This blog makes references to Mikaela Wang’s blog post “Tom Dobranski: Realizing Passion and Potential” (https://blogs.ubc.ca/mikaelawang/2012/11/18/tom-dobranski-realizing-passion-and-potential/).
The familiar question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” has always haunted me. I would try and slither my way out of answering it at all costs. Why? Because I never knew what I wanted to do. But here’s the funny thing, I still don’t have an answer.
It always seemed like everyone else had their life figured out, their goals they wanted to pursue, and how they plan on achieving them. Then there’s me: lost, confused and torn between my passion and career. It has always been drilled in my head: A passion is something to think about on the side, after your career has taken off and you are stable. This was my mindset until I had the privilege to hear about Tom Dobrzanski’s story.
As Mikaela addressed, Tom’s secret to success was to explore and pursue what makes your heart happy, “because passion differentiates a great career from good careers”. Tom was able to combine his love for music and his business-background to stimulate a profession that satisfies his passion. Like Tom, I am very passionate about music, as well as dance. I enjoy writing my own music and fiddling around with the guitar and piano. However, I never gave the music and dance industry a second thought when thinking of my future career. “There are too many risks”, “It’s just a silly dream”, “It’s a waste of my time”, “Nothing will come out of it”. As I was making excuses for my lack of action, I failed to realize the only thing stopping me, was ultimately myself.
In an article by Eric Sinoway, people must take advantage of life’s inflection points. They are opportunities for people to take a hold of their own destinies. You must not be afraid to test out your ideas, for you will never know what will happen if you take that risk. Tom Dobrzanski’s story has inspired me to not be afraid of taking risks and thinking in the future. I truly hope that wherever I may end up career-wise, I find a passionate Peony along with it.
Blog Reference 1: https://blogs.ubc.ca/mikaelawang/2012/11/18/tom-dobranski-realizing-passion-and-potential/
Source Article 1: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/7041.html