Born in 1949 in New York City, Vera Wang is a former figure skater who became the youngest ever senior fashion editor at Vogue in 1972 and then a design director for Ralph Lauren. She designed her own wedding dress when she got married to Arthur Becker in 1989 at the age of 40. Recognising the lack of bridal gowns designed for older and more mature brides, she soon after opened her own bridal boutique selling her own signature collection of wedding dresses, and the rest is herstory.
Vera Wang is a great example of someone who has shifted expectations to try something new, and the career which has resulted is an inspiration for anyone who doesn’t fit the mould or follow the conventional path to success. Her words of wisdom throughout the years offer a solid set of lessons that can be applied to all aspects of life. Here are seven of them.Â
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It’s not an easy thing to admit when you’re wrong but according to Wang, it is essential to career-building. To better yourself, you must learn from your mistakes but before you do, you need to go within and find exactly what those mistakes were.Â
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In a world where the youngest generations are accused of being impatient and wanting to achieve everything as quickly as possible, you can get so caught up on what you want in the future that you forget to appreciate the journey that is taking you there. According to Vera Wang, quality of life shouldn’t be measured by success but instead, by the lessons you have learned along the way.Â
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Career and success don’t happen overnight. You might land a job you don’t like that much or colleagues and an environment that isn’t the best for you, but you will have to go through experiences that are not where you would like them to be in order to develop successfully. Don’t take work for granted. It’s all part of learning and will help you reach your full potential. Remember, “it’s good to work for other people. I worked for others for 20 years. They paid me to learn.”
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Making an effort to love everything you do will translate into finding passion naturally. We often find ourselves feeling guilty or just settling. We don’t dislike the situation, but we don’t love it either. According to the designer, “If your heart’s attached to something, then your mind will be attached to it”.Â
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Living in a fast-paced world can leave you feeling so imbalanced. Maintaining a work-life balance is about separating your personal and professional lives without allowing one to encroach upon the other. Both are important; neither should be neglected. It’s good to try fulfilling your maximum potential but learn to distinguish when it’s too much.Â
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“I had to learn to dust myself off and try again. That’s my real story. I went to Vogue and I was not getting the big jobs and then I went to Ralph Lauren. I didn’t feel like there was much more I could do at the time there—and I think that’s given me the opportunity to struggle. You have to struggle to appreciate the successes in your life. It’s not real otherwise.”
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It’s hard to not compare yourself to other people. ¨Everyone makes choices based on their own situation, and no one else will ever fully understand those decisions. They can only second guess them”. In the end, everyone’s journey is different, and it doesn’t mean that one is better than the other.Â
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