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Microsoft's CTO says to ignore this common piece of career advice

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Not all career advice will necessarily lead to your success.

Kevin Scott has worked at tech giants like Google and LinkedIn and is now the CTO of Microsoft. He knows the importance of taking advice from other people with a grain of salt.

Scott says one of the worst pieces of advice he has received over his 20 year career is to be patient.

"There are all sorts of situations where people tell you to be patient, and you need to wait for this, or you're not ready for that," he tells CNBC Make It.

Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Kevin Scott
Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Scott says patience should be applied on a case-by-case basis, because "sometimes, things just can't go faster than they are." He advises young people to carefully assess whether the advice is right for them.

"You have to understand if the advice they are giving you is to help you manage a situation about them, or if the advice to be patient is about you," he says.

For example, if you're working at a company and a colleague who is also looking to advance within that organization tells you to be patient about a promotion, then you'll need to understand "who the advice is best serving," says Scott.

And in fact, many of the most successful people encourage relentlessness when it comes to money and work. In his book, "How Rich People Think," author Steve Siebold highlights the fierce ambition that's common among millionaires.

"Champions don't wait for things to happen," he writes. "They make things happen."

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