“Choosing a life-long career path is SO easy. “(Said no one ever.)
So why am I still surprised when I hear someone talk about the work they do and it has nothing to do with the words emblazoned on their college diploma?
This week’s WINSday on Wednesday inspiration comes from my friend, Deanna McCurdy, a trained physical therapist but a real-life competitive runner and philanthropist.
How did it happen?
In 2010, Deanna’s daughter, Hayden, was diagnosed with a rare neurologic disorder called Angelman Syndrome. Both motherhood and work began to look different than the life she originally imagined for herself. Suddenly, all the pieces in the puzzle began to make sense.
Deanna was a gifted runner. She understood science. She knew the human body inside and out.
And she found her why.
Although Deanna’s daughter might never be able to run alongside her, in fact, she may never utter a single sentence, Deanna began competing in endurance races, and inspiring other parents to set their own running goals—all in the name of finding a cure.
In conjunction with FAST, the Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics, Deanna launched Wings to Fly, the fundraising arm of FAST.
“God gave me the ability to run and the ability to understand the human body. When he gave me a child who can’t do those things, I discovered my purpose.”
I’m intrigued when I hear people talk about the work they do. For them, the “work” has nothing to do with what we commonly think of as “our job.”
How do we plan and prepare for the lives we lead? Is purpose something we’re born with or something to be discovered? Can we find meaning in the circumstances that chose us?
Unpaid work can be a springboard for the work you’re meant to do.
Ree Drummond is one such example. You know her as the Pioneer Woman. Ree has a degree in Gerontology, the study of aging, but after meeting and falling in love with cattle rancher, Lad Drummond, Ree said goodbye to law school and moved back to her home state of Oklahoma to raise her family.
In 2006, she launched a blog detailing life on the ranch and what it was like to be a wife and homeschool mom to four kids. Eventually, she began adding recipes to the blog. Her fan base began to grow, and the rest, as they say, is history. Her engaging persona and beautiful smile also attract a large viewership to her Food Network show, The Pioneer Woman, and additional millions purchase her cookbooks (filled with beautiful photos she takes herself). I, myself, am a thoroughly satisfied customer. On any given week, you can find me in my kitchen leafing through one of her books and daydreaming about meatballs and chocolate pie.
This millionaire business woman probably never imagined a life like the one she has now. Remember, she studied GERONTOLOGY, not GASTRONOMY for goodness’ sake.
And she started out just like me!
Ree Drummond, of course, is not the first woman to find fame and fortune through the pursuit or in spite of the unpaid work she felt called to do. In Mason Currey’s book Daily Rituals: Women at Work we find profile after profile of smart, driven women who treated their art like hobbies while they raised their kids and supported their husbands. In some instances, the work wasn’t a hobby at all and yet the expectations of the day demanded these women devote their first hours to childcare and housework, only to spend time doing the things that made their souls come alive after the dishes had been scrubbed and put away and the children had been tucked snugly into their beds at night.
Women like Clara Schumann, Penelope Fitzgerald, and Shirley Jackson.
Last year, I interviewed more than fifty inspiring women as part of my Mission Driven Monday video series. In all these interviews, we talked about work, marriage, family, and service. Not one of the mothers I interviewed said she regretted having a child or family, although many said their lives look a lot different than the ones they imagined for themselves.
You will always be most successful at those things that are most personal to you.
But the real question is : Can you live with the ambiguity of not knowing what’s next or how long it might take to find the work you’re meant to do?
I hope that wherever you are and in whatever you’re doing you feel valued and appreciated. In the context of a loving, equal partnership, women just like you are free to pursue their curiosity.
Because your degree didn’t come with directions for your life.
And that’s pretty cool.
WANT MORE GOOD STUFF?
Ever wondered what it takes to be a Mission Driven Woman? Get my Free Guide: 5 Things Mission Driven Women Do Differently.
You can catch my interview with Deanna here.
Or learn more about Wings to Fly and Team Miles for Smiles here.
I’m still interviewing women about the work they’re doing. If I can contact you to ask you questions about your personal story, please sign up below and feel free to share this post with all the inspired women you know.