Grow, dammit!

It's sometimes difficult to get accept words of encouragement from people that are not designers or artists... because frankly, I don't believe they understand my struggles. And just when I was looking for some... I found it via swiss miss, thank you!

Also here. I'm not a young/new designer, but I think we all (from time2time) need to be reminded of the essentials:
10 Lessons for young designers
Wieden+Kennedy’s Executive Creative Director, John C Jay
1: Be authentic. The most powerful asset you have is your individuality, what makes you unique. It’s time to stop listening to others on what you should do.
2: Work harder than anyone else and you will always benefit from the effort.
3: Get off the computer and connect with real people and culture. Life is visceral.
4: Constantly improve your craft. Make things with your hands. Innovation in thinking is not enough.
5: Travel as much as you can. It is a humbling and inspiring experience to learn just how much you don’t know.
6: Being original is still king, especially in this tech-driven, group-grope world.
7: Try not to work for stupid people or you’ll soon become one of them.
8: Instinct and intuition are all-powerful. Learn to trust them.
9: The Golden Rule actually works. Do good.
10: If all else fails, No. 2 is the greatest competitive advantage of any career.