Neither Swift Nor Easy

Does it feel like it’s taking too long to reach your goals? Like, how long must I push the boulder uphill? Somedays that’s exactly how I feel. It can be absolutely exhausting. You audition, you do your best to market, which always feels super icky. ( I swear I’m allergic to hubris). You even bought into CRM software so you can do easy, effortless followups. You post on social media and maintain your website, and yet…it feels like you may as well be a total novice. Where is all this effort leading? That’s a lot for meh returns.First, know you’re not alone.

On this International Day of Girls & Women in Science I’m reminded that I’m certainly not the first to tread this path. Marie Curie said "I was taught that the way of progress was neither swift nor easy." Well, I can imagine that ran through her head a few thousand times on her way to two Nobel prizes. Yeah, that’s right. She has 2 of them. And they weren't in consecutive years. She had 8 years between wins. Imagine it. You have reached the absolute pinnacle, and then more research uncovers another mystery to be solved and you’re back at square one. But, she was prepared for it. She, like us, signed up for the long slog, probably because she likely found the process of discovery exhilarating. So If you’ve had 8 years between sweet, national bookings or some other mile marker, first just think…you’re right in there with MARIE FREAKING CURIE! It isn’t fast, and it sure as heck ain’t gonna be easy. Second, stay on your path. You’re there for a reason. An inner light that drives you forward into the darkness. That certain motivation that other people may not understand but screams in your ear every day, every night, with every ad, video and movie trailer you see. How you’d have done it to make it your own. Your career is personal to you and none of us will write exactly the same story. That also means no one can tell you you’re wrong. And if you’re feeling lost and don’t know which way to turn, take Mindy Kailing’s advice: “If you don’t see a clear path for what you want, sometimes you have to make it yourself.”