The Value In Doing It Your Way
I’m learning more and more each day that my journey is mine. It belongs to no one else but me. It took me a long time to learn this, however.
I love my parents but it took me a long time to learn they could only see things from their own perspective. Sure, there is value in what they say. But, as much as they say it, I still have to live it.
Like the time someone said I should try law. I studied for the LSAT. I took it and got a 163 the first time. In LSAT parlance, that isn’t too shabby. I could have studied more but I don’t like studying for tests. I never have. I took the test, applied to some schools and got in. But, I never went. Why? I just wasn’t sold out to it. There was something about staying up late reading books just to figure out how to argue with people that just didn’t resonate with me at the time.
Then there was the time I did pre-med because I heard it was a good way to go. I did well at science in high school. But, then I did well at other subjects too. But, I was watching TV at the time and the life of Cliff and Claire Huxtable was inviting. If I could be Cliff, then I could certainly find a Claire and we’d live happily ever after. But, then I figured out I hated chemistry. And I heard doctors ‘sorta’ have to take chemistry a few times. That wasn’t going to work.
Then there was the time I kept driving by a radio station on my way to work. One day, I decided to stop in to speak to the owner of the station. I spoke to him and we seemed to hit it off. We had a great conversation and he offered me an internship working with the news anchor for the station. I worked with the news anchor for six months and learn quite a few of the ins and outs of the radio industry. I even got my FCC license. I still have it. It’s a lifetime license unless you act silly and commit an on air felony or something.
After 8 months or so, the news anchor took a job in upstate New York, and amazingly the owner of the station asked if I wanted a shot at the news anchor gig. I said, “No.” WHAT?? Yeah, I turned it down. I was scared. The pay was low and I would have to get up at 3am to get the station to prepare all of the stories, write the intros and get things ready for the 5am broadcast. Because of the pay, I would still need to keep another job. I just didn’t understand the value of what I was giving up at the time.
But, it’s a great story. I’ve still ended up in communication and leadership. I’ve still ended up as a speaker and I have a podcast. I’ve still ended up reading tons of books to figure out how to understand people. The different parts of the journey are somehow converging with bits learned from each phase. Each unique phase has led me to where I am. Could I have done it another way? Maybe. Hard to tell how it would have turned out. But, I do know there is value in navigating the journey in the way you feel led instead of simply copycatting what everyone else is doing. Your perspective is yours. Your application of knowledge is yours. There is value in the exploration, the experimentation and the evaluation of your process.
Stay on the road and move forward in the word only you can. Because no one can tell where you will end up. You get to choose that.
Today is Day 31 of a 12 week writing process. Here are 2 previous articles:
I’m Robert and I speak about leadership & communication. If you enjoyed this article, hang out with me to get more over at robertkennedy3.com. Sign up here to hang out.
