Glee. It’s a wonderful TV program that my husband Steve, 13-year-old son Kyle, and me watch together. It’s “must see TV” for Tuesday nights. Last Tuesday, the program got us talking about how important it can be to get involved in a school activity or sport. You learn so much about yourself while doing something you love. You may even be lucky enough to make friendships that last a lifetime and find a passion that could be the foundation for a future career.
That got me thinking about some of the choices I made way back when that have led me to where I am today. When I was in high school, I remember making a rather important choice. As a senior, what I really wanted was to audition for the school’s award-winning drill team, wear those sassy outfits with the knee-high boots, and perform on the football field with all those talented girls who competed for their place on this very competitive team. I also wanted to be the editor-in-chief of my high school’s award-winning weekly newspaper. As luck and timing would have it, I was selected to do both.
And then I had to make a decision. The thing is, both commitments were going to require a great deal of my time. I was college bound and taking all the courses required to open the doors for me to apply to quality schools like UC Berkeley — which I later attended for a couple of years before transferring and graduating from CSU Northridge.
At the end of the day, I elected to give up my place on the drill team to edit the high school newspaper. I couldn’t resist using the power and influence of the pen and sharing stories that could be seen by hundreds of my classmates every Friday.
About five years later, I was faced with a similar choice. As a senior in college, I could either spend the summer as a tour guide at Universal Studios in Los Angeles and guide tourists to keep their hands and arms inside the tram while it was in motion for minimum wage, or I could accept a well paying internship as a writer in the corporate communications department of a technology division that was once a part of Citicorp.
The tour guide opportunity required an audition among hundreds of spotlight-seeking, young people — many of whom looked like they could be in the movies themselves. Here again, I walked away from that opportunity to perform in favor of the power of the pen. In doing so, I met my husband Steve and started down the path to make my way in the worth through the power of storytelling.
As I look back on the decisions I made so long ago, I see that they have served me well on the career and personal fronts. I’m married to my perfect partner, and we have a good life together. And, while I didn’t perform regularly with the drill team or on the stage that was the tram at Universal Studios, today I perform in other ways as a speaker a workshop leader, and as a frequent teleseminar/webinar guest who gets to speak to hundreds of people at a time. And, I wear some pretty sassy jackets and shoes as I do.
The power and influence of the pen is still my tool of choice for making my way in the world. February 2, 2011 is the official 10-year anniversary of the start of my business here at Authentic Visibility. I see clearly now that the passions I discovered as a 16-year old attending high school are the foundation for the work I do with passion every day. Today I am using my storytelling gifts to help clients in my own backyard and beyond get seen, heard, celebrated and compensated for their expert status. My interest took root in high school, and the roots run very deep today. Do-It-Yourself Publicity and storytelling are the most frequently used approaches I use to bring about these ultimate results both for me and my clients, and it is exactly what I should be doing. I’ve been in training for this work all my life.
My son is talented in many ways — academics, sports, and music. Now I watch with wonder as his talents take root and guide him to a future that I hope is bright with promise and possibility. I hope he listens to what he loves and is lucky enough to fashion a career that makes him happy using his gifts. But he’s only 13, so time will tell.
My Question for You:What moment in your early life was the “aha” that compelled you to take your path to live and business success today? I’d love to hear your story. Please share!
