Divergent Path (#418)

The traditional path in life can lead to success--but rarely to fulfillment and greatness

This weekend, I championed an event in Park City, Utah, for a group of business leaders and their families. As part of the event, we had an opportunity to attend the finals of the men’s and women’s ski aerials competition as part of a World Cup event.  

Before the finals, skiing gold medalist Ashley Caldwell spoke to our group about her experience competing in ski aerials. Ashley was first introduced to aerials at 14, when she realized that she was a bit too tall for gymnastics, which she competed in regularly. After hearing about ski aerials, Ashley decided to attend a camp to learn more about the sport, as many successful aerials athletes come from a gymnastics background.   

Ashley was hooked right away. She was an incredibly fast learner, and it wasn’t long before the United States Ski Team took notice of her ability and recruited Ashley to train at one of their development centers. 

Of course, this exciting opportunity came with real sacrifices. To train with the national team, Ashley would have to leave high school and quit gymnastics. However, her reward was a shot at potentially making the US Olympic team.  

In recounting her story to our group, Ashley shared that while her parents were incredibly supportive, her gymnastics coach told her she was making a big mistake, as she was likely headed towards a college scholarship if she stuck with gymnastics. Her high school advisor also discouraged her, saying that leaving high school was a mistake she would eventually regret.  

In the end, Ashley’s mom gave the advice that tipped the scale. She told Ashley that the chance she was being offered didn’t come along very often and added that if Ashley didn’t like the development center or things didn’t work out, she could always go back to high school and gymnastics. Ashley made the bold choice: she left school, quit gymnastics and went all-in on ski aerials training. 

This turned out to be an excellent decision. Two years later, at 16 years old, Ashley made the US Olympic team, and later made history by becoming the first woman to successfully land the quadruple-twisting, triple-flipping jump, which is called "the Daddy". She ultimately competed in four Winter Olympic Games and six World Championships, earning an Olympic gold medal and two World Championship golds. 

Today, Ashley is considered the most decorated athlete in American freestyle aerial skiing. It never would’ve happened if she hadn’t had the guts to try something new and bet on herself. 

Today, more than ever, there is a ton of pressure on kids and young adults to follow “The Path”—getting perfect grades, attending the best universities, and grinding to get a high-paying job in medicine, law, finance or something similarly prestigious. Risk-taking and bold decisions are decidedly not a part of The Path. 

The Path often rewards perfectionism; the lionization of this approach makes many people afraid to fail or take risks. But while The Path can produce good results and a stable career, it rarely leads to greatness or deep fulfillment. Instead, greatness requires matching passion with talent, taking calculated risks and being willing to be a non-conformist.  

Dan Pink, author of The Power of Regret, found in his research that what we regret most in life are not the things we did, but the things we did not do. I suspect that many of the people who followed The Path regretfully look back on opportunities they passed up on out of fear of falling behind—the venture they were afraid to start, the opportunity to live abroad they declined, or the high upside job they avoided that could’ve led to better work-life balance and earlier financial security. 

Sometimes the safe and easy path is not the right one. Had Ashley listened to those who warned her not to disrupt her promising status quo, it’s very unlikely she would have found a new passion and reached the top of her field.  

Plus, Ashley’s career didn’t end with skiing. Partially to disprove the people who told her chasing her dreams and getting an education were mutually exclusive, she went on to earn two master’s degrees and recently took a job in private equity.

Ashley’s story is a reminder that the bolder path, while not always easy or devoid of setbacks, will often take you to the more rewarding destination. 

Quote of The Week

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” - Robert Frost

Have a great weekend!

-Bob
www.robertglazer.com 

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