The essence of success

Ok, here it is - my first blog post. It's scary putting some of my inner most thoughts out there, but it's an exciting time and I kind of want to share the experience. Maybe it will inspire someone to follow their dreams.

So here goes... During a recent review my supervisor provided a clear sign that my current job was going nowhere. She suggested that I figure out what I’m most passionate about. Tip – that’s not what you want to hear during a review. The comment however, resonated and made sense. Of course I should follow my passion. But what?

It was actually pretty easy to figure out once I spent sometime pondering the subject. It just took a little creativity and a trip down memory lane thinking about what I liked to do when I was a kid. Those activities mainly included fashion plates, Barbies, playing dress-up and pretending to be an amateur fashion designer.

Even though I've put the Barbies away (for the most part), I realized that as a "grown up" my interests are pretty similar to the 10-year old me. I still like clothes, I still like to shop (a lot), dressing up - that's still pretty fun, and I like discovering emerging designers and following fashion trends. It's apparently clear that my passion is F A S H I O N. It has been, and probably always will be, the only consistent interest in my life. Immediately a new path appeared before me, and sometime this spring I enrolled in a local fashion merchandising program.

Then my boss scheduled another review. I spent days thinking of ways to explain that I wanted to go back to school and request to leave early to take night classes a couple days a week. It would have been an impossible conversation. In an intensely deadline driven, small political consulting firm there was no way that would happen. Then something miraculous and timely happened. I was fired!

Well, it didn't seem miraculous at the time. In fact it was down right scary and I was pissed - for a brief moment. Normally when I'm delivered devastating life-altering news I freak out and throw one of my very classic temper tantrums. They're very dramatic. I'm talking soap opera worthy drama with tears, yelling, name calling and shattering some breakable object against a wall. Then I collapse into a sobbing, exhausted mess. But that didn't happen! Yea!

There was an initial rush of adrenaline - like my heart jumping into my throat, then it felt as though I landed on something really solid. I was just given the freedom and ability to focus on my passion and dive into that fashion program. There were no tears shed over the job. They asked if I wanted to talk about it. I said, "No, I didn't". There was really no reason to to prolong the discussion. The meeting ended and I think we were all somewhat relieved. I left that afternoon knowing I would be okay.

Putting my previous career behind me feels really good. I spent much of that time working for local government agencies and most recently at a political consulting firm. That is sort of funny considering I don't really like politics. Trying to make it work was the equivalent of trying to make a burlap sack look fashionable.

Despite the lack of interest in my work, it wasn't all bad. I've met a lot of great people and developed a strong background in public relations, event planning, marketing and am really good at building those important business relationships. There are many accomplishments that I'm proud of and I have a lot of good experiences to pull from. It's just been too long since my work provided any enjoyment. When that happens, moving on is really the best option.

This past month, I've spent most of my time researching the fashion industry, and am finding many resources to help with networking and job searching. Fortunately, many of my skills are transferable and it’s now a matter of learning the fundamentals of the industry. I’m excited to go back to school. I’m having a lot of fun figuring out how to get started in this new venture, and I've found a lot of support from family, friends, past colleagues and random people at coffee shops. It seems that each person I talk to has something to share and provides another contact, idea or resource to help me move forward.

Doing something that truly interests me is exciting and has been the most satisfying leap I’ve taken in a long time. Combining my professional experience with my interest in fashion will be a tremendous accomplishment. The best part - I’m already beginning to possess that special quality that seems to radiate from all successful people – JOY!

So if you're interested, stay tuned. I hope to write about my experience - from classes to working fashion events, finding that first fashion job and what I'm doing to survive this period of unemployment. There's going to be moments of frustration, excitement, joy and despair - but at the moment, I'm pretty content, especially now that I have the time, resources and support that I need to go for it!

Thanks all for reading. And to those who have offered their support, love and encouragement - thank you much! You know who you are.