What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

In our adolescent ages we are frequently asked the question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

I gave the typical answer of a veterinarian, a doctor and then somehow down the road it changed into wanting to be a model… very big difference, I know. After a couple of months, I realized I had more fun making unattractive faces at the camera than I did normal… so I decided I would become a lawyer and be a BOSS just like Elle Woods!

But then I realized I would be completely tapped out with school by the end of undergrad and had no desire to go to a law school for another three additional years. SO, I quickly changed my mind to be a sports news anchor because I LOVED Erin Andrews (still do) and wanted to be just like her when I “grow up”!

WRONG.

I didn’t get accepted into the Public Relations program at FSU and honestly, I was really bummed. I thought that was my golden ticket, that was what I wanted to be when I grew up and I had finally figured it out, only to get a big fat DENIED in my inbox.

I was more confused than ever.

I called my cousin who studied Sports Management at the University of South Carolina and she thought I would really like the program. So I looked into it at FSU, loved the idea of working in sports and decided to apply.

I got in but still had no clue what I wanted to do with it. My junior year I attended a sports management conference and met a handful of different professional sports teams. I noticed a trend where it seemed like a lot of the open positions were all for Ticket Sales.

Ticket sales….? I just sit in a box and sell tickets? That’s what my $50,000 education is going to get me for a job?

Oof.

I found myself talking to a manager of Ticket Sales at an NBA team who was describing the role, responsibilities, (btw the duties do not entail me having to sit in a box & sell tickets if you were still wondering) and he continued on to say their top sales rep sells over a million dollars in revenue…You can stop right there. Instantly I wanted that job.

Come Senior year I applied, I interviewed, I got the job and I became a Ticket Sales Representative!

So when I grow up, I want to be a Ticket Sales Representative! That’s it. That’s my why. That’s my calling.

Ehhh, not necessarily.

The thing is, that question sucks. That question that every adult asks us when we are in our adolescent years or even in our mid-late 20’s (no shame) is a freaking bad question!

First of all, are we ever grown up? Honestly.

Google says that when you can make responsible and reasonable decisions that is when you become an adult…. Uh...ok. Paying $8 for a coffee at Starbucks that I finish within 15 minutes is not reasonable nor responsible, but I do it anyway & will continue to do it until God stops the timer on me. (I told you we would be getting personal in these blogs).

So what if we changed the question?

Instead of saying: What do you want to be when you grow up?

What if we asked: What job would you do for free?

With some of these follow up questions:

What sets your soul on fire?

What makes you so excited and giddy you can’t go to sleep at night?

What are you willing to struggle for?

What makes you forget to eat?

What issues do you hold close to your heart?

The thing is, I don’t ever want to grow up. I want to constantly be evolving, changing, and manifesting myself into a better person from the day before.

Accepting that Ticket Sales position was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It helped push me out my comfort zone in more ways than I can count and amplified my voice in a way I didn’t know was possible. Being a 22-year-old female right out of college and selling CEO’s of multimillion-dollar companies is a feeling that is indescribable. It’s so damn empowering.

It’s why I am writing to you.

Not because I think you all need to get out there and sell a bunch of CEOs; but because I want you to find something that gives you an adrenaline rush like you’ve never felt before. I want you to find something that gives you goosebumps, challenges you, makes you say: I Can Do This & I Will Succeed At Doing This.

If you have found this, I’m so dang happy for you & would love to know what it is that gets you going!

See, when you’re pushed out of your comfort zone, you start to create more opportunities for yourself.

What you do with those opportunities is your choice.

You can either be comfortable and content or uncomfortable and evolving.

Writing a blog is SO out of my comfort zone. I don’t know if anyone is going to read this or quite frankly even give a shit what I have to say.

And that’s ok.

I found what sets my soul on fire.

I know what job I would do for free.

Do you?

Love,