Forged in Fire

I had a full blog post completely written up, ready to post. 

Moments ago, I decided to put it on the back burner and pivot in an entirely different direction. It can wait. This topic is fresh on the brain and one I want to get down to paper and out into the world before the weight of it escapes me.

As I alluded to in last week’s post, a great deal of my time within my current job is spent talking to and interacting with complete strangers – something that plays into my personality quite well, as it turns out.

Just this morning, I linked up for a cup of coffee with a guy who I met just last Friday at a local networking event. The brief bits of his life story that I was able to take in that day stuck out to me in a profound way, and so naturally I asked him for a bit of time on his calendar. 

Thankfully, he agreed, and thankfully, I was able to have a perspective-altering conversion with him on this otherwise ordinary late-summer Friday morning.

Former active duty soldier turned software salesman is the most rudimentary synopsis of this guy’s life up to this point in time. Now in the process of developing a start-up company, whilst simultaneously juggling a number of other side-hustles, it was quickly apparent that there was surely some wisdom to be gained from even a short conversion.

I was correct in this assessment.

But, one thing stood out above all else that we covered.

In explaining his career path, the highs and lows, the mistakes and the triumphs, he was incredibly candid and honest – something that seems to be increasingly hard to come by, thus appreciated greatly.

Quickly, though, he expressed genuine interest in my story, which is something I share quite frequently these days, be it that it’s far from ordinary. 

A few minutes later, I had covered nearly everything there is to know about how I find myself in the position I stand in today. 

He paused, for a quick moment, then responded “You burnt the ships, for real, huh?”

It caught me off guard.

He was spot on.

I took a second to absorb what he had just said, and confirmed that though I hadn’t quite yet positioned it like that in my own mind, he was exactly right.

As a public educator, I held an incredibly secure position. Steady and predictable pay, great benefits, etc. I left this comfort for something completely unknown and volatile. Though done in an incredibly calculated manner, this is in fact precisely what I had done – burnt the ships behind me, with sights set on something different, in the best interest of what I hold nearest and dearest.

There was no “Plan B.” No second-guessing. No what-if’s. There was no room, no time, and no allowance for any of it. The base I had established was being left behind, with steadfast intent on the goals I had set for myself and for my family.

The conversation continued for some time, and it became clear to me that this approach, the way in which I transitioned so abruptly, is the only way. In order to truly and fully immerse yourself in something new, with a realistic opportunity to attain any level of success, is to leave behind what you’d previously known. 

Full-send. Complete undertaking. No second-guessing. Zero time to question the decision after it’s been made.

You might find yourself in this position, now or later. Staring down the prospect of a massive change – a leap into something so foreign and terrifying. A place in time where you must decide, to burn the ships or to remain tied to them forever, in hopes that things work themselves out. 

This conversation I’m speaking of has opened my eyes to the clear and undeniable proper choice. The only one worthwhile. The one we have to make with utter reverence in order to achieve whatever we’ve set our sights upon.

Burn them, for real, and don’t look back. Sights forward, for the rest of time.

Forge on.

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