Back in December, I got an email inviting me to speak at Career Day at my high school — which also happens to be the last place I worked before I became self-employed. In fact, as part of my role, I had actually planned my share of these Career Days, so this really felt like my life was coming full circle. 

At my all-girls Catholic high school, Career Day is called Pass the Pearls, and here’s the description they sent me:

Pass the Pearls is really a combination of Career Day and College Scoop in a virtual format and a more linear conversation. 

Linear? Life’s path isn’t linear! Well, as if anticipating my disbelief, the invitation went on to explain that the students had requested to combine the two days into a single discussion, because they envision their lives laid out before them as a series of step-by-step instructions — go to college, choose a major, graduate, get a job in that field, and so on.

That’s SO cute. 

As you and I both know, mama, life is most certainly NOT linear. In fact, I’d say it’s generally more like a roller coaster.

Check out my journey.

• I was a political science major with a Spanish and theology minor. 
• I went to New York City to move in with my boyfriend and got accepted to Teach for America.
• I quit Teach for America halfway through the summer training program.
• I worked at a boutique in downtown NY and got to live my best life pretending I was Carrie from Sex in the City. (Yes, I did get to wait on some pretty cool celebrities.)
• We moved to Arizona, where I worked as a banker. Seriously, WHAT? I was literally 22 years old, and I should not have been doing that whatsoever. 
• We moved back to Kansas City where I talked my way into a job at the Kansas City Star, which was a straight up Devil Wears Prada situation where I got paid essentially nothing to work all the time.
• We wanted to start a family, which required Justin and me to occasionally be in the same room at the same time, so I left the Star and got a job at my former high school, where I flourished, where my first boss believed in me and invested in me, and where I learned the skills that would ultimately lead me to living the freelance life. 

Does ANYTHING about that path feel linear?

Of course, once I became a freelancer, I still didn’t follow any kind of linear progression. 

I started as a social media manager, and became an online business manager (even though, at the time, I had never actually heard that term), and somehow wound up as a business coach — another thing I didn’t even know existed. 

All of this is to say… maybe you started out on a path because it served a purpose for you. You started climbing the mountain. But you realized at some point that you didn’t want to be on the mountain anymore. Like, it was taking you to a place (BANKER, anyone???) that you did NOT want to be. So, for the right reasons — and that’s the key here — you got off the path and found a new one.

Now, if you’re just chasing after shiny objects for your whole life, you’ll never get anywhere. 

But.

If you started out on this path to have an online business, it makes a LOT of sense to start as a virtual administrative consultant. 

But since the path isn’t linear, you And now, a few months or a year or more in, maybe you’re thinking about shifting to higher value work that can earn you more money?

Like… maybe… copywriting?

Well, that’s awesome, because in exactly ONE WEEK, my friend Abbi Perets is coming into the Facebook group to tell you ALL ABOUT the possibilities that are open to you. 

You’re going to love her as much as I do, so mark your calendar and DO NOT MISS THIS TRAINING.

P.S. Seriously, every time we run this training, I learn something new about writing and sales. You definitely want to be there. 

P.P.S. Entrepreneurship requires personal development. Check out the last blog post where Lauren shares her secrets for shifting your mindset so that you can be successful!