I am a strong believer that success only comes as a bi-product of many controlled failures. What is a controlled failure ? This does not mean that you must set out to fail nor believe this is a certain outcome, only that in attempting to fulfill your quest do not allow tunnel vision, blinding yourself from the good or the flawed calculations and decisions you make along the way. Simply said, learn from your mistakes ( and others if at all possible) and build on your successes. Do this in an assertive, cognitive and unbiased manner. Taking ownership of your failures and never overstating or becoming content with your successes. Critical thinking is an absolute art to be mastered in the arena of business. In order to become a critical thinker you must first evaluate your own thought life taking your ideas, belief systems, and worldview, dissecting each of them. Discarding anything that does not come from a place of authenticity or has been developed out of dogma. You may see this as a sort of soul searching ( which parts of this process is and should be) but for me Shedding those parts of my personality that don't line up with who I am at the very core allows space and energy for creativity and passion to flow. Vocational growth very seldom ( if ever) comes without first personal growth.