I love elephants.

I have an obsession with them.

They are pretty damn amazing creators.

My friend once asked me this psychological test: What are your three favorite animals and 3 attributes why you love them.

I don’t want to give away what the test represents (until you’ve had a chance to ponder it) but I will say one of my animals is an elephant.

The attributes I named: they are family-centric, caring creatures who simply walk down the path of life without intentional harm to those in its way.

Now folks can disagree with me but this is what I choose to believe.

Elephants walk – to their goal, their destination: food, water, shelter, family.

So last weekend when I was waiting for my flight at LAX, cruising the isles of the Hudson Booksellers shop, I saw this book by the Harvard Business School Press -

And had to get it.

It’s a really quick read with 14 short story-type lessons. Here are the takeaways from my favorite chapter:

Three Essential Attributes for Career Advancement

* Effective leaders often exhibit high expectations, strong resilience and perseverance, and an affirmative attitude. These are the very attributes you’ll need to develop in order to rise through your organization.

* You shouldn’t hesitate to foster open lines of communications with superiors. They might surprise you with their willingness to assist.

* You must try not to get discouraged by adversity; everyone struggles through difficult times. Try to remain confident no matter what the challenge – and remember it too shall pass.

The lesson was written by Dina Dublon, Former CFO, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

I think it’s the combination of Dina being a female, Dina being a female in finance, Dina being a female in finance at a large corporation that I personally dedicated 5 years of my life to… but I liked her lessons a lot.

And in the grand scheme of things – it’s more validation that I’m doing it right. And a supporting reminder to keep on keepin’ on.