• As a child, I had a paper route, mowed lawns, and did some farm work.

• During high school, I had a job restocking shelves at a grocery store.

• I entered college and began studying Mechanical Engineering.

• To help pay for college, I joined the National Guard, worked at fast-food restaurants, was an engraver at a trophy shop, worked in receiving and stocking at Kmart, held a brief job at a road construction company, and then became a night security guard.

• I changed my major to Psychology and ended up working almost full time as a police dispatcher while I finished up my undergraduate studies.

• I was accepted into the graduate program at Rice University to study Human Factors Psychology, with the plan of working for NASA someday. See? There’s that astronaut dream again.

• After receiving my M.A., I worked as a software designer at IBM for a year in Silicon Valley. I fell in love with tech, the fantastic energy of the Valley, and California.

• I returned to Rice to begin work on my dissertation to pursue my Ph.D.

• I did a summer internship as a designer at Apple Computer. They offered me a full-time job, so I worked for Apple remotely while I was conducting my research at Rice. I moved out to Silicon Valley and finished my dissertation while working at Apple.

• I left Apple to join a startup. We were acquired, then we were all laid off, the founder launched another startup, and I finally started my own design agency to have some stability (my first entrepreneurial venture).

• I had more clients than I could handle during the Dot Com Boom, but then the Dot Com Crash hit, and all of the tech startups began collapsing.

• I joined eBay as a designer, but moved into management and eventually was promoted to Director.

• Left eBay to join Yahoo, and was promoted to the VP of Consumer Products for Yahoo Search.

• I left Yahoo to start my own company (again), this time advising tech startups and joining a few boards.

• Founded my own startup focused on mobile apps, built a team, ran hard for 3 1/2 years, and eventually — sadly — shut it down after failing to get enough traction.

• I retook the entrepreneurial path and became a career consultant and business advisor. Moved out of Silicon Valley and up into the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Straight path? Far from it.

The twists and turns were sometimes surprising, and I know there were times that I resisted changing course and redefining my career. The Sunk Cost Fallacy certainly played a role in that. Defining myself by my job title played a role as well.

But, I finally learned to accept that life has a natural series of cycles. Events that were initially labeled as failures and felt disappointing and depressing ended up becoming a personal revelation.

Risks and rewards

Looking back, I can now see points where following the obvious straight path would have been a career-limiting decision. I would not have accomplished many of my goals if I had let fear keep me on a safe track.

I know that the majority of my personal growth came from taking risks. My biggest lessons came from doing things that scared me. My best rewards came from making peace with unexpected twists and turns.

What I want, need, and enjoy now is very different than what my younger self thought. With every passing year, I have a better understanding of who I am and what I want to accomplish in my lifetime.

The truth is that you cannot and will not have a straight path to anywhere that is meaningful for you at every stage of your life.

The right destination naturally changes as you change. The next stepping stone will flow from that, as well. Life is a journey of self-discovery, as long as you are open to learning and adjusting your path.

Lean into the twists and turns

If you’ve ever ridden a motorcycle or bike at high speed, you know that you must lean into a curve to make the turn. Try to stay upright and resist it, and you’ll spectacularly crash.

If you live long enough, you realize that life isn’t that different.

Obviously, you don’t want to be a leaf blowing in the wind, being tossed helplessly wherever it takes you. There are times that you need to push through resistance and deal with adversity to make progress.

But, there are also times that stubbornness will blind you to opportunity. A less direct path often holds unexpected rewards. Sometimes an alternate route will take you to your end goal more quickly and efficiently.

“If you try to draw that line you will not just get it wrong, but you will miss big opportunities.” — Sheryl Sandberg

You’ll also start to realize that what the 18-year-old version of you wanted is not what the 30-year-old version of you wants. This is true for almost every decade of your life.

At this point, I don’t even desire what I thought I wanted ten years ago. Heck, I’m already pursuing a different path than what I was doing three years ago.

My ultimate end goal is the same. I just found a surprisingly simpler way to get there.

This is far from being a bad thing.

Don’t beat yourself up for not becoming what you thought you would be years ago. It is a really good thing that you evolve as you learn more about the world, who you are, and what matters most.

The fact that your destination has changed shows that you are growing. Embrace that and lean into the curves between here and there.

Quick Tip

The end of each year is a great time to reflect on your goals and progress. We often choose a goal, put our head down, and charge ahead. But, you should occasionally lift your eyes from the path and question if the direction your life is taking is still the one you want.

Take some time over the coming weeks to be alone with your thoughts and a paper notebook. Put away your distracting devices and focus inward. How are you feeling about your life right now? How do you feel about your career?

By the way, I have an online quiz that can help you think through these questions and more. It might be helpful to take that quiz and receive your score before this exercise.

If you are satisfied with your life and career progress, that’s great news! You’re on the right path. Write down some thoughts and new goals for the coming year.

However, if you are dissatisfied, take a moment to probe more deeply. What is bothering you? What makes you feel unhappy? What do you wish that you could change?

Then, commit to a plan to make the necessary changes to chart a new course next year. Find a friend or community to help hold you accountable for making progress. It’s never too late to choose a better path!

Companies Offering Remote Jobs

• Wells Fargo has telecommuting options.

• iTutorGroup offers teaching jobs where you can work from home.

• Acceleration Partners has remote, work-from-home positions.