The Pathless Path
Today's post was inspired by reading Yordi's post, yesterday, The Pathless Path in which Yordi asked himself, after reading Paul Millerd's book of the same title.
"Is my career a pathless path?"
Naturally, I'm there nodding my head as I read his post thinking, "yes, this was me."
I've walked this very path myself. From the age of 17 my path was divergent. In that, while I had every intention of leaving school, going to college for my A levels and then, onto Uni for a degree. Everything went to hell in a hand basket, to quote the greatest of philosophers, my brother Ian. And I ended up running away to join the military and, instead of the path I had imagined. The tried and tested path, as Yordi quotes. I took the path less travelled.
You could say, the one that was somewhere hidden deep in an overgrown jungle, one I had to hack out for myself, in my own way, by circumstance and, being inventive. If I couldn't do the usual route, that was fine by me. I'd figure out my own way.
Without A levels, I still went to university, Open University, paid for thank to the military, along with a lot of other higher educational options I applied for, and got. And, in doing so, was offered so much more in the way of opportunities, I believe, than I would have had going the traditional route. For my entire life, I've broken my own Pathless Path, ending up working in different countries, and at a variety of jobs I would never have dreamed of when I started out.
Now though, at the end of my journey, or nearing its end, I know I've had far more adventures and life experiences than I could ever have hoped for or dreamed of, if I had followed the well-worn path. So I say, here's to making your own path, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.