Things Old and Things New
Two big events popped up in my world this week.
A while back, I was approached by a mid-sized company to do some contract work for them to help reimagine and recreate one of their key operational tools. I really enjoyed the project. In a lot of ways, it felt like a throwback to some of the work I did in my former career (which I left nearly 4 years ago). I’m using skills I previously acquired, exercising experience I gained from past work, and injecting ideas/principles I’ve been developing for the last decade. The work has also stretched me and forced me to learn new things in order to execute. To be honest, I really enjoyed it. On the heels of a very successful rollout of the new tool this week, the company asked if I’d be willing to do more work with them. When I asked how much of my bandwidth they were looking to acquire, they responded, “up to 60 hours per week.” It gave me a good chuckle. While that certainly can’t happen, we’re working on the details and I’m excited to spend some more time with them.
Yesterday was also a weird day. I had a few meetings that fell completely outside of my expertise. Through a business venture I’m involved in, I found myself in the middle of a deep dive into an unfamiliar industry, meeting with seasoned experts in a field I honestly didn’t even know existed. It was a humbling experience, to say the least. My main role was to bring my area of expertise to the table and know what questions to ask along the way. I was very much out of my element, but I was able to add value by being there (despite being the dumbest person in the room). These meetings have the potential to open up some really fun doors and positively impact a lot of people (to be discussed in a future post). Though all this is exciting, it feels intimidating and overwhelming.
A common thread persists through these two unrelated stories. Everything we’ve been through, learned, and done prepares us for the next thing. Our experience, education, influence, relationships, resources, and skills. None of these things go to waste. Sure, we may leave a job or a career to do something different. But these things don’t die when we shift. Rather, we’re able to put them to a different use. I also recognize the importance of doing new things. It would be easy to stay in a very narrow lane, keep it simple, and do only what I’m comfortable with. However, I find the most growth, excitement, and fulfillment when I push myself outside my comfort zone and do something scary. I never want to in the moment, but I’m always glad I did. It’s how we move forward and it’s how we make a difference.
Appreciate the old and use it for the new.