A moment on being open to new possibilities
Just as Luke was open to joining the Rebels, so too can you find new opportunities when you have an open mind.
Here is your May the Fourth moment:
If there has been one consistent pattern in my life, it has been trusting myself over others when it comes to embracing new opportunities.
Take my first real job, for instance. I worked at an office supply store starting when I was 15, and I kept that job until halfway through college. It was at that point I decided I needed something better, and I had my ear open for new tracks. It was then that I was offered a job that was heavily reliant upon commissioned sales, and everyone in my family argued against it. “You have worked at this job for so many years, it doesn’t make sense to switch!” they argued. “If you rely on commissions, there’s a chance you will make a lot less!” they said. But I had done my homework, and I knew the job was right for me. I took the job, and ended up making four times as much money that following year as I made previously.
Skip forward a couple of years, and I’m nearing graduation but still working at the commissioned sales job. At this point, I had won top sales awards for my region, and was making close to $100,000 per year. But I was graduating with degrees in English and Religious Studies, and I knew my passions were in those fields. I applied for and accepted a job as an Editorial Assistant in a newsroom in L.A., but I would be taking a massive pay cut. Once again, my family warned me: “You are making good money now, so you should save for a few years before moving on!” They told me that I should seek out ways to use my degrees while continuing my employment with the same company I worked for in college. “You’re doing so well, you don’t want to rock the boat,” they said. But I continued with the path I had chosen, and ended up working my way to the top of my field. I worked at some of the biggest newspapers in the United States, and today I’m an editor and author making more than I would be at a sales job. Once again, the new opportunity worked out.
This is not to say that every opportunity you come across will be right for you. But there’s something to be said about fully considering your options, even if doing so is a little scary sometimes. I’m sure Luke was nervous about taking up arms against the Empire, but he kept an open mind.
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