Training in Overpelt, Belgium.

January, 2009

“At the moments of your most intense discomfort, are the moments that you will grow. Not just professionally, but personally. It is only at these moments, when you must dig your very deepest will you be exposed to your own strength and your own capability. You will know when you get there and you will say this is what he was talking about. He said it would be bad, he did not say it would be this bad.”

Not exactly my ideal introduction from our CEO. I expected to hear how great I was going to be at this job. That I was one of the very few selected…..that here on out would be a walk in the park, a very monetarily rewarding walk in the park. I prefer it this way. I love a challenge.

I was still considering his words while spending the weekend in Amsterdam. A well needed vacation, that was just a short skip away from my place in Belgium ( For a fresh graduate, jumping straight into the nine to five is a tough pill to swallow. ) My new CEO told a true story. I though back to my life’s most challenging moments. The moments when you feel you are standing completely alone, but being forced to stand alone can empower you much more intensely than if you had an entire army of support behind you. These are the defining moments of my life. Failure is not an option for some of us. It is not even a thought in my mind. For this I am very fortunate.

I also was reminded of the reasons I took this job. The first thing that caught my sight, was international travel (aside from a hefty paycheck). When I travel I become acutely aware of myself. I become aware of my life, my surroundings, my past, every influence that has landed me in this location, in this exact moment of time. These things we do not permit to penetrate our minds when we are consumed with mundane, day to day interactions. It is only in these odd moments of isolations that these thoughts are allowed to fully develop in mind sight. When I learn of others, I find my own deepest revelations. It is both terrifying and wonderful to be confronted with your self.

Traveling, you see both the beautiful and the most hideous of our world. I can appreciate both. Amsterdam for example, I am in awe of their laid back lifestyle- the allowance of drugs, alcohol, and prostitution laying wide open on the streets. Neither condemning or condoning, just openly exposed without censor. It was disturbing but also refreshing. Don’t misunderstand my meaning, do I believe these should be legal….absolutely not (that is a much longer detailed argument of how they eventually progress into infringing upon another’s rights. A different day). I do appreciate the opportunity to make decisions on my own behalf though. I appreciate the fact that in Amsterdam, your intellect and self respect is being recognized and permitted to practice. Where there is not a law in place to protect you from your own actions. Amsterdam is where your conscience and own self worth are your largest deciding factors.

I am anticipating the ultimate effects this job will have. I would like to see my new career take me to a new level not just professionally, but personally as well. I have met the senior consultants. In their mid to late twenties with more confidence in themselves and their work than many people achieve in a life time. I am curious to see my own potential.

Stay tuned…