Big Why Life

Colleges have wonderful resources within their hallowed halls, but they don’t come to you. As a student, you have to seek them out.

If you don’t know what you want from the college experience beyond “the college experience”, you’re squandering time, money, and energy.

Just showing up on campus does not make you smart. It does not earn you accolades. It ensures absolutely nothing.

It simply opens one door.

You have to walk through it. And you have to be hungry. But, as any seasoned buffet diner will tell you, you have to be intentional with the time you have to slake that hunger.

With just 4 years to pursue your undergraduate degree, you have to be intentional about the coursework you ingest, the involvements you choose, the networking opportunities you select.

If this seems overwhelming - that it’s too much work or that you’re just too young to know what you want - think about the money you’re about to or are already committing to trying to figure it out while paying to attend a 4 year college.

We’re talking $120,000 - $300,000 in tuition alone.

That’s a house. That’s a Tesla...or 3...

After working in the college admissions space for over a decade, I realized we have a very big problem with how we frame the college question in the United States.

We chase admissions letters and diplomas with reckless abandon - as an end in themselves rather than a means to the end of living out our unique calling.

• It leads to high school students jumping through admissions hoops without first considering whether college is a good fit for them at this stage of life. 
• It leads to college graduates investing time, money, and effort to attain a degree that, with a little deeper digging, might easily be pegged as a terrible fit for their personality or vision for their future.
• It leads to young adults feeling frustrated and desperate to take jobs that they don't want to pay back student loans.
• It leads to college graduates feeling like failures for not pursuing careers in the field they chose to receive their degree in.
• It leads to young adults needing a re-do on their education in the form of a graduate degree that does not build upon their undergraduate degree close on the heels of their graduation.

Let's not waste time, shall we?

• You are never too young to follow your heart's desire. (Or too old, for that matter...)
• You may not select your "final destination career" from the start, but following your current inklings will send you in the right direction. You can course correct without losing momentum if you set off in a well-reasoned path from the start.
• Your ideal life may not require a college degree at all.

The best time to determine if you're on the right path is right now.

Don't foreclose on your ideal future by avoiding looking at the truth of your current situation. 

Whether you confirm you're moving in the right direction or decide to take a different tack informed by hopeful soul-searching and practical planning, in 10 years time, you'll be so glad you did this work today.

I've been an entrepreneur for over a decade now and it took me a long time to realize that I was doing it all wrong.

Not the mechanics of business. I love that side and, if I do say so myself, I am darn good at it.

Where I struggled most was the boundaries of business.

I came to realize that I was not alone in this challenge. So many of my fellow solopreneurs were caught up in a vicious cycle in which how we felt about ourselves and our businesses fluctuated wildly, day to day, week to week, or - sometimes - minute to minute.

Great launch? Sunny skies. Customer complaint? Down for days.

When we had a win, we'd immediately panic that it was a fluke and could never happen again. When we got down, we doubled down on working harder. Our desperation would seep into everything we did.

When we were with family, we'd feel like we ought to be working. When we were working, we'd be worried about our families.

As I began to untangle this knot for myself, I realized that the rollercoaster I was on was often borne of weak boundaries that I held within my businesses. 

It's the result what I call Entrepreneurial Enmeshment, and I think most entrepreneurs struggle with it to varying degrees.

One of the ways we can combat it is by giving ourselves a sturdy purpose statement that does 3 things..

1. Keeps us well within the boundaries we, as business owners, choose 
2. Maintains a clear delineation between what we are responsible for (inputs, or leading metrics) and what lies within other people's purview (outputs, or lagging metrics), and
3. Accounts for how we want to show up in the world in ways that are not limited to our work.

The antidote to the rollercoaster of emotions is relatively easy and painless. If you bend towards self-improvement, you might even find this fun! 

Big Why Life provides a simple framework to help you gain perspective on what really matters to you - both in business and in your personal life, to come up with a plan to work and play in your Zone of Genius, and to let go of those nagging would've, could've, should've's that are keeping you up at night. 

ASK ME HOW I KNOW ABOUT THOSE ;)

I've been there too, and I'm here to share that there's a way out of the spin cycle.

I would love to help you firm up your purpose statement so you can start living a more balanced life and running a more boundaried business.

I hope you'll join me.

The pandemic has caused a lot of us to question where we are spending our time - particularly our working hours.

Whether it's Zoom-fatigue, overburdened schedules, underutilized skill sets, or any of a wide array of challenges that come with pursuing a career these days that are causing you to question your chosen path, you likely have a lifestyle or family members that depend upon the paycheck and benefits that you're accustomed to receiving.

But do you have to sacrifice 40+ hours of your life a week for financial stability alone? Is that wise? Is that healthy?

I'd argue no. And, since you're here, it's likely you feel the same.

But, then, what can we do? How can we discern between a momentary blip in motivation and deeper cause for concern? How do we take care of those who rely upon us while also finding meaning in a path that may not feel fulfilling at the moment? 

If you feel like your choice is binary, like you must choose either purpose or a paycheck, Big Why Life is here to support your journey back to the nuance that must be present for you to make a grounded decision about the next steps in your career. 

By going through the program, I will help you take a step back from your current situation and imagine your most fulfilling life.

Once you've dreamed about your ideal life without any of your current constraints in play and then crafted a Big Why statement to match, you'll tackle the practical, tactical side of things.

You may find ways to live out your purpose without fundamentally changing your career. Perhaps a shift in your focus at work or a new hobby or volunteer position will be just what you need to feel fulfilled and bring purpose-driven action back into your life.

Or, if you decide you need a more wide-sweeping change, I'll connect you with resources that can help you plan and execute an exit strategy that doesn't leave you or your loved ones unprotected.

Either way, the program is designed to come alongside you and support you as you make this impactful decision.

You matter. Your happiness matters. How you spend your time matters.

Big Why Life can help you get back to doing work you love - whether small shifts or big changes are needed to get you there.