The fire
My last semester of college, I finished presenting a new business concept to a panel that included one of my favorite professors. It was an evening class and I remember it being dark and snowy outside as we wrapped up, but I stuck around to chat with her. My time at Butler University and in Indianapolis, and with these people I’d grown to love was coming to an end in a couple of weeks and I wanted to soak it in.
This particular professor was a department head in the business school and began asking me about my post-graduation plans. I told her that I’d be heading back to St. Louis, how I’d found a job in consulting, and that eventually I really wanted to start my own business. That was my dream, and that was what I’d eventually do.
I don’t know why it stuck with me, but I’ll never forget her nodding her head, looking at me with a smile, and saying “Michael, don’t you ever lose that fire.”
At 22 years old, keeping the fire seemed easy enough. I was excited about my career, coming back home, marrying my soon-to-be-fiancé, moving into my own apartment, everything. I had the whole world in front of me, and I was just coming off of the most energizing four years of my life.
Full-time jobs, kids and a host of responsibilities mean that it almost never that simple when push comes to shove.
For a while, I’d lost my fire. Now I’m rekindling and beginning anew. If your fire has gone out, find it again. And don’t ever lose it.
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