Have you been toying with a career decision? You know the ones I am talking about; leaving a job, starting a company, going back to school, changing careers, or raising your hand for a special assignment.
A dear friend shared a story about failure that I hold in my heart at such crossroads. I credit it with expanding my own career journey, one that has included venture-capital-funded startups to the global F500 and much beyond.
Many years ago, I turned to a dear friend for solace on the phone one night as I struggled with a decision. I was on the fence about whether or not to start a company – a dream I had always carried. In the moment, I could list all of the pros and cons.
It was time.
Or was it?
My friend listened carefully, then offered a story about her dad.
He ran for political office. I can’t recall if it was for the U.S. House or for a state-level representative seat. It doesn’t really matter. The punch line is that he didn’t win the race.
Despite this disappointing outcome, my friend went on to describe how people treated him differently from that moment onward.
The fact that he had stepped forward to act in a way that was meaningful to him made all the difference.
Could he have done more had he been elected?
Probably.
Maybe.
Her message to me that night was simply that failure was really irrelevant. Her dad’s willingness to step forward in this way made a significant difference for him from that point onward.
Wow.
I recall thinking that night how powerful her story was. She made me rethink failure.
After listening, I reasoned that if I failed maybe it would allow me to continue on a trajectory more important than the one I’d be on if I never tried.
It was as if I could see the possibility of failure as a switch in a rail yard that introduces you to a whole new set of tracks without derailing.
I love this story less about its message of a binary outcome – like success or failure – and more because of its lens into voice and what occurs when we activate our voices.
Voice in my work is about our truth, our essence. Thanks to my research I now know that career decisions – like a potential new job or a career change – are invitations to turn up the volume on our own voices, our own truth.
With this lens, we can ask new questions of ourselves at these crossroads. How aware are you of your own voice? Are you willing to act in alignment with that understanding? Does the answer to that question change depending upon the environment within which you find yourself?
Failure isn’t about winning elections or starting companies or landing a new job. It is about understanding our unique truth and being willing to live in alignment with what that means.
My friend’s dad’s story gave me an invaluable gift; she neutralized “failure” for me. In its place I saw my choice as an opportunity to explore more of how my voice can shape the things I care about.
Even today, nearly twenty years later, this story and its invitation still motivates me.
Many folks love the adage, ‘There is no failure…only failure to act.’ I think its time for a slight adjustment. There is no failure, only failure to activate our voices.
Here’s the great news. A ready world is waiting for YOUR voice.
If you would like to read more about voice and career crossroads, read my most recent book, Dancing with Disruption.
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