Change Is Hard, But With It Comes Opportunity
Life comes at you fast and apparently without prior notice or any warning. I never expected my life to make a complete U-turn, but it did in the summer of 2014. I lived and breathed politics during my college years. The purpose of one’s life is to make the lives of others as fair as possible. That was the reason for my entry into politics.
My sole goal was to get into politics and make a career working, managing, and perhaps eventually running for office. I loved everything about it. It was a constructive way to fuel my competitive drive.
But it didn’t last.
Change Found A Way To Derail My Planned Trajectory
In the summer of 2014 I was working in Arlington, Virginia for a Political Action Committee (essentially an organization that collects donations for the purpose of financially supporting candidates for office). It was the summer between the first and second year of graduate school. Working was a requirement and I needed it to graduate.
At first, it was great, but it quickly turned into something I didn’t want to be a part of. It wasn’t the organizational structure or the message. The problem was with the people in the organisation. Well, not everyone. I did enjoy my company with a few.
However, the ones I worked closely with I couldn’t stand. They made me feel small and it really turned me off. It was relentless every single day I was there.
I just wanted the summer to end.
It Challenged Me In So Many Ways
Due to the nature of the work and since people in politics all know each other, I had to essentially keep silent with my displeasure and irritation.
I still wanted a life in politics, so it wasn’t an option for me to just leave and lash out. I had to find all the discipline in the world to just work. The lowest point came when a new face arrived at the scene. I’m not sure what his problem was, but he went out of his way to make me feel like an idiot.
To this day I still want to strangle him for the way he talked down to me every day.
I had gotten used to some of the people there and then he arrived halfway through to push me down the ladder of contentment. Needless to say, politics was looking less and less appealing to me. But I dedicated six years and my entire college studies to a life in politics. It was becoming clear I might have wasted all that time.
I Had To Make A Serious Change
During my off hours and on weekends, there was a small lake with a forested dirt path near where I was living. I would walk that path every evening to just think and clear my mind from the stress of the day. I still wanted to be involved in politics, but I didn’t want to associate myself with people like that. And trust me, it became clear that there were a lot of people like that in politics.
One evening while I was getting ready to go for a walk, I saw a book about Warren Buffett on a nearby shelf. I didn’t know much about Warren Buffett. I even thought he avoided investing in the stock market for some reason. All I knew was that he was rich.
But I was curious, so I opened the book and started reading. It was a recent biography of his, The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder.
I lost track of time as I read page after page. I didn’t even leave the room.
That’s when I fell in love with investing.
The next evening, I downloaded the audiobook off Audible and went for my evening walk while listening to Warren Buffett’s biography.
I forgot all about politics and my work days were spent reading about investing. I would do my work in the morning and spend the rest of the time learning how to make money through the stock market. I immersed myself and the days went by quicker. Although the harassment and annoyance continued at work, I stopped caring as much anymore.
The months went by and all that remaining time was spent learning strategies. I even opened a brokerage account and used the money I’ve saved up to start investing. I made some money and I lost some money. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that I was learning something new.
Carving A New Path For Myself
I wouldn’t say I wasted six years of my life in politics. I still follow the news and stay in touch with some of the people I’ve met along my political journey. The difficulty came about in starting over by choosing a different path forward.
Although it’s been four years since I changed course, I still have a lot to learn through investing and personal finance. This all culminated when I started my blog to teach people how to live their best lives through prudent financial planning and through constructive habits. I also do incorporate some politics into it, but there are other ways to help people aside from getting them to vote.
I’m happy I made a change. The experience I went through may have been just a one-off thing, but it really soured upon continuing to do what I thought I loved. Investing and personal finance is like politics in some ways, I can still help people. However, investing and personal finance covers a more practical area of life.
It deals with money, and the last time I checked, you still need to pay taxes, pay for meals, and pay off loans.
That’s my change. And I think it was for the better.
Kyle Colman is an entrepreneur and an investor.
He started his blog, KyleColman.com, as a way to teach people how to live the best they can through prudent financial planning, proper investing, and daily constructive habits. Kyle publishes daily.
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I’m glad you were able to change direction in a positive way! There’s certainly been times in my life where something wasn’t working but I’d already invested so much time that I kept pushing forward anyway and hoping things would eventually work out. That’s great when you find the courage to pursue a completely different avenue but at the same time still find a way to incorporate your love for politics.
For sure. It’s scary at first because you think you wasted all this time. But the real waste is continuing on a journey you don’t like.
Hey Kyle, thanks for sharing this! I think a lot of people would find your story reassuring. I struggled a lot when I was first considering pivoting my career. I have a tech background and I’ve always assumed I’d go into cybersecurity (which I still love and want to pursue in the future.)
But after starting my family, finishing my college degree was off the table for the foreseeable future. I decided to learn graphic design and combine that and my tech skills into a new career path for myself as a web designer. I love it, but it was hard for me to accept the change at first because I thought I was a hardcore “tech person.” Change is a good thing!
Yes change can be difficult, Ciara. All the best to your move! As JFK once said, “Change is the law of life.” It’s not easy, but it’s the only way we can move forwards.
Yes change can come about for different reasons. I know if I believed in something strongly I would think twice before changing. But – you did see the writing on the wall after all. It is sad for people to behave a certain way when really the aim is to serve.
Very true, Deborah. It’s difficult to make a change even if it’s a toxic situation, but that’s the only way we can move forwards.
Thank you for sharing this story! I know from personal experience how hard it can be to change paths. But in the end, I find that the different experiences we make, especially if we make big changes, help us see things from a different perspective!
Exactly! It’s all about taking that first step. All the best to you, Karina!
This is a great read. I was in a very similar position to you within my last job, not a fan of the people and environment I had to work closely in. People are so often scared of change but it certainly does provide new opportunities, and though i’m still on my journey the change already has certainly been for the better. Congratulations on the new journey.
Thanks, Dan!
I really like this post. People are so often scared and reluctant to change but like you say I find it definitely comes with opportunity. I was in a very similar position in my last job and knew that I needed to make a change and find new opportunities. I’m still on that journey but the change already has definitely been for the better 🙂