Girlfriend Confidential: LA—starring Eva Marcille and her gal pals Denyce Lawton, Kelly Marie Dunn and Nikki Chu–is a docu-series that follows the four ladies in their pursuit to balance their careers and relationships, a task familiar to most Vixens.
While the introductory episode showed each lady’s passion in action, it also showed a delicate side full of love, hurt and perseverance. Eva and Nikki are booking gigs/setting up appointments and trying to make sense of their relationships, while actress Denyce is in the process of rebuilding her acting career. Busy brand manager Kelly, on the other hand, remains low-key about her love life or lack thereof.
Don’t you wish you really could have your cake and eat it, too? Be at the height of your game with a winning playbook and an awesome guy who won’t back down? Lucky for us, there is a way to maintain a successful career and peace of mind without sacrificing relationships.
Check out some of the career do’s and don’ts we learned from watching Girlfriend Confidential: LA. (And do not forget to catch new episodes every Monday on Oxygen at 11 p.m.)
…mix business with pleasure
Although it’s nice to have your partner around for support, don’t depend on their appearance at work-related events. You don’t want to set yourself up for disappointment. Eva was in a little rut because her boyfriend promised to go to NYC to see her walk the runway, but he didn’t show up. She didn’t let it effect her performance, but sometimes disappointing news can.
…compare yourself to others
It’s difficult knowing you have the capability to do the same work as others when you’re having trouble finding an outlet that allows you to do it. That, however, doesn’t mean to start discrediting yourself because you see others getting farther ahead. Denyce made a remark about acting roles coming easy to Eva because she won America’s Next Top Model, but when you start comparing your accomplishments to that of someone else’s, you begin to lose site of the goal. Worry about what works for you versus what worked for someone else. With patience and persistence, you might find yourself excelling above their expectations and your own.
Do…
…remember that family comes first
Walt Disney once said, “A man should never neglect his family for business.” We second that. Most of the time, family will ride with you, with or without a career. They should be the ones you go to when you’re feeling down, and they should be the ones to lift you up. Eva even said herself that when she goes home, all her worries go away.
…step out of your comfort zone
Once Kelly stepped out of her comfort zone to design web pages for choreographer Richard Jackson, she liked what she created. Every day is a learning day. Better to say you tried something new than not open yourself up and wonder what things would’ve been like if you had.