The POWER of your own PATH

 I am always amazed with where I am today.   It’s not that I never truly thought I would arrive where I am.  It’s just that I have had such a wild ride getting here.

I recently was a guest on a Virtual Q&A for John Marshall School of Law.  And one of the things that I stressed was the average person’s life path is more like ‘country back roads’ as opposed to ‘the interstate’. What I mean when I say this is that there are only a few of us who truly know what we want to do with our life at a young age and exercise the discipline to make it happen.

I have a few friends who literally went from HS to College to Professional School (Law school, Dental School, Medical School) and then into their chosen profession.   In my mind, those people are the exception and not the norm.

The vast majority of us will probably change careers several times during the course of our professional life.  Imagine starting your career aspiring to be a corporate executive and finding your passion as a dance instructor.  Imagine starting your career aspiring to be a ballerina and finding your passion owning your business.   

And the best part is that there is NOTHING wrong with making those turns.   In the time it took for me to become a judge, I was a telemarketer, a summer Resident Advisor, an Army Reserve Officer, a Safety and Health Specialist, an active duty Navy Officer, a choreographer, a law associate, a podcaster, a YouTuber, a blogger, an adjunct instructor and a business owner.  And somehow, in the midst of that melee, I went to grad school and law school.

The hardest part about making these turns is that we are often convinced that our decision to make these turns means we are indecisive.  It means we lack vision or focus.  It means we have wasted our time and our talent.

All of those things are TOTALLY wrong.  The reality is that as we age, we discover something new about ourselves.  We realize the 20 year old you is not as interesting as the 30 year old you.  We realize that we are no longer passionate about what we are currently doing and we would like to see what we can do next.

So when you find yourself questioning your path, take a moment to embrace the power of the uniqueness of your path and enjoy all of the power that comes with it.