Finding Harmony in Your Career Choice

9th grade class photo. | Credit: Bill Gillespie

I was one of the taller kids. While I didn't finish with extraordinary height (5'11") it happened early. This made me a back row kid in most of my grade school class pictures.

It happens that I grew up in a small town (Hapeville, Georgia). We're famous for Chick-fil-A, Jeff Foxworthy and noise from the Atlanta Airport. School was full of characters like Jeff, but that's another story.

Small towns are great. Everybody knows everybody. The high school basketball coach (B-team) went to our church. My 6th and 7th grade years were full of "can't wait to get you in high school. You're going to be part of our team. We like em tall."

So, in 1967 I tried out. I had looked forward to being the team star for years. It was finally my chance to hear cheers that included my name.

There has never been a worse fit than me and basketball. Two days into tryouts the coach crossed the gym and whispered, "glee club." I responded with relief and said, "I know..."

Singing was a better fit. I got to perform without sweating. I even earned a college scholarship. It was easy, fun and successful.

I share this because it's funny but also because it has business applications. I speak with people every week that are clearly in the wrong position. It impacts success, stress, happiness and in extreme cases health.

You owe it to yourself to get in touch with what you love. Sales (my passion) is full of people that choose it for the money. I get how this happens but it's the wrong reason.

If you don't love problem solving, if you don't love customers, if you don't love making their issue your own, skip sales. You'll never be as successful as you might have been and you'll enjoy your life less than you might otherwise.

A fair amount of my calls are from employees that have "washed out." An equal number are from employers that have an expensive candidate that is failing. These are frequently hiring errors in my opinion. Frustration & Failure were set in motion from the start.

When I was teaching at Clemson I gave the students object lessons. One would be to solve a marketing problem. Another might be to solve an operations problem. Still another might be sales. The students broke into groups and at the end of class presented their solution.

The exercise was never about getting the right answers. It was about getting in touch with what you enjoy. I asked the students to pay attention to what assignments they embraced with passion versus the ones they tolerated. Being aware of what "winds your watch" is critical to success.

I've been fortunate to sell, manage sales teams and to be COO of some very special companies. I've enjoyed each of these assignments. They come with their own challenges and rewards.

But for me, sales was like the "GLEE CLUB." Success happened every time I picked up the phone. It's the best fit.

What is your passion? Do you know? If you do, trust it. Follow it. Your life will pay you back, triple, if you do.