"It's never too late to be what you might have been..." ~ George Eliot
I was asked at a function at my son's College last week "What were you like at school?" - of course I immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was in regards to my grades given it was coming from the College Principal. Awkward, because they weren't great.
As a kid I was talking & reading well before the usual developmental guidelines, in high school I skipped ahead in my year levels to do certain subjects ahead of time, and then in my final 2 years I suffered burn out (due to a lot of factors) and ended up having to repeat my final year just to pass & complete my high school certificate. I was determined to walk away with at least that.
In my Senior school years I was traveling overseas with a dance team, completing all of my adult ballet exams & starting my teacher's diploma, had my heart broken & to top it off I discovered that the University degree I wanted to do was only being offered interstate. Moving away from my family wasn't an option at the time & I had no back up plan. The only other career path that I was really interested in was to be an Air Hostess but this was back in the day where there was a height limit - and I did not reach it!
I was motivated to start making my own money so I chose to get out into the workforce & see where things would lead me. I had a successful career path where one thing led to the opportunity to "upgrade" to something else & I kind of kept falling into the right role at the right time. I went into business for myself in my mid 20's in an industry that I absolutely loved but when things changed in that business model I found myself in a situation where I had no control over my Success, no matter how hard I worked. We hear a lot about this happening not only in business but in the Corporate world too - I've experienced both and in recent months we've witnessed so many people in so many age brackets having to "reinvent" themselves due to industry closures & changes.
The conversation at this College dinner led to the topic of students not only achieving great results in their exams but being "world ready" when they graduate. The Principal said "I want to see them succeed in their schooling but I'm even more excited to see their success when they're 40". Wow. That really hit home... I realised that in my schooling I wasn't given coaching or mentoring to find other options, to set new goals, when my chosen Uni degree was no longer available. I had to figure it out myself & I can tell you it took a long time.
Shortly after I came across the Beyond Freedom Evolution program written by Prosperity Of Life's co-founder Shane Krider, I went through another major life change where I had to think "What next?" But this time, I had the tools to guide me to be able to establish a new path, with a new vision, and get about being in action to create it a whole lot quicker.
If you're fortunate enough to live many decades in your life, there's a fair chance that at some point, or perhaps at many points, you'll need to "reinvent yourself". This can be a scary precipice to be on but just know that with the right tools & guides to get you to your new destination (along with a clear vision & a desire to succeed) you can absolutely create the new you. Or maybe the real you that was always there... the one that wasn't "tall enough" for that "Dream Job" 20 years ago (I can tell you I much prefer being the one with the plane ticket nowadays. 1A is my favourite)!
To Your Success!
Kirsty Mailer
Prosperity Of Life Branding & Corporate Communications