My mom recently sent me the “Student of the Month” article from our local newspaper that I was featured in when I was a senior in high school 20 years ago.
As I read the article, I thought, “Is this really about me?” The article named all of the extra-curricular activities that I was involved in and what I wanted to study in college. I have always been extremely active and trying to juggle a million things at a time- that hasn’t changed. But what surprised me the most was that I had a clear plan for my career before I even turned 18. I consider myself to be very goal-oriented, but I don’t think I expected that I would actually end up realizing the goals That I set in high school 20 years ago.
Back then if you had asked me what I would be doing in 20 years, I never would have imagined how my life would unfold. After reading the article, I decided to do some self-reflection on the goals that I set back in 2000. My two major goals were:
1. To pursue a career in “Speech Communication”
2. To pursue a career in Finance
I don’t think I even knew what an Speech-Language Pathologist was back then, but I knew that I wanted to do something related to speech and communication. Well, I’ve been a speech-language pathologist for almost 15 years now, and I recently expanded my professional services to include communication coaching.
Goal #1- Met!
I’ve loved math for as long as I can remember. So when I was in high school, I thought it would be fun to incorporate math into some sort of business career. I started along that path by joining the Business Professionals of America Club in high school and then majoring in Accounting in college. However, after a couple semesters, I decided that accounting was not for me and changed my major to communication disorders instead. Even though I devoted six years in college to becoming an SLP, in the back of my mind I still liked the idea of having some sort of career in business. So over 10 years after becoming a speech-language pathologist, I went back to school for my MBA. Ironically enough, the three Finance classes that I took during my MBA program were the HARDEST classes that I have ever taken in my entire life!
Let’s call goal #2 “partially met.”
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN!
Looking at your life now, are you where you thought you would be 20 years ago? What goals are you putting off? I’d like to encourage you to not let another year pass without pursuing your professional goals. It is never too late, and there is no time like the present. These statements may sound cliche, but I am living proof that they are true.
In 2019, I obtained my MBA in Business Administration, expanded my private practice by becoming an in-network insurance provider and launched my own series of online courses. I also achieved a lifelong dream of teaching my first college course- a business course!
As we begin 2020, I’ve set two new professional goals:
- Start a blog
- Obtain corporate contracts for my communication coaching services
Please comment below and share what your professional goals are for 2020. Then make a plan, and STICK WITH IT. Trust me, when you reflect back on this year, you will be so glad you did.
Happy New Year!
