Navigating by Stars

Work has been hectic lately. I feel like I’ve been on some sort of crazy traffic interchange, caught somewhere between the rush of corporate new hires aggressively merging towards the fast lane and the trickle of timeworn commuters just looking for the nearest exit. It seems we’re all just vying for position on a superhighway full of unmarked lanes and hoping we’ll choose one that leads to success. Or at least one that won’t send us to an early grave.

And I wonder, is it even possible nowadays to map a route and safely stay on course when the world keeps redefining success?

A good friend and former colleague once offered some great career advice. He said it doesn’t really matter if I become a surgeon or busboy, or if I decide to sell trinkets on the internet or help cure cancer. What’s important, he said, isn’t the title, the work, or the money; it’s making sure I do something that allows me to be home in time to tuck my kids into bed every night, and that I can always look them in the eyes and tell them how I spent my day. All of it.

That was over 20 years ago.

This Thanksgiving, I’m grateful for my wise friend and the four North Stars who have unknowingly been guiding my way for the past two decades. I know I’d be lost without them.