Matt McCoy: If you could go back and give your younger self advice at the beginning of your career, what would you say?

Thomas Hamilton:
First, I'd give him a hug and tell him it's going to be okay. There's good things ahead, but I would say a few things.

One, be patient. I know you're stressed and you want to accomplish a whole bunch of stuff, and you feel like things need to happen fast.

Things happen slower than you're going to anticipate, and that's okay.

You actually need time to acclimatize to all these different levels, so be patient.

The other thing is recognize that the needs of your career as you go forward are going to be different, so manage that properly.

In the early stages, it's less about what you can cognitively bring strategically. It's more about how you can execute and support.

But that will flip as you go.

So when you're in those early stages, don't resent the fact that no one's necessarily super interested in your strategic insights because you're a young’un and you don't know anything.

Recognize you're there to support, help — and the time will come where that transitions.