We all chase dreams. Sometimes they’re born when we’re young, other times they take shape gradually through years of hard work and purpose. What happens when you reach one of those dreams? What comes next? I’ve lived this cycle a few times with two of them being prominent in my mind…once as a skinny kid on a baseball field in the Olney section of Philadelphia, and another as a seasoned business pro on hallowed ground in University Park, PA.
The Baseball Dream
While at Cardinal Dougherty High School, I had an unwavering goal: pitch for my high school baseball team. I wasn’t dreaming of the majors…making the team was the dream. I worked relentlessly for a year leading up to senior year tryouts and I did it. I wasn’t good enough to compete at the college level but I also wasn’t ready to “retire” after high school; I wanted to play more and that led to a continuation of the dream to play competitively again, somehow.
In my 30s I found myself back on the diamond in a men’s baseball league with former major leaguers. I proved that I could play even better than before at a higher level of competition. Having done that, I was able to “retire” from the game…on my terms and with no regrets and no lingering “what ifs.” I put the game behind me and never looked back. I’d done what I set out to do, twice.
The Penn State Dream
The other dream began in May 1989 when I graduated from Penn State as the first in my family to achieve a bachelors degree. While thinking about jobs, career path and future life and family, I also hoped to someday give back to the place that gave me so much.
That “someday” became reality starting in 2007 and for the next 18 years. Mentoring. Advisory boards. Guest lecturing. Strategic planning. Eventually, I earned the chance to lead the marketing and communications efforts for Penn State’s Smeal College of Business. That role was to be my professional pinnacle, my career “capper”…or so I thought. Despite a deep portfolio of involvement culminating in a once-in-a-lifetime career role, I found myself restless, curious, not quite content. So I found myself pursuing another dream…moving from Chief Marketing Officer to Chief Revenue Office…so I did that.
Leaving Penn State left me with the same feeling I had stepping off the baseball field for the last time. Fulfillment. Completion. I had done what I set out to do. And just like before, I chose to step away on my terms with no regrets.
The Power of Letting Go
What both of these experiences taught me is this: the real power isn’t just achieving a dream. It’s recognizing when you’ve fulfilled it, being content with closure, and making plans for what’s next. We don’t talk enough about how important or difficult it is to leave a chapter behind without clinging to it. Too often, we assume success means holding on. But sometimes, it means knowing when to walk away, head held high.
