I co-founded Crabwalk because I believe that every professional needs to be in the driver’s seat of their career. I say this will such vigor because I KNOW it to be true—from personal experience.

20-year-old Carly sincerely believed that if she checked all of the right boxes early on in life—great grades, academic accolades, “right” internship, head down and do what you’re told—the road ahead would become very clear and she’d coast along in autopilot. Job in finance or government. Apartment in NYC or DC. And the rest would take care of itself.

It turns out that a lot of that came true, except the part about being on autopilot. The longest autopilot I think I’ve felt in my 15-year career lasted 6 months?

Turns out being in the driver’s seat and having to actively steer my career was the better choice for me. I’ve now crisscrossed my way through not only finance and government but also discovered the wonder of entrepreneurship and startups as well as academia.

The one mental model that’s helped me most? An entrepreneurial mindset. When faced with a big challenge in a chaotic and ambiguous environment, I push myself into offense mode instead of defaulting to defense mode. I try to find the opportunities to keep me moving forward.

I shared a lot about this cross-over effect in my work, and a whole lot about my own career path and history on the Boston Speaks Up podcast, hosted by Zach Servideo last month.

If you’re curious to hear more about how we think behind the scenes at Crabwalk and how an entrepreneurial mindset can support you, regardless of the career path that you’re on, then tune in!