Here are the qualifications you need for success in any profession
We’re sitting having lunch when, surprised by what I shared, he asks me: “But why? Did you do anything with it?”
The short and long answer is “No”.
Five years, two degrees, and one business later, I moved home and started a career in technology sales. But why a degree in Biochemistry in the first place? While that is a longer story that I recently unpacked with an old friend, I know one thing to be true:
I wanted to prove that I was smart.
I’ve always been on the bridge between science and art, application and creation, reality and spirituality. One of my top strengths is love of learning and it comes as no surprise that I loved school and I was good at it. While I took biology, chemistry, physics, and calculus all the way through high school, I was better known for my time on the stage - as a dancer and as a performer. So much so that I had a guidance counselor ask me why I wanted to take more advanced science courses because “aren’t you just a dancer?”.
Have you ever allowed the word “just” to put you in a box?
To limit what you’re capable of? To close the door to possibilities?
When I look back to that moment, I chose to be resilient and do the hard work despite his “counseling”. While it led me to be more than prepared for that Biochemistry degree, it wasn’t over yet.
As I embarked on a career in technology, the creative part of me was unfulfilled and its voice was getting louder and louder. I explored fashion through styling, blogging, and designing, but it took a long time before I felt I could express myself in that way at work. After all, I’ll never forget sitting in a boardroom with another account manager who referred to us as the “pretty ones”; he told the customer that we’d be bringing in the “smart ones” to help answer any questions.
Fast forward to years later, and working with a coach, I have learned to embody this truth:
One can’t exist without the other because they are me.
My passion for creativity, my love of learning, my degree in science, my years on stage, and my career in technology, all better serve me and my work when they are integrated.
They are a representation of my authentic resume and what I bring to the table as a professional.
What you’ve been through, qualifies you.
Too often we focus on what we’re lacking on our resume: the missed promotion, the decision not to pursue the MBA, the lack of the extra certification…
We keep ourselves contained in “just” being a sales person, an engineer, a marketing expert. But we are all so much more than that. Our life’s experiences are what make us unique, one-of-a-kind, able to contribute to the world in a new way with a new perspective.
If you find yourself stuck in pursuit of your goals or simply your next direction, next action, ask yourself:
What part of you are you not sharing?
What part of you are you hiding?
What part of you are you holding back in fear that it isn’t valuable or doesn’t make sense to others?
The magic lies in the answers to those questions. They have the ability to unlock your imagination to access new business ideas, new actions in service of your goal, and new thinking that will leave you in awe of all that you’ve accomplished.
Be you.
All of you.
And see the world unfold in front of you.
Kirsten Schmidtke is a professional coach, speaker, and lover of lake life. She works with leaders, creators, and entrepreneurs to help them up-level their careers, businesses, and lives. Are you ready to explore what’s possible for you? Contact Kirsten to start the conversation!
