I attended the Student Leadership Conference a few months ago and to my surprise and great luck, my favourite spoken word poet, Sarah Kay, was the opening keynote speaker.
Her poetry and her motivational talk opened eyes that had started the early morning droopy and inattentive. Sarah addressed the conference theme of breakthroughs by describing he own experience with the phenomenon. Her approach is simple, but rings true; there are two types of breakthroughs: those that strike you suddenly, and those that you work tirelessly towards. The second was the most important thing to be said, because it seems too often that keynote speakers tell stories of luck. There’s nothing wrong with a little luck, but it’s not too motivating to think that all you have to do is wait around with your fingers crossed in hopes that you’re one of the lucky ones.
Let’s face it, to a great extent, we create our own luck. Of course we don’t get to decide the country or circumstances that we’re born into and of course some of us are handed a head-start right out the gate. This is luck. But of all the people handed cards of opportunity, it’s the ones that recognize their luck and bust their butts to do something with it, that get to experience the second kind of breakthrough.
I speak of this because I feel like I’ve been struck with a breakthrough that in part has been a result of the stars mysteriously aligning themselves, but has also been due to the huge amount of passion and commitment that I’ve been putting into creating ideas, projects, and experiences that create value. Taking initiative and jumping in to offer ideas, help, or even just a bit of food for thought, can lead you down wildly unexpected roads.
So where’s this breakthrough coming from? It’s a mix of me starting to figure out where I want to go with my life and career, me having initiated and executed an awareness campaign with popchips, me having pursued a continued summer experience at a company I love, and me recognizing that sometimes it’s okay (and even necessary) to take time out of your day to work on hobbies that bring great joy.
From my spontaneous hop on a plane to Toronto for a case conference this past November, to the anniversary of a music blog I launched as a passion-project a year ago, I’ve been building my life on the idea of waking up every day to create something I love.
I know that incredibly joyous feeling that Sarah described as the spill-over effect of a breakthrough. I’m tasting it right now, and I can’t wait to keep pursuing it for the rest of my life.
