In the beginning of my career, I have been working for Levi's and had the privilege to be invited a couple of times a year to the Levi's headquarters. It was on one of my trips to San Francisco that I had diner with Vince, my boss. Vince migrated with his family from China to the Bay Area when he was a kid. He was an executive at Levi's with an impressive track record. He retired a couple of years ago.
Vince had a pretty interesting view on career development. While having diner with a view on the Golden Gate Bridge he told me:
the first 10 years of your career, you have to become an expert in your domain: work hard, study hard, look for opportunities, take opportunities, take some risk, don't worry about money but don't forget to live your life.
the next 15 years of your career, you should consolidate: apply what you learned the first ten years, give it your personal touch but also get a broader view on the world, on business, on art. Get to understand the big picture but again don't forget to live your life.
the last 15 years of your career, you have to start giving back to society: teach, write, mentor and live your life.
We had this conversation about 12 years ago but I still consider it as one of my key "milestone-mentoring-moments".
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