The Side Door

Jane Goodall wanted to study primates. But she didn’t know how she was going to do it. From England she made her way to a friend's farm in the Kenya highlands in 1957, but once there she desperately needed a way to make a living. 

The opportunity arose for her to study to be a secretary. It was a long way from studying apes, but she decided to take it.

One day, on the advice of a fellow student, Jane called Louis Leakey, the famous Kenyan archaeologist and paleontologist, to see if he needed help in his research. Louis didn’t have any openings for researchers, but he did need a secretary. He offered Jane the job.

Two years later she was in Tanzania studying primate behavior.

When I talk to my coaching clients I always stress the fact that you have to follow opportunities when they present themselves. Even those that may seem unrelated to your ultimate goal. Because one day they may help facilitate the achievement of your dreams.

What opportunity has come your way? Could it be a side door?