• Asking for promotions and negotiating my salary.  I ended up making $90,000 more a year then when I started out and moved from an entry-level position to executive management in ~ 10 years.

• Giving my first presentation.  I signed up to give a 5-minute talk at a GIS conference.  I was so scared that I hid in the bathroom.  When I finally walked in, I learned that everyone else had canceled and I had 45 minutes to speak!

• Starting my own business.  I didn’t have any money, so I paid for a GIS conference fee on my credit card.  I knew I needed to be there.  I went to a mentoring event and shared my idea.  I asked for support.

National Geographic called me the next week and gave me my first contract. Turns out someone important was sitting in the audience.  That was my first big lesson about the power of networking.