My Accidental Career

A thousand years ago (OK, maybe not that long ago although it certainly seems that way) I boarded a transit bus in a navy blue suit and, with the Want Ads in hand, I set out in search of my first job in the not-so-big city of Tacoma Washington. As it turns out, it was an express bus (they don't stop) and...the WRONG bus. The first thing I saw as I stepped off the bus at the end of the line, was a bus bench advertisement for the nearby horse racing track. There I was, standing almost 30 miles from my intended destination.

I walked the almost 5 miles in my heels and skirted suit to the security gate and, simply, asked for a job. And I got it. I couldn't have imagined how much fun working THAT hard would be. I lived in the barn, I never wore my suit, woke at 4 am every day, and I didn't get a single day off. I was a manager with an enormous amount of responsibility and stress......and thrived.

In retrospect, while others thought I was simply out of my mind, I really truly loved smelling like a horse and having breakfast every day with jockeys and trainers. That circus-like job gave me the opportunity to enter my adult life with passion and immediate financial independence.

Michelle's Life Lesson #1

When you LOVE what you do, success is easy.

A few years later, I decided it was time to get a “real job”. You know, a real job...with lunch breaks, weekends off, medical benefits, and only 8 hours per day? Yeah. One of those. Only a few days after I was hired as an entry level receptionist for a local industrial supply store, they held a company meeting and announced that they were declaring bankruptcy.

I raised my hand and asked “Does this mean I'm fired?”

The company didn't immediately close their doors but employees who knew much better than I did, started getting other jobs. After the Expeditor left the manager approached me and asked that, since I was on the phone all day anyways, would I mind calling to check on these incoming orders? When the Buyer left, the manager approached me again. “Since you're calling the suppliers already, to check on the orders, can you place these ones as well?” When the Purchasing Manager left I ended up with three huge roll-o-dex's on my already crowded front desk. (in those days we didn't have any other way to store contact information) After the Inventory Manager jumped ship you couldn't even see the top of my desk since the only available horizontal space was now filled with the green bar reports that were used to determine the ideal inventory levels and drove the orders for incoming product.

When they were bought out by a competitor, I was only one of two employees that was hired by the new company. A year later when I was no longer satisfied with making minimum wage and thought that I was certainly worth more, given my additional responsibilities, I DOUBLED my income in one move to the next company. My new title: Junior Buyer.

Michelle's Life Lesson #2

Show Up. Say Yes. Success will follow.

It is true. My career path was accidental. I didn't choose it, it chose me. I merely started my adult life with passion, a good work ethic (Thank You, Dad!) and a drive to progress.

Over the years I have struggled. I have not had an easy life. The pride I feel for how far I have come is quite often offset by the embarrassment of being unemployed....again. But, when all is said and done, I know that I cannot let my past experiences interfere with my future success. Every job gives me a new set of skills, a new opportunity to change how I see the world. What I lack in longevity I more than make up for in my unique ability to embrace change.

Here's a well known cliche': That which does not kills us, makes us stronger. If I told you that I have a pink tee shirt with a Super Woman logo on it, would you be surprised?

I hope not.