[This is an Occupational Adventure Blast from the Past!]
I learned something early on in my Passion Catalyst experience, and that is...
Wisdom is the fruit of my folly.
In the early days, as I was building my Passion Catalyst work out of the ashes of a crash and burn career, I spent a lot of energy beating myself up for not having exercised better judgment when times were good.
Dissatisfaction with my previous career (as a self-employed marketing consultant) had spun me into a cycle of "earn money - play/travel till the money was gone - earn money again". It might sound like a fun lifestyle choice, but it was really just avoidance. I was on the wrong path.
When the dot com implosion hit, I was at the nadir of the cycle. "Oops, broke again!" I was self-unemployed, with no savings to speak of, no safety net, and not even a whiff of revenue possibility on the horizon.
As the bleakness of my situation dawned on me, I began berating myself for having been such an idiot when times were good and the money had flowed at the snap of my fingers. Why hadn't I worked harder and earned more money? Why hadn't I done a better job of saving for a rainy day? Why? Why?! I was angry with myself.
My self-flagellation was, of course, completely counter-productive. I needed to put that energy to use elsewhere. One day, in talking to a close friend about it, I finally sighed in resignation, and said with a half-grin, "Ah well. Wisdom is the fruit of my folly."
That stuck. I liked it so much that I wrote it down on my whiteboard, where it stayed to serve as a reminder to put my energy toward growth and the future.
So if you find yourself beating yourself up over a bonehead move (hey, we all make them!), just take a deep breath and remind yourself, "Wisdom is the fruit of my folly." Ask yourself what you just learned, and move on. Save your energy for better things.
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Time for a career change? Launch it with...
The Occupational Adventure Guide:
A Travel Guide to the Career of Your Dreams
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by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst
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