I had the distinct honor of giving a presentation to a group of American high schoolers today.
So much so, they gave me the fuel for a Jolt.
The subject of my presentation was “My Career Journey”, a synopsis of my lessons that I could impart to a young hungry bunch of future leaders. I had been asked to speak by a terrific entrepreneur and teacher that I have recently had the pleasure of getting to know.
Being British by nature, I have not always been comfortable talking about myself. We Brits are the masters of understatement. We dance around the subject of “success” like it’ll eat us for breakfast if we whisper its name. Touting our wares is terribly uncouth. Leave that to the Americans. They’re really good at it.
Having lived and worked in the US for years, I’ve got over it now. I’ve learnt that hiding your story helps no one, let alone yourself. The older we get, the more it counts that we share what we’ve learnt along the way.
At the end of my presentation, one question stumped me;
“Do you regret not going to Art School?”
I had shared with the class how art school had been my goal from the moment I could walk. Nothing was going to stop me. I didn’t know what it was, what it entailed, or what I would do when I got there, but I was going to do it.
That was, until my 16-year-old self met his career advisor. An English teacher who’d half-read a book on business, he’d been appointed as the school career expert.
“Don’t do art”, he said, “you need to do something vocational. Art will take you nowhere”.
Being 16, and thinking that all authority figures had crystal balls the size of small planets, I dropped art.
I dropped it so far, that when I next looked down to find it, I was studying Law at university.
So did I regret not going to art school? It was a brilliant question.
And my answer kind of surprised me.
No. I didn’t regret it at all.
I can only regret the things I’ve done, not the things I haven’t done. I have found a way to bring art into my life and work regardless. That’s what counted.
I followed it up with the advice a mentor gave me. It’s the best piece of advice I’ve ever had on career decision making: toss a coin.
If it’s heads, try heads.
If it’s tails, try tails.
There is no right or wrong.
2023 is soon going to come to a close. Time has a way of moving through us, almost unseen.
Whatever age you are, or where you are in life, the most important thing to think about is not what you didn't do, but what you are going to to do next.
Heads or tails? You won’t know unless you toss the coin.
With love and action,
The Jolt.