Lessons from life’s experiences.
Diana Ross sings “Do you know where you’re going to?” as the theme tune to the film Mahogany. This is all about a young girl growing up in a poor area in Chicago, with a dream of becoming a fashion designer.
She is passionate about her dream, and this pursuit takes her on a journey to Rome where she becomes a top model. She comes to a point, however, where the dream seems to have taken a wrong turn somewhere along the way, and she reflects on the things that life is showing her.
“Where are you going to? Do you know?”
~ Michael Masser and Gerald Goffin
What do you want to be when you grow up? Wel,l when I was asked that question as a teenager, as many of us were, it wasn’t to be a fashion designer, that’s for sure. It had more to do with being an Engineer, and more particularly a project manager, and much of my early career was spent doing exactly that.
However, I knew it wasn’t my vision to be a project manager for life, although I didn’t actually know what I really wanted to be. I didn’t know what my vision was, or what my dream would turn out to be. Life happened around me and opportunities came and went; some were pursued and others were left unexplored.
“If you don’t have a plan, you become part of somebody else’s plan.”
~ Terence McKenna
I found that through the first season of my career, as an employee, that I would be ready for a move to a new challenge approximately every 18 months to 2 years. My journey resonated with the quote from Terrence McKenna, although I was actually quite fulfilled doing that; taking opportunities when they presented themselves and helping someone else’s plan come to fruition.
I read the usual advice about finding my life plan, of discovering my passion, of uncovering my dream, and I dreamed about having a “Popeye moment” - that’s the moment when some injustice would cause him to exclaim “I just can’t takes no more”, pop open a tin of spinach, consume the contents and then set off to right some wrong.
I worked through several exercises aimed at helping me mind my “sweetspot”, with advice such as:
- If money was no object, what would I like to spend the rest of my life doing?
- If I could, what future would I create for myself?
- What would I like my greatest life accomplishment to be?
- What inspires me the most?
- What activities am I most passionate about?
- What kind of work do I get lost in doing?
- How will my business enable me to live my dreams?
- How would I want someone to describe me at my funeral?
- If I knew failure wasn’t an option, what would I attempt to do with my life
All I knew was that I didn’t know the answer to any of those questions. That was until I looked at life’s experiences. That’s when I discovered the answer to my vision, my passion, what I wanted to do with my life.
“Every significant vision possessed by leaders is built on their past - the lessons learned and the pain experienced.”
~ John Maxwell
For me, what emerged from exploring my experiences revealed that “everything I’ve done well, I’ve taught”. From teaching Ice skating while I was at university, to becoming a cycling coach for my local team, through lecturing in further education and higher education and in delivering training and business coaching.
The other thing I uncovered was my passion for leadership, although not to lead my own business or other activity. I was much more interested in helping others build and lead their businesses. I discovered a passion for helping others maximise their effectiveness, and that of their teams, and I discovered that the most effective way of doing that was to help build their leadership capabilities.
Look behind you - what have you learned?
~ John Maxwell
As I looked back at these experiences I learned the answer to all of the above questions about finding my sweet-spot, and that’s where Leadership for Business was formed. “Do you like the things that life is showing you?” My answer now is “Yes, with a passion!”
