, and resources to help you thrive. Until next time, keep creating, keep pushing, and let’s move this industry forward together.

Follow for more:
IG | Website

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:43 Episode Start
• 1:39 Start of Advice
• 7:00 Outro

Transcript

It’s June, and the school year is ending again. I felt inspired to write some words of advice to the next generation.

Ladies, Gentlemen, and People of all Gender Identities of the Class of 2025:

Get a retirement account and invest in it every single year.

The benefits of compounding interest have been proved by financial experts, whereas the rest of my advice is biased by my own experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Be kind to other people whenever you can. Kindness is not a weakness; it is a superpower. The seeds planted by your kindness continue to grow and will come to your aid when you least expect it.

Don’t let anyone else tell you what you’re capable of. Only you know that.

Living in an era where it feels like the sky is falling is tough. But it is not the first time in history that everyone was convinced the end of the world was imminent - and it’s not going to be the last. Live for the future you want - not the one you’re afraid of.

Date whomever you want, but don’t make them responsible for your career success, your happiness, or your financial stability. That’s too much to lose if things don’t work out. Don’t put up with people who expect you to be responsible for theirs.

Work for a large corporation, but leave before you forget how to make things with your own hands. Work for a hot-shot agency, but leave before you become arrogant and bitter. Work for a start-up, but leave while you still have your health. Go into business for yourself, but have a couple years’ worth of savings before you quit your day job. Feel free to switch up your job situation between all of the above as many times as you’d like...you’re going to find out that different types of working arrangements are differently suited to you as you go through life’s phases.

Be willing to be wrong. Proactively ask for help from others when you need it. Those are the two most important skills you can learn.

Leaving isn't always the play when a relationship is strained or when stuff isn't going your way at work. Try a few things before you throw in the towel.

Don’t assume that the way things are or were is the way they have to be. You have the power to rewrite anything you want to change.

Your career, like your 401k, also has compounding interest. It can feel slow in the beginning while you are accumulating skills and experience. But if you invest gradually in it, then by the time you’re 10, 20 years in…you will somehow be able to do 3 weeks of work in an hour. You will understand how to leverage your abilities in ways your 23-year-old self didn’t know anything about. Don’t give up.

Love yourself fiercely. Be willing to let it all burn rather than betray or abandon yourself. If you’re denying who you are at 20…well, you may wake up at 40 and realize you never lived your life.

Travel the world to see how other people from other cultures, classes, and abilities live, work and think. It’s really important to understand how many different kinds of possible solutions there are to the problems we have as humans. Try to do this before all the mortgages and the pets and babies start to convince you that you can’t.

Don’t let what society assumes that your role or responsibilities HAVE to be keep you from going after the things that you really want. I know so many people who have carried the weight of their families’ expectations on their shoulders all of their lives. Other people’s expectations are too heavy to carry; you must drop them at some point in order to move forward.

Work is a big part of life in our current society. Depending on what you go into, you can spend upwards of 40-80 hours a week doing that thing. It should be something that makes you happy - in addition to putting groceries in the fridge. You require both.

Your family, friends, spouse or kids don’t need your love in the form of your tragic self-sacrifice for them. They need to watch you “do you” - to claim your life and your time as YOU see fit (whether that’s being a SAHM or running a company or making jewelry or baking cakes). They need to see the way you light up when you are filled with joyful purpose - whether they realize that or not.

Most of the time, you are not being selfish. You are being brave. If you succeed in convincing yourself of this, tell me how.

I believe in you. Just in case you needed to hear it.

XOXO,

Cathy