Do Something Awesome!

Follow Your Dreams

Kid President (kid in the video) is right, sometimes we do need that pep talk. So FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS and never stop running!

Recently, I “walked away” from my previous employer. An awesome company with talented people, but I realized that there was one thing missing for me. It had all the right elements of the perfect job, of a great company, but each day I felt more and more like I wasn’t supposed to be there.

My mind wasn’t there and slowly I realized neither was my heart. I lacked the passion in what I was doing because I wasn’t doing the very thing I had become so passionate about. If you know me then you know project management is something I’m very passionate about (cue the link “www.HowToPassthePMeXam.com“). I’ve dedicated most of the years in my 20’s to being one. I have acquired:

• A master degree in project management
• A master degree in business administration (with a concentration in project management)
• A bachelor of science degree in network and communications management
• Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) *PMP is a registered trademark of the Project Management Institute
• Graduate Certificate of Project Management

Cover of Martin Luther King, Jr.

I’ve been in school over the course of 10 years from 2002 to 2012 give or take a cumulative time off of about 1.5 to 2 years through out that time. I started off like a Martin Luther King speech with a dream to one day start my own company, have my first customer, and simply put, to be successful. Today, I own my own company, I have many clients, and some would call me a success.

Stay The Path

I have had success, but I have known failure. Failure is the No for a salesman before the yes that represents success. There are a two paths one can take in life. The beaten path, or the one last traveled. I took the one last traveled. I personally recommend that one. However, there was a path that led to that one. For me that meant I had to get my first job at 16 at a local Arcade called Nickel World.

I went on to work at Payless Shoes,  as a Page for the local library, and Burger King (I hated the drive through window), and by the time I was 19 I was working as a Concrete Mason. That last one was a tough gig, but it’s where I learned hard work and what it felt like to see the end results of your contribution.

Fork in road (Photo credit: creativelenna)

See I wasn’t always on that road less traveled. I didn’t choose to stand out, to figure out what my path was, until I was 19 and I realized I didn’t want to break rocks and nail in stakes to the ground for someone else. The first inkling I had to travel down the beaten path was with my best friend. We started a concrete company with business cards and a name. That Good Concrete Company.

We had one or two clients, but it was short-lived. Though it eventually (and quickly) failed, it will always be a mark of success. A time in my life where I took a chance and ventured down that unbeaten path. The one with thorns and thistles. It was “That Good Concrete Company” that gave me the glimmer of what it was like to be my own boss.

When you find that inkling, the tickle of your fancy, the moment when you glimpse in how life could be different,  listen. Listen to the moment where the unbeaten path becomes clear or maybe little blurry.

Do Something Awesome…

President Lyndon B. Johnson meets with Civil Rights leaders Martin Luther King, Jr., Whitney Young, James Farmer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Do something awesome that scares you, that goes against the grain, that makes people doubt. It usually means you are on to something. Surround yourself with those that think in the same direction. Keep your eye on the ball and do your research and lots of homework!

Don’t be a quitter unless you are quitting to do something awesome and that makes you pray for God‘s help. I love finding videos like Kid President, it reminds me of why I continue on the path. Ultimately it reminds me that I can be an encouragement to others by my life. I can be a great witness as I was called to be, but in all ways of life.

All this was possible due to God. Budget strong so you can walk away when the path is clear. Plan, save, and achieve your dreams.

BudgetStrong.com

Related articles

• Top MBA Programs Move Towards Project Management (workzone.com)
• Subscriber Q&A. Why the PMP? (howtopassthepmexam.com)
• Three Essential Leadership Behaviors for Project Managers (nelsonbj.wordpress.com)
• Seven Project Manager descriptions (keithpwilliams.wordpress.com)