Some of my most important life changing decisions occurred by happenstance, or so I’ve always believed. Catching the Second Avenue bus one balmy day after leaving high school changed the trajectory of my life one hundred and eighty degrees. A sideward glance at the bus advertisements centered on the Beth Israel School of Nursing. Hmmmmm, maybe I will be a nurse, the small voice inside my head jolted my consciousness. After spending 3 years at the high school of Art and Design, nursing was an anomaly, but to be perfectly honest, so was art. I guess I was kind of floundering because I’ve always known, art was not my calling. I liked to draw, I enjoyed theatre arts, I even had an interest in package design, but I did not have the passion most of my fellow classmates did. I could take it or leave it so I knew that a career in art was not for me. Why nursing popped into my head, to this day, remains a puzzle, but that’s where the universe chimes in. For some inexplicable reason, I found myself on that Second Avenue bus with nursing insidiously captivating my attention. The rest is history.
I’ve had many other encounters with destiny, divine province, the universe or whatever this preordained occurrence appears to be. It’s as if my body is just the vehicle for something greater than me to occur. The choice of a career, whether or not I received a promotion or took a particular path in life have often been out of my control. When the dust clears and I look back at the situation, I am often amazed by the wisdom and good fortune of the decision, even though at the time I may have been disappointed and hoped for a different outcome.
Just recently, I was asked to do a presentation highlighting my company’s products and services for representatives at my corporate office. I decided to add my personal touch to the presentation by incorporating some pertinent facts about my life that I felt contributed to my success. Learning to play golf, participating in a mud run, or getting a graduate degree later in life were accomplishments that I never thought I would achieve. Transitioning from clinical nursing to corporate America was also beyond my wildest imagination but transition I did. This presentation turned out to be a pivotal point in my life. The next thing I knew, I was asked to do a command performance for five other groups at the corporate headquarters. I was astounded beyond belief.
Prior to my presentation at corporate, one of my customers heard me speak at another venue and was inspired by my “motivational” talk. For six months we tried to come up with a date for the presentation but were unable to do so. It just so happened that in the meantime, my presentation at my corporate headquarters occurred. Three weeks later, my customer asked me to lock in the date and deliver my motivational presentation at his facility. The gist of my Power Point presentation was already done, thanks to my corporate presentation. All I had to do was flesh out the remaining slides which flowed like butter; once again, it was as if the universe was conspiring with me to create the additional content.
Fast forward to this weekend. I am on the board of a trade organization. This weekend we had our fall seminar. I was asked to deliver an hour long presentation that would appeal to the attendees. I immediately thought of my motivational talk. In order to make it unique and specific to my audience, I wanted to add an educational component which involved collaborating with my alma mater. The brochures I was requesting were in the midst of being reprinted so I was told that they would not be available in time. Once again the universe conspired with me. The brochures were delivered the day before the presentation.
The presentation went off like clockwork. The enthusiasm, engagement and fervor of the audience were palpable. At the end of the presentation I was asked to deliver this very same talk to another one of the trade organizations in upstate New York. The universe has a sense of humor I thought to myself. Who would have imagined that this one presentation would take on a life of its own? I certainly didn’t. That being said, I am leaving myself open to the universe. Wherever it takes me I am going to enjoy the ride sense of humor and all.
rainbowkinect 