Something I learned

Someone asked me a soul-quaking question over the weekend: “How do you know what to study in college or do with your life?!”

While I admit that I certainly don’t have it figured out for myself, let me tell you my story and pull out some lessons from my own experience:

After graduating from high school I went on a 2-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. On my mission I was pretty sure what I wanted to study: Computer Science.

When I got back from my mission I wasn’t so sure. I was going to the University of Utah taking mostly general education classes with one programming class. I met up with some friends who were all in the Mechanical Engineering program and convinced me to give it a shot. So I did (breadcrumb #1).

Turns out, I really didn’t like mechanical engineering. In fact, I didn’t really like going to the University of Utah in general.

My cousin visited me that weekend and was describing how awesome Utah State University was (1.5 hours north of Salt Lake). I decided to visit USU campus the next day to see what the hype was about (breadcrumb #2).

After going around campus and being with the people there, I fell in love. I studied the school and prayed about going to USU. Not long after, I felt like I needed to move out of my parent's house and join my cousin up north (breadcrumb #3).

In the meantime, I worked in a steel factory for one of my buddy’s dads. They were long hours and I had a lot of time to listen to podcasts. One of those podcasts was The School of Greatness hosted by Lewis Howes. This podcast helped me adopt a growth mindset and think about what I was really capable of. “Maybe”, I thought, “I can go off the beaten path someday and do my own thing” (breadcrumb #4).

Time went on and I moved up to USU. It was even better than I thought it would be! I met some great friends that I keep in contact with to this day.

One day, I called my best friend asking him what his summer plans were. He said he was going to sell pest control in Midland, TX for Fox Pest Control. I told him he was crazy, but after some convincing I decided to give his boss a call (breadcrumb #5).

A few days later I gave him a call and got the low-down of the job and how much money I could make. He then had me make a list then and there of all the things I wanted and how much they would all cost. With that in hand, I felt like I needed to look more into it, so I decided to go to a training there in Logan (breadcrumb #6), which happened to be the Fox Pest Control HQ.

I liked what I saw, so I went to a big seminar put on by the company called Super Saturday (breadcrumb #7). It was there that I decided to commit and sign my life away for the next three months (breadcrumb #8).

Long story short, I met the girl of my dreams in the middle-of-nowhere, TX, made more money than I ever thought possible, and am now in the people-development business. Not only did I not think my current role was ever possible, but I never knew it could be this fulfilling.

The point of me telling you my story isn’t to convince you to go to USU or sell pest control in the desert. The point is this:

The answer to the question “What do I do with my life?” won’t come all at once. The answer comes by following “breadcrumbs” until you have enough clarity to make an educated and inspired decision.

What are those breadcrumbs? They can look like talking to someone new, learning about a new opportunity, visiting a different part of the country, or exposing yourself to new experiences. It’s about being willing to challenge your current beliefs, convince yourself that you really don’t have all the answers, and be genuinely curious about what other opportunities are out there.

So if you don’t have your answer to that question yet, keep following those breadcrumbs.

In time, you’ll have enough clarity to answer it for yourself.

Something I did

This past weekend my friends and I went to Bear Lake up near Logan, UT.

We stayed the night at a suuuuuper sweet cabin, played games like Cover Your Assets, and Skull King, ate junk food, had deep conversations, and played on the water.

We topped it all off by getting the famous raspberry shakes at LaBeau’s.