Connections

I'm always fascinated by the journeys our lives take and the connections that are created when we make certain decisions. Looking back, it's always thought-provoking to imagine how things would have been different if you had made a different decision at a certain time or life event.

My first personal example has to do with my first serious career - the military. When I was in high school, I started hanging around with a giant-sized troublemaker named Chris. I guess I grew bored of being labelled a nerd and thought the only way I would be accepted outside of my usual social circle was to befriend someone who could be my protector. After all, I was not a jock in school and ordinarily (in my mind anyway) would not have been accepted by the kids who were having the most 'fun'. Our friendship lasted after high school and about a year later we both found ourselves in go-nowhere jobs, so we decided that the smartest thing to do was join the military. It was a no-brainer - learn a career, free schooling, see the world and get paid too. In the end, on the day we were to go to the recruiting centre to 'swear in' and 'sign our life away', Chris never showed. So here I was, holding the proverbial bag and made the decision to just go for it. I started a fascinating career in technology, where I stumbled into training about 6 years into my 20 year contract. Training became the type of work I loved doing most and it would shape a great deal of the rest of my working life (so far).

So let's draw the connections. If I hadn't made friends with Chris in high school, I likely never would have joined the military, or become a trainer, or met Darlene, or moved to Calgary and so on.