To all senior product managers and leaders - what advice would you give an aspiring product manager?
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The key point I would say is to build Product Sense - start looking at every product that is launched or being used with a unique set of eyes thinking about key dimensions like - utility, usability, strategy and innovation involved, differentiation, integrity and monetization. This is one skillset that takes time to build and will be very helpful as you become the PM,
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My only advice: focus on the most impactful piece of work and ensure end-to-end ownership. Then, work hard to deliver and use it as a success story to keep growing internally within your organization or elsewhere !
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"Build relationships and develop alignment" is the one thing I would have taught myself as a junior PM. I think the art of building relationship, strong communication and bringing alignment are important skillsets for a PM. Personally coming from engineering side myself, I was more about execution and deliverables and then learnt how important is building relationship and alignment with the different teams on a constant basis.
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In reality, we all are product owners. The cake you bake, food you make, or the table you made are all products that serve a need for someone special. I believe, as we’re growing as product managers, we’re simply learning more about ourselves, human behavior, and the right way to do everything. Just like how there is a right way to tie your shoe laces so they don’t become undone easily, there is a right way to give feedback etc. If you approach everything with the mindset of “what can I learn from this?” then everything becomes enjoyable. Customer empathy is the key to the castle. What is the need we’re looking to fulfill and given the resources and constraints, how best can we create value for the customer ? Sometimes we have to choose between being happy or right. We don’t have to win every battle. 
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I know breaking into Product Management or building your influence as PM is a difficult path and things can be very ambiguous. I want to assure you that we are still figuring all this out even many years as a PM, and it takes a willingness to try your crazy ideas and be okay with being wrong, as long as you are learning from it. You belong in this discipline and your life experiences / skills are valid.
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Obviously, doing a good job at wherever you are at, and having the right impact and metrics is important. Other than that I would recommend interview practice - there are a ton of websites and books that provide guidance around the interview practices of top tech companies.
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I know breaking into Product Management or building your influence as PM is a difficult path and things can be very ambiguous. I want to assure you that we are still figuring all this out even many years as a PM, and it takes a willingness to try your crazy ideas and be okay with being wrong, as long as you are learning from it. You belong in this discipline and your life experiences / skills are valid.