Be Outside the Box!

Corporate Dropout Goes PhotoCreative

www.findtao.com / www.glennvoorhees.com

"What next?"...I think the more important question is: "Who next?" "Who are you going to be next?" Are you going to be the same person you were before? Are you going to let yourself be defined by the first 18, 30, or 60 years of your life?

People talk about life-changing events. I always question these. Personal development is a choice--a thing we decide to do, not something that happens to us. The life-changing event was when we told someone what we really wanted, they dismissed it, and we stopped daring to dream. It's not about changing into someone new. It’s about letting go of the fears in our hearts and returning to our true selves.

So who are you going to be next? Are you willing to make some hard choices? Hard choices about the people you choose to be in your life, about the people you let influence you, and about where you really want to be in life?

So while you are busy moving onwards, calling for assistantships, assigning yourself projects, and building your portfolio, think about this: "Who am I going to be?" If, when spending time with friends or family, you encounter disinterest in your unique dreams and experiences, ask yourself: "Who am I going to be?" When you meet others, some more accomplished than you, some less, some you look up to, and some who look up to you, ask yourself: "Who am I going to be?"

And when things get really hard, and you hear that voice inside yearning for friends from the past, because there is nobody like them where you are now, ask yourself if YOU are still the same person you were back then.

The real power isn’t in what we DID here, but in what we DO from here.

So…….WHO are we going to be?

(Adapted from a Glenn Voorhees' speech)