“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.” – Steve Jobs.
During grad school, we had a program called Change Agents in Residence, or CAIRs. We were graced with Kim Jordan, Adam Lowry, Ben Cohen, Robert Egger, and many other luminaries in the field. Over and over, I heard how “luck” played a role in their success, prominence, breakthrough, survival, or whatever.
This drove the younger me crazy. Luck isn’t replicable. I can’t build a career/business/breakthrough on chance, can I?
From where I stand now, “luck” is an absolute part of my success. Whatever series of events lead to outcomes the benefited/undermined me were mostly out of my control. What I could control was being in the right place at the right time to benefit. I can’t say I did this patiently or with grace, but I was there. You have the same control.
Sustainability Career Beta
When I graduated from Colorado College in 2006, I had a BA in Biology (+$120k), and I was a certified yoga instructor ($2k). I truly believe in a liberal arts education, and my entry into the “real job” market was as entitled as it was naive. I took a job as a lab technician at Abbott Laboratories. Looking back, it was an excellent job for the suburban midwest. I was treated well, they indulged my desire to do side projects, and I could network my way into a more permanent role.
In the early ripples of the Great Recession, I lost both my contract role and a permanent role I was finalizing on the same day. I didn’t believe in what I was doing, my living expenses were meager, and aside from some student debt, life was simple. So I didn’t wallow much.
I started stringing jobs together. The most lucrative was teaching yoga, bouncing between at least three studios, and a pair of health clubs (with the added benefit of a free place to workout). I also helped to open the Prairie Croissant Cafe in Prairie Crossing, IL, as a member of their staff. The Cafe, long-extinct, was founded on sustainable principles within a “sustainable” community. Business issues aside, the founders had a vision of equity, social justice, and environmentalism well-ahead of their time. I got incredible exposure to local producers, fell in love with good coffee (then called “third wave”), and benefited from numerous lessons in management, customer service, business, and humility.
I count my time at the Prairie Croissant Cafe as my first job in sustainability with the caveat that doesn’t count towards my “professional career.”
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