In 2014, I turned 60, and my forty-seven-year dream was to visit the University of Alabama and see a football game at Bryant Denny Stadium. For many, the thought of this being your number one Bucket List item would seem crazy and bizarre. However, that is precisely what this was for me. No walk along the Nile River or climb the Swiss Alps, nor was it to attend the Academy Awards. Instead, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was my chosen destination, and the University of Alabama was my dream spot to walk.
So what does this have to do with a different career path? After what I could only describe as a “dream weekend,” depression and fear overtook me as I traveled back to the Jersey Shore. Suddenly, it sank in that I lost my opportunity to be a high school football coach and history teacher, which I always said I should have been.
However, because of this second-guessing and questioning my career choices, I combined my thirty-year experience in Controller and Finance with my love for athletics and coaching. Suddenly, I realized I could help people and companies as a Performance and Business Coach. So I immersed myself in reading and studying the art and profession of coaching while utilizing many of the skills I had already developed.
I recently concluded my career as a Controller and began to spend all my working hours focused on my new career as a Performance and Business Coach, which I had started as a side hustle about eight years earlier. The moral of this inaugural blog post is twofold. First, there is always time to achieve your dream if you find a big enough purpose, your why. Second, your Bucket List dreams can not only put a smile on your face, but they are only dreams until you put them into action and make them a reality.
Until next time, remember to keep your dreams big and “keep the main thing, the main thing.” Roll Tide!
JM Fields, The Bucketlist Coach