My own college, Chico State, is holding their commencement ceremonies this weekend, so I couldn’t help but write a post about graduating and starting a career. But instead of offering advice to recent grads or offering my experiences since I’ve graduated, I want to share graduation speeches made this month by successful, inspiring people, who not only give amazing advice to recent grads, but also to professionals at any stage in their careers.

A lot of what I read hit very close to home in terms of what I was feeling when I graduated, as well as how I feel about the work I do now and my goals for the future. My favorite was, ‘Be a Superhero!’ because I can relate to it a lot at this point on my career path.

Here are the five inspiring graduation speeches for new grads and professionals. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

1. Richard Branson: You’ll Never Again Be so Unburdened; Do Something Bold
2. Jack Welch: How Graduates Can Get Ahead
3. Maria Shriver: The Power of the Pause
4. Jacki Zehner: Be a Superhero!
5. T. Boone Pickens: Here’s What I’d Give Up to be You

What’s the best advice you’ve been given as a recent grad or professional?

San Francisco was always number one on my list, but I also often wondered what other places would make me happy as I started my career. I eventually ended up in SF and I am really happy here, but when I saw a Forbes article about the 20 happiest cities for young professionals, I had to find out who made the list and if my city was on it.

It was, number 9. The full list is as follows;

1. Los Angeles, CA

2. San Jose, CA

3. Sunnyvale, CA

4. Indianapolis, IN

5. San Diego, CA

6. Irvine, CA

7. Atlanta, GA

8. Boston, MA

9. San Francisco, CA

10. San Antonio, TX

11. Las Vegas, NV

12. Seattle, WA

13. Irving, TX

14. Philadelphia, PA

15. Orlando, FL

16. Pittsburgh, PA

17. New York, NY

18. Plano, TX

19. Miami, FL

20. Houston, TX

The list was compiled by a career site called CareerBliss.com, who conducted an analysis of young pros who were asked to rate 10 key factors affecting workplace happiness, including work-life balance, relationships with their boss and co-workers, compensation, growth opportunities, company culture and company reputation.

According to Forbes, the analysis used a five-point scale and asked respondents to indicate how important it was to their overall happiness at work. The numbers were combined to find an average rating of overall happiness for each individual, and then sorted by location to find which cities had the happiest young pros.

It’s easy to think if you moved to one of these cities as a young pro you would be happier automatically. However, on closer inspection of this article, it seems young pros are happiest in the places that provide them with the best resources for their current career path and lifestyle choices.

For instance, L.A., #1 on the list, is home to Hollywood, major corporations and many prestigious universities. It also boasts jobs in multiple emerging growth and interesting markets, like entertainment, technology, marketing, healthcare and sales, and also has great weather and endless fun things to do. If your career path and lifestyle could benefit from those things, I can see why a young pro would be happy there. But if L.A. doesn’t offer you anything besides a constant tan and an occasional star sighting, you may want to reconsider where will make you the happiest to live and work.

As a young pro or recent grad starting to look for a career, consider places that cater to your lifestyle and career needs. Look at why people are happy in a place you want to move for a job and then decide if it can offer what you need to get to your professional happy place.

Which City Makes/Made You the Happiest as a Young Pro?

Whether it’s yelling at a coworker or crying in front of your boss over work-related issues, making a scene at work will get you noticed, but not in a good way.

Acting overly emotional can make you seem irrational, unprofessional or just plain crazy. So instead of losing it in front of your colleagues, not matter how hard it is, compose yourself.

Take deep breaths, go for a walk outside, call a friend and vent on your lunch break, or if you absolutely must get emotional, wait until you get home (or at least to your car).

If you lose it at work, you will always be known as the person with a temper or who’s a cry baby. Don’t be that person, your career doesn’t need it. And although you will see other people acting out around you, don’t fall into the drama, rise above it and be a true professional.

And if you’ve already lost it at one time or another, think about what set you off and your reaction to it and try to make a plan of how you’re going to deal with it next time. Every time you don’t act how people expect you to, expectations will start to change.

Whatever you do, don’t lose it at work, your career depends on it.

Have you ever lost it at work?

Whether your blunder led you to utter embarrassment or just feeling plain stupid, it’s inevitable that you’re going to make a big mistake (and many little ones) early in your career. But the good news is that after messing up, you will be less likely to do it again.

To convince you you’re not the only one who has made a huge rookie mistake, I found four professionals who were willing to share their biggest mistakes when they were just starting out.

One professional learned the hard way that preparation is the key to a successful presentation. She felt that she could “wing it” when presenting an award during a recognition ceremony, since she knew her organization and the recipient inside out. But she was sorely mistaken.

“I made it about halfway through my introduction when the place where I was to “wing it” I became extremely flustered. I dropped my note cards all over the stage and as I bent over to pick them up (mind you my hands were shaking uncontrollably), I said S#@T into the microphone. After fumbling and picking up my cards, I slowly stood up, absolutely red-faced and mortified to a slightly chuckling, slightly shocked audience. I managed to stammer a few more words and get the recipient on stage.

My boss wasn’t too pleased about this and actually had a long conversation with me about the need to practice public speaking. Needless to say, I am often reminded by those who were there of this episode. Since then, I have never gone into a presentation without fully writing out my speech, standing in front of the mirror reciting it until it is committed to memory, and remembering to breathe!”

Communications Professional

Another professional made the mistake of taking everything a little too personally when starting out in sales.

“When doing sales; either in person, over the phone or email, I would take things way too personal, i.e. the buyer would be rude to me [and] I would think, I’m never approaching that person or company again, because they have something against me. [But] sales is sales. It doesn’t define me as a person; and shouldn’t stop me from continuing.

I learned you can’t control people and their emotions. There are many underlying circumstances why people are a certain way. Don’t take it to heart, and stay positive and focused on your job.”

Import Sales Professional

One professional unintentionally crossed the line between personal and professional social media updates.

“I once posted personal tweets onto my companies Twitter handle, not knowing that I wasn’t using my personal account. Good thing I looked at the timeline shortly after that and noticed it wasn’t my account and quickly removed the messages. I was also glad that they were friendly and not something bad!

I learned to make sure to log off my company account while not in use or use another application for posting my company’s updates. Good thing this was in our early stages of our social media campaigns and no one noticed!”

Social Media Marketing Professional

Another professional said that she was a little too literal with deadlines.

“If your manager says they need it by Friday, that really means Wednesday. I learned to allow time for some review, in case they want to incorporate any changes.”

Software Design Professional

Rest assured you’re not the only one who’s made a big rookie mistake. Just like these established pros, you too will get passed it, learn from it, and it will make you an even better professional.

What’s your biggest rookie mistake?

Many people tend to get stuck in ‘real’ jobs they don’t see a future in because they hope it will bring them one step closer to their dream job, which will truly make them happy.

But what should they be actively doing in the meantime? Serious dream-job chasers need to have a clear vision of what they want and putting their efforts toward getting it.

In a 2013 FoxBusiness.com article, How to Get Your Dream Job Now, Amanda Augustine, job search expert at TheLadders, says “You definitely have to be a good student—subscribe to industry blogs, join relevant associations and membership organizations…Consider a modern day apprenticeship…or volunteering during weekends in the field so you can learn about the industry and day-to-day operations. This will help you build your network of relevant contacts.” She also recommends re-imaging your resume and online profile, as well as finding and filling gaps in your skill set you need to achieve your dream job.

Another article contributor, Nicole Williams, LinkedIn’s career expert, recommends “connecting with people who have your dream job through LinkedIn or personal connections. Look at their career path, education and certifications. Talk to them and ask about their nine to five.”

With so many things you can do to work toward your dream job while you’re at your real job, there is no reason why you can’t start making your dream a reality. You may even discover that your dream job isn’t what you thought it would be. But it’s better knowing than always wondering and then you can start reevaluating what you truly want out of your career. Whatever the result, landing your dream job may be easier than you think. So stop waiting and start working for it.

What’s your dream job?

One of my readers sent me an excerpt from a book by Don Miguel Ruiz called, The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom. After reading what the four agreements were, I thought in addition to life insights, they could also serve as good career advice. Below are the four agreements from the book, each followed by my personal take on how to apply this advice in the workplace.

1. Be Impeccable With Your Word. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or gossip.

Then you’re at work; be direct. Communicate what you want or need in the workplace without any ambiguity or dancing around what you’re really trying to say. And don’t talk bad about coworkers or yourself, either way it makes you seem insecure.

2. Don’t Take Anything Personally. Nothing others do is because of you. When you are immune to opinions and actions of others, you will not be a victim of needless suffering.

We’ve all heard the saying, “It’s not personal, it’s business.” Although many people have fragile egos, all professionals need to realize that some hard or unfair business decisions that affect them, usually have nothing to do them. Stop creating problems that don’t really exist by taking things so personally at work.

3. Don’t Make Assumptions-Find courage to ask questions. Communicate to avoid misunderstandings and drama.

We all like to assume things in the workplace that sway in our favor, but that can get you into trouble. When in doubt, ask; and even when you know, confirm. It will save you a lot of mistakes and headaches.

4. Always Do Your Best -Your best is going to change moment to moment. Under any circumstance, do your best and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.

You always hear this saying, but also realize that your best evolves as you grow in your career. Your best now should continue to get better as you do.

Do you have a fifth agreement to add?

One of my readers recently wrote to me saying,

“I find that the overall work attitude [today] is very unpleasant. There seems to be an edge, or harshness towards one another. So when you do encounter someone who is pleasant, wanting to help or [will] troubleshoot for you, it is very surprising.”

In light of this observation, a question emerged;

Are young professionals happily helping others in the workplace?

I always think of young pros as eager to please and always up for a challenge, however, I know that sometimes I myself am less than thrilled to help with someone else’s problem at work, especially if it takes away from my own workplace problems.

But then I think, what if it was me asking for help and no one would help me? What if someone did help me, but was blatantly unhappy about it. I wouldn’t want that and no one else would either.

With this in mind, as you work with different people, staying positive and being willing to help a coworker, will not only make them happy and productive, but also you as well. And you may even find it easier to find a happy helping hand the next time you need one.

Do you happily helps others at work?

For many young professionals, this choice is a reality.

While our parent’s generation got married younger, there has definitely been a paradigm shift, as more young pros are taking their 20s and early 30s to focus on their careers and just date, rather than settling down right away.

But enough though norms have shifted, many young pros still face the dilemma of having to choose between putting all their attention on pursuing a career or on a serious relationship or marriage. As friends start to get married, it can be easy to get caught up in wedding fever and kids, and put off your career. The same is true when others around you experience career success, making you want to pursue your own career goals first before settling down.

This isn’t an easy choice; while it’s important to pursue a career that makes you feel fulfilled, it’s also important to know when a relationship is worth nurturing. In many cases you can have them both, but in others where you may have to leave a good job for your partner or avoid a serious relationship so you can grow in your career, you may have to make a choice.

If you are faced with this choice, it’s important to be brutally honest with yourself and to carefully evaluate the long-term results to really decipher what choice is right for you. While it’s easier to purposely put more favor toward one choice than another out of fear or connivence, try and take an outsiders perspective on the situation and make a decision based on what’s best for you at this time in your life. Making a decision after going through this kind of analysis will give you more confidence in your choice, with less regret.

Personally, I think career and love can be balanced if both parties are willing to support each other. I think it’s important for people to recognize their partner’s passions and goals and nurture them, instead of making them choose between love and a career.

Whatever is more important; Love or Career first, the choice is yours.

Did You Pick Love or Career First?

It was my first day at EXL Landa, formally Landacorp, and the beginning of my career. I remember walking through the parking lot on that foggy February morning and then entering through the large glass doors 10 minutes early, looking slightly overdressed (just in case) and not knowing what to expect.

The day was a flurry of acronyms, protocols, new faces and tons of information. By the end of the day, I remember coming home and sitting on the couch and thinking to myself, “How am I going to learn it all?”

Flash forward two years later and I’m managing digital marketing strategies, planning tradeshows, events and webinars, and creating marketing content. Then I was asked to join the corporate marketing team for EXL Service, who acquired Landacorp in October 2012, where I specifically focus on event planning and promotional campaigns.

I think it’s safe to say I’ve come a long way from being overwhelmed on the couch that first day. However, I’ve realize I was asking myself the wrong question.

I will never “learn it all.” What’s more important is to learn everything you can about what will make you successful in your role. Since you will probably change companies many times, it’s important to focus on learning all you can about your discipline, because you are more likely to stay in your same role rather than your same company in your career.

After only two years, I’m proud to still be in the same organization because I’ve learned a lot about marketing, and it’s provided me with a good foundation for my career. Now looking forward, the question is not ‘How will I learn it all?’ but rather, ‘How can I learn to succeed in my role.”

What have you learned?