Two Paths: Personal vs. Collective Success

February 08, 2013 by John Andrew Williams

When I was in school, I totally bought into the system. I got mostly A’s. I got accepted to an Ivy League university. I graduated cum laude with a degree in Latin and ancient Greek. I applied to graduate schools. I was accepted to Harvard.

I had what would be generally considered an elite education.

So it surprised a lot of people when I decided not to go to Harvard.

I had already started teaching high school Latin and I really loved it.  During this period, I carefully considered my options.  Doing so, I realized that there was a huge need to have Academic Life Coaching skills in classrooms.

I started my adult life believing that if I got good grades, I’d be prepared to be successful. I wasn’t. I struggled for five – yes FIVE years – financially on my high school teaching salary. I didn’t know how to do what many adults figure out with time, trail and error: start a business, buy a house, buy and maintain a car, make wise decisions, network… and the list of missing practical skills goes on.

Add to those practical life skills the other necessary skills of being creative, having self-knowledge, and knowing how to manage default and empowering perspectives.

I knew that I could take a well-traveled path of personal success and become a professor.

The path far less traveled (and the one that quietly called to me) was to dedicate my career to fill a need that I saw in education and academia.

I choose the path of collective success.

I paid for that choice for sure. Living month-to-month financially for years was tough. Learning how to start a business and serve people in a creative and meaningful way, while still getting paid, was a definitely a challenge. Setting up a business while having two children (who are now 5 and 3) was, at times, insane.

But now looking back – having climbed a mountain, learned how to do it and now help others do it too – I am so incredibly thankful for the challenges.

The irony here – and I hope you can tap into it as well – is that when we work for collective success, the personal follows. And it just doesn’t follow on a small scale. It’s deep, thrilling, meaningful, sustainable, and especially fulfilling.

Also read: You Can Tell How Well You’re Doing by the Quality of the Questions You’re Asking

Let's stay connected

ALC Logo

Mission

To provide life coach training that changes lives, launches careers, and promotes human flourishing.

Connect with us

Facebook linkInstagram linkTwitter linkYoutube linkPinterest LinkLinkedin link
503.360.6700

contact@academiclifecoaching.com
PO Box 2021
Hood River, Oregon 97031

This website is powered by

CTEDU logoACTP logo