“The World Is My Oyster!” That belief will take you where you want to go but it helps to have some guidance. I’ve been down many paths, but I found a shortcut early in life. I was unprepared for the future after high school and had no idea what to do once I got there. But my loving mother offered me the opportunity of a lifetime. She took me to a career coach! The coach took me on a journey into all the potential opportunities that I had available to me. It was then I realized the world was my oyster. He showed me all kinds of different trades and educational opportunities without preference to any of the options. In the end it was my decision. So, I chose to get a Mechanical Engineering degree and got my first “real” job as an engineer at Stanford.
Although it was fascinating working with the smartest physicists in the world, I soon became bored with sitting behind a desk and decided that sales was where I wanted to be. So off I went as a Technical Sales Rep. I sold ball bearings and then water meters and then I was bored again. But the Internet had arrived, and I lived in Silicon Valley. I started my own Web development and hosting company. It was going great; so well that I needed partners. But the partner adventure did not work out as I had imagined. I wish I had a coach to warn me.
But High Tech was booming, and I had sales skills. I spoke with a friend of a friend who was a recruiter at PeopleSoft, and he said that my skills weren’t transferable. He was clearly unaware that the world was my oyster. So, I did some consulting which led to a job at Hewlett Packard. I left Hewlett Packard to take a job at Oracle. Ironically Oracle had just purchased PeopleSoft, so I felt total redemption and learned that believing in oneself is much more important than listening to pessimists. I had made it in high tech.
But now what? The CEO job was filled at Oracle so how was I going to see the executive levels of business? I found a small software company that was growing and was hired to lead their sales organization. It grew, and grew, and then was purchased by an Equity Firm. It grew more and more and then was purchased by a large company and then again by a larger company. As the business was consumed by larger businesses, I found myself back at the bottom of the food chain again. It was time to move on.
Which brought me full circle; I went back to a Career Coach. And this time my conclusion was that I wanted to be that person who had helped me twice. I became a Coach with The Entrepreneur’s Source and now provide that service to help Entrepreneurs find their passion. The best part is that the service I provide is free of charge. I’m here to empower you, the World Can Be Your Oyster too.