Follow Your Passions

I had the opportunity to get involved in pursuing one of my main goals this evening, mentoring others. Three hours of being able to directly connect with people trying to take the next transitional step in their careers. It was… awesome. Phenomenal. It also meant shifting my time around a bit and making some short term sacrifices, one of them being I will likely not have time for a post on Thursday. I will do my best to be back on track for Friday - Thursday night will be the Social Media Club meeting and between that and tonight’s experience, I will be bursting at the seams to share with you all.

I love my job, I love my life. Have a beautiful day.

“There’s no doubt or worry - it just absolutely feels like the right thing to do.”
- a friend and former colleague

I used to work for a really terrific manager at one of my former employers. She consistently encouraged me, never held back on expressing the potential she thought I had, and always created opportunities to succeed and learn even when her plate was overflowing with work of her own. When I moved on, I made sure to let her know how much I appreciated her as a mentor and a friend, and I remember wanting to do something for her because she seemed… well, perhaps not defeated, but certainly not like what she was doing was in line with her passions.

On Sunday I was at a holiday party one of my old coworkers invited me to, and my old manager showed up. Without getting into details, she shared with me that she was moving on to a new opportunity, and that it was far more in line with what she wanted to do. My wife, who had only briefly met this person a couple of years ago, told her “You look like you’re glowing, like you’re really happy.” And I thought about the last time I had seen this mentor compared to how she radiated at the party, and it was… inspiring. Seeing others follow their passions in life is wonderful anytime, but seeing someone I have built a relationship with heading off on an exciting adventure filled with potential like that brings a smile to my face every time I think about it.