Life In Between Dreams…

“My Path to Happiness” – photo provided by http://shuttergenic.com/

When we’re born it seems like there’s a whole path laid out for us. A formula, a process of how things go or a path that we must follow. I was raised, trained and surrounded by those that have always followed that path. Your first years as a kid seem to contain the most freedom, most exploration, and most creativity with no real restrictions other than bedtime. But once you hit preschool, it seems like everything follows the “normal” path: that path being going through school K-12, then off to hopefully a “great” college, then get a “great” job at a “great” company then retire at 65 and then travel the world or something. And as you go through this path, expectations just get higher and higher. People expect you to get into a “great”, top-tiered college. They expect you to get a “great” job at the large corporations, the IBM’s and Google’s of the world. These have been set by many as measures of success. People expect and have trained you to follow paths that have been paved for you. Lucky are the ones that are motivated and supported to find their own paths. Most schools are built to get you to follow this “normal” path and are not set up or teach the other options in life such as entrepreneurship or lives in the arts. Don’t get me wrong, there are some exceptions and some paths that are required like paths to become a doctor, a lawyer, or a firefighter. These paths require specific training in order to fulfill these careers.

I’ve always had that entrepreneurship, building, creating bug in me, it was just at times I became so blinded to my true self because I was so involved and pushed onto the “normal” path. Throughout school and my surroundings kept me away from “my” path and stuck on the “normal” path.  One reason for this and I’m sure there are others that agree, but there is no where in school that you are really told to follow your passions or are able to explore what you are passionate about. They teach you formulas, and the necessary things to do in order to get into a “great” college like take the SATs. The curriculum is so focused on the “normal” path. Once someone loses focus on the “normal” path, as in try to follow their own path, there are some that frown upon it because it’s different or out of the ordinary to success. But we all have very different definitions of success. I believe one of the most important gauges of success is one’s happiness. It wasn’t until I really took a deeper dive into the entrepreneurship and the start-up worlds did I constantly hear to follow my passion and work on something that I’m passionate about.

“My” path had taken a hiccup and followed the “normal” path for quite a bit. I was stuck in that mindset, get into a “great” college then get a “great” job. And that is what I did. I attended UC Davis which was a top 40 college in the nation. I then later accepted a job to work in marketing for IBM, one of the largest corporations in the world. I enjoyed working in marketing and I thought I was happy, but eventually realized I wasn’t happy with some of the things I was doing and wasn’t happy with my environment. It also hit me that something was missing. I wasn’t passionate about the work I was doing. That entrepreneurship bug started coming back alive. The more and more I worked on the stuff I cared and was passionate about, the happier I got. The more I created and began to build things, the bigger my smile got each day. Once I finally got back on “my” path, things seemed much clearer because I was following my heart and I was doing the things that I was passionate about. My passion is part of what drives me now.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” –Steve Jobs

My happiness lies in “my” path. Your happiness lies in “your” path. Don’t live someone else’s life. We shouldn’t be afraid to break away from the “normal” path. There is nothing wrong with the “normal” path if that is what makes you happy, but there is also nothing wrong with taking a different path. There is nothing wrong with being different. Different is what drives creativity and drives individuality. If we all follow our passion, it will lead to more happiness. This is what we need to start doing and start encouraging others especially the young ones out there to keep open minds of the different paths available and to follow their passion. Even though there is no exact path to success in entrepreneurship, I believe if I live my own life, create my own path, follow my heart, and live out my passions, I will be happy and I will be successful. Happiness doesn’t pay the bills, but if you’re passionate about it, you will find a way. I am not currently where I want to be on “my” path, but I’m working to get there. So don’t be bound by the typical paths, the specific formulas, as there is no exact formula for living life, be bound to paving your own path to happiness.