My Dream Job

I never had dreams of growing up to be a CEO, at CultureSync or anywhere else. When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a doctor, an archaeologist, the President or a princess. I was pre-med at UCLA and got a degree in chemistry, but never quite made it to medical school. I got married and had a bunch of kids and started a bunch of businesses instead. Archaeology was about playing outside and digging in the dirt and finding buried treasure. Having four boys has allowed me to unofficially play doctor in my kitchen and has sufficiently exhausted any of my romantic Jurassic Park dreams. Being the President and a princess? Well, I think that might actually be why I ended up as a CEO.

I built and sold several businesses before joining CultureSync. Immediately before, I was working on my Master’s degree in Theology. Yes, for real. Upon completion, I would have been expected to deliver keynotes and teach courses at large and small conferences and run a parish religious education program. When I joined CultureSync, I had to give up a lot of that but what I do here is actually a lot like what I would be doing for the Archdiocese. I teach and speak and coach and develop people to be great leaders, lead great teams and build amazing companies that make a difference in the world. I do still teach Confirmation. Just last week, I was offered my former dream job as a Director of Religious Education. I didn’t have to think for even one second before saying an emphatic, “No.” I did have to think for a couple more seconds before I remembered to say, “Thank you.”

Like I said, it was never my dream to be the CEO and a partner at CultureSync. But, the pursuit and achievement of all of my other dreams has perfectly positioned me and prepared me to be living this dream right now — a dream I didn’t even know I wanted. And, I’ve learned some amazing things along the way:

1. The dreams I’m living are so much better than anything I could imagine or any of the great goals that I have set (and I set GREAT goals).
2. Setting and pursuing goals, even if they weren’t the “right” ones, are what got me to where I am now.
3. You can’t always see the big dream. You may need to pursue (and even let go of) little dreams along the way to find the big dream.
4. Some of our dreams — like becoming a doctor, a coach, a teacher, a princess or an archeologist — are more about discovering and pursuing our values than they are about arriving at a destination.
5. We all have to make sacrifices and choices in pursuit of our dreams. I sacrificed medical school to get married and have a family. And, I am incredibly grateful that I did. It was definitely the right choice for me. And, it isn’t at all the right choice for everyone. Our choices and our sacrifices lead us to our dreams.
6. We often have to give up good to get to great. At first, the choices are easier, but they get much, much harder. It’s easy to give up the pursuit of a dream that is about an expression of values. It is much harder to give up something really, really good to get to great. It was very, very hard for me to choose my work at CultureSync over pursuing my Master’s and being a Youth Minister.
7. We are all living our dreams – right now. Stop and assess your life and take a good look at how blessed you are and how you are currently living your dreams. If you don’t like the dream you’re living, you might need to make some hard sacrifices, dream some bigger dreams, or give up something good to get to great.