The Spanish poet Antonio Machado wrote, “There is no road, the road is made by walking. By walking one makes the road, and upon glancing behind one sees the path that never will be trod again.”

So today– the question is “What’s your story?” Do you remember the exact and life changing moment when your foot first felt the path upon which you walk?

I graduated with a degree in Journalism from the University of South Carolina (where I pay penance to this day as an adjunct faculty member for what was surely a skillful and intellectual “bust” at the time. I was a terrible student.) My first “real” job was Special Events Coordinator for Belk Department Store. Within three months, the vice president of the Belk group of stores, for which I worked, came to me and offered me the position of Advertising Director. His name was John Kirkman and I turned him down flat without a thought. I was having too much fun coordinating fashion shows, fitting models, attending buying shows for upcoming seasons and preparing trend reports for our buyers. I had irregular office hours, played golf at least once a week, and traveled often. I was completely independent and liked it that way. The Ad Director sat behind a desk all day, supervised the staff of the ad department, visual merchandising and special events. It was an “admin job” and I simply wasn’t interested.

But Mr. Kirkman was insistent and this was his pitch,”Robbie, think about it for a moment. You are twenty-four years old and you will be the advertising director for a major retailer. Think about what that will look like on your resume!” He knew his audience and I was sold! That was my first step into the world of advertising, marketing and most of all—creativity. It was that position that allowed me to write creatively, dream and visualize campaigns from inception to completion, and also to learn the more mundane tasks of setting and keeping budgets and the joys of accrual accounting. It was my first step along the path… twenty five years ago.

So that’s my story. What’s yours? What put you on the path to where you are today? Who was with you? How did it happen? Think back and remember that time.

Modern lyricyst, Ruth Williamson wrote:
As you walk
On the path you choose

Your journey seems endless
But how could you know?
It all flies by faster the further you go.
You’ll discover other travelers on the rise.
Take the time to walk together
And share the view
See with new eyes

Stop to rest
When you’re weary
Put aside that stubborn will
Count the stars.
Count your blessings
And learn by just being still.

Who have you encountered along the path? With whom have you shared your views, your talents and your knowledge? Take a moment to consider or discover them, count your blessings and get started on a new and exciting 2009!

To read the entire Antonio Machado poem, please click here.

To read the entire song by Ruth Williamson, you will find it here.

Tags: changing your life, life, life's path, pathways

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 4th, 2009 at 5:33 pm and is filed under Great Ideas, Highly Recommended, My Life on the MPv2 List. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.