Blazing Your Own Trail

While I was a graduate student here in Washington, DC at the beginning of the new millennium, I drove daily along the battered end of North Capitol Street, where you could see the beautiful dome of The Capitol Building straight ahead, in the distance, just as you passed by the bullet proof glass protecting the Kentucky Fried Chicken Drive-Thru. 

Then, after turning off North Capitol Street onto D Street, I'd approach a crazy intersection that seemed to go in about 10 directions. That intersection was surrounded by abandoned buildings and scrappy little patches of grass (I absolutely wouldn’t call them lawns) where no one seemed to inhabit, save for the rose sellers or beggars who’d try to get you to roll down your window and give them hope in the form of loose change.

Now, like much of the revitalized District, the area is built up with steel corporate high rises replete with gleaming mirrored windows, luxury apartments and über hip fitness centers. But at the time of my trek to and from school, this confluence of roads couldn't be described as anything more than an urban eyesore. 

So it was no surprise that the one thing that stood out among this barren urban crossroads was a brightly painted message along the side of one crumbling, abandoned building:

“Do Not Follow Where the Path May Lead.  

Go Instead Where there is No Path and 

Leave a Trail.”

Now, you have to remember that this time period predated the proliferation of motivational quotes on Tumblr, Facebook and Pinterest, so I wasn't yet desensitized to the power of a pithy quotation. Instead, it truly intrigued me, and, more often than not, haunted me.

The anonymous graffiti artist didn't include the author of those words, but I soon discovered through research that it could be attributed to American poet and writer Muriel Strode (b. 1875.) I drove by that quote almost every day for three years, and each time I'd wonder what kind of trail I wanted to leave, and, more specifically, how I would leave it. Would it involve acting? Directing? Writing? Teaching? Or something else entirely?

It took me a few more years before I understood what kind of trail I wanted to leave, which, as you know, ended up falling mainly in the "something else entirely" category. And to this day that trail is always evolving and expanding, keeping things interesting. I'm constantly asking myself questions such as, How do I take my coaching practice to the next level? Make it more nuanced? How do I best deliver my service in a novel way? Who needs my career services the most? Will I need to carve out my niche market more intricately?

Even with these ongoing uncertainties, I can't describe how good it feels to have cracked the code, so to speak. It's wonderful knowing that my sweet spot lies in coaching; that I use some of my most valuable talents- that happen to be non-performing ones- to make a difference in others' lives. And, in that coming full-circle kind of way, I like the fact that my "trail" involves helping others blaze their own.

(Here's where I'm going to boldly imagine that Strode would've been pleased!)

I won't lie and say it's been easy; far from it. It has taken due diligence and a hefty sense of self to figure out what kind of path to create. And, undoubtedly, I couldn't have done it alone. Reaching out to others made a turn-of-the 20th century writer's words come to life for me. I realized that in order to create my own unique, individual path I needed the power of collaboration. While that may sound ironic, it actually makes sense given the communal nature of the creative process. And what is the process of designing our own career paths if not a creative one?

Ultimately, yes, it is our own creative hand that paints our life's legacy; however, we can always use the wisdom and support of others to inspire our creations. Seeking guidance is different than following footsteps; we're allowing the paths and knowledge of others to inform our choices, to navigate our way through obstacles, to help us design our own exciting, personalized paths.

Interestingly, the following is Strode's prequel to the above quote, which allows us to see the author's journey in arriving at her conviction to "leave a trail."

"I longed to build as you had builded, but I knew that your joy lay in the conception of your own design. 

I longed to follow where your feet had trod, but I had watched your exhilaration as you felled a new way.

I longed to do that thing you did and be that thing you are, but I knew life's complement was yours because you were yourself."

My Little Book of Prayer

Muriel Strode, 1904

I am eternally grateful for Strode's words so generously painted on an otherwise useless building. Her proclamation held me accountable to discover my own voice. And, because of that difficult search, it also led me to seek help in finding it.

So now I'll hand these thought provoking words over to you, with the hope that you'll feel embolden enough to blaze your own trail.

But hopefully they'll also beg the question:

Who will provide you with the tools to create that trail?

Notes:

*Strode's original quote was, "I do not follow where the path may lead, but I will go where there is no path and leave a trail" 

**Many have mistakenly credited this quote to Ralph Waldo Emerson.