Follow us on Twitter!
Blog Header Logo
DG&A's Transportation Consulting Blog
Posted by on in Career Advice
  • Font size: Larger Smaller
  • Hits: 2608
  • 0 Comments
  • Print

Finding your “Lane” in Life

b2ap3_thumbnail_hamilton-800.jpg

This is a follow up to the blog on “Passion” (http://www.dantranscon.com/index.php/blog/entry/passion ) that was posted here a few weeks ago and is published in the current issue of Canadian Shipper. While the blog on Passion was inspired by Bernie Sanders, this blog was inspired by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the author and star of the hit Broadway play “Hamilton.”

On Sunday night, during an interview on Sixty Minutes, Lin-Manuel and his parents were asked by Charlie Rose about their son’s early school experience. Mr. Miranda mentioned that he was sent to a school for gifted children. At first he felt intimidated by the school and the intelligence of his fellow class mates. Mr. Miranda then mentioned that once he found “his lane,” or calling at the school, Music, he felt totally comfortable with the institution and his career path.

Hamilton, based on the life of former U.S. treasury secretary, Alexander Hamilton, is the hottest play on Broadway. On Sunday night it earned 11 Tony awards, the second best performance ever for a new play. Mr. Miranda created a brilliant hip-hop musical to tell this story. Some critics are calling Hamilton a trans-formative play that will have lasting effects on the future of Broadway.

Lin-Manuel Miranda was very fortunate to find his “lane” as he described it. Not everyone does. It is interesting that by finding his lane, Mr. Miranda was able to reach extraordinary heights in his career. Here are some thoughts on the key steps in finding a successful career lane.

First, it is very important for parents to expose their children to different fields of study at an early age so as to allow them to find and then explore their options. Second, it is helpful to study the preferred lane to make an informed decision on whether or not to pursue a particular area as a career opportunity. Specifically, three of the key questions that need to be asked at this stage are would I have a passion for working in this space, whether this field has significant employment prospects and whether it has the potential for good financial rewards. As part of this exercise, kids should be asked to carefully assess their interest in a variety of potential career lanes.

Not every parent can put their children through university or trade school. Not every child can make a determination with certainty, at a young age, on their preferred career path before making an investment in time and money.

Third, it is clear that Mr. Miranda worked hard to take his musical talents to an exceptional level. He had to be remarkable to be given the opportunity to write a very innovative musical play for Broadway. It took him over 5 years to write Hamilton.   There is no substitute for hard work to achieve success in any chosen career path.

Fourth, an individual must find a company that will afford him or her, an opportunity to apply his or her skills. This is particularly true in the current environment where good jobs are hard to come by. As a result, individuals, at the outset, may need to take on junior or part time roles to enhance their experience and bolster their resumes as they try to gain full time entry into their “lane.” Networking skills and luck can play a big part in this process.

Finally, when the opportunity presents itself, it is critical to surround oneself with great mentors, leaders and colleagues so as to maximize the chances for success. Judging by the number of awards won by other members of the Hamilton cast, it is clear that Mr. Miranda and his collaborators assembled a very talented group of artists who all are of an exceptional caliber.

Broadway is a competitive field as is law, medicine, trucking, sports or mechanical engineering. Finding success in one’s lane demands that one follow each of these steps. Lin-Manuel Miranda serves as a very positive role model.

 

To stay up to date on Best Practices in Freight Management, follow me on Twitter @DanGoodwill, join the Freight Management Best Practices group on LinkedIn and subscribe to Dan’s Transportation Newspaper (http://paper.li/DanGoodwill/1342211466.

0

Comments

  • No comments made yet. Be the first to submit a comment

Leave your comment

Guest Thursday, 28 March 2024

Most Recent Posts

Search


Tag Cloud

marketing Justice Retail transportation truck driver Electric Vehicles buying trucking companies Life Lessons TMP Worldwide Business Strategy IANA Failure Habs supply chain management CSA scores Global Transportation Hub FMCSA Ferromex freight payment freight audit Twitter US Auto Sales Tariffs Outsourcing Sales Retail driver Uber Freight US Housing Market Anti-Vax Schneider Logistics 2015 Economic Forecast Success failure entrepreneur Dedicated Trucking FuelQuest small business 360ideaspace Canadian freight market Digitization Conway Impeachment EBOR Geopolitics employee termination ProMiles freight audit Career Advice fuel surcharge US Economy 2013 Economic Forecast professional drivers Toronto Success Hockey Masters in Logistics Packaging dimensional pricing Toronto Maple Leafs BNSF freight payment dark stores Amazon transportation audit Horizontal Supply Chain Collaboration freight agreements Doug Nix Hudsons Bay Company shipper-carrier collaboration capacity shortage CITA Shipper Pulse Survey shipper-carrier roundtable JB Hunt Freight Shuttle System Canada-U.S. trade agreement YRC Donald Trump Inbound Transportation Online grocery shopping economic forecasts for 2012 Distribution Transcom Fleet Leasing Canada computer protection Rate per Mile Load Boards TransForce e-commerce asset management small parcel Politics LCV's US Manufacturing home delibery Business Transformation Strategy USMCA Global experience Reshoring Associates Bobby Harris business start-up Social Media broker security Blogging cyber security driverless robotics Driving for Profit Load broker Freight Capacity coaching risk management autos Spanx Map-21 Freight Management Trucking YRCW laptop Crisis management Canada U.S. trade Sales Strategy Finance and Transportation Railway Association of Canada NMFC ELD Doug Davis NAFTA Crude Oil by Rail derailments truck drivers Broker Search engine optimization Rail trade Fire Phone freight costs APL transportation news driver shortages General Motors Climate Change Scott Monty Truckload David Tuttle the future of transportation USA Truck Government Transloading freight transportation in 2011 mentoring consumer centric Shipper Whole Foods Comey Entrepreneur Werner digital freight matching CN Transport Capital Partners (TCP) cars LinkedIn network optimization routing guide Adrian Gonzalez shipping China Canadian Protests Coronavirus Yield Improvement US Election Sales Training Right Shoring Loblaw FMS drones Driver Shortage FCA Transportation Buying Trends Survey Stephen Harper Trade Vision Emergent Strategy Freight selling trucking companies Trucker Protest 2014 economic forecast Derek Singleton Social Media in Transportation 2014 freight forecast LTL Regina CN Rail 2014 freight volumes natural disasters freight marketplace Leadership Transplace shipper-carrier contracts future of freight industry New York Times technology CRM Deferred Packaging MBA Cleveland Cavaliers 3PL Celadon freight transportation Otto Leafs Dedicated Contract Carriage Blockchain computer Canadian truckers Freight Carriers Association of Canada hiring process freight RFP Tracy Matura peak season Carriers freight broker Business Development Freight Rates Digital Freight Networks CSX Wal-Mart Colilers International intermodal Sales Management Freight Recession dynamic pricing Consulting energy efficiency Value Proposition CSA Warehousing Grocery solutions provider NS Surety bond Sales Microsoft Canadian Transportation & Logistics Job satisfaction customer engagement RFP Trump President Obama home delivery Business skills autonomous vehicles computer security cheap oil tanker cars freight forwarders BlueGrace Logistics Transportation service Omni Channel KCS Training recession freight cost savings Software Advice rail safety Accessorial Charges Transportation University of Tennessee broker bonds Education 2012 Transportation Business Strategies. Jugaad Montreal Canadiens bulk shipping Management Training New Hires MPG UP Rotman School of Business carrier conference NCC financial management Infrastructure economic outlook truck capacity trucking company acquisitions TMS 3PLTL FCPC driver pay Freight contracts shipping wine business security Muhammad Ali Facebook automation transportation newspaper Canada's global strategy Swift freight rate increases ShipMax Dan Goodwill Freight Matching Covid-19 pipelines freight bid freight transportation conference Harper Davos speech online shopping capacity shortages Keystone Pipeline Canadian economy CP Rail last mile delivery $75000 bond economy

Blog Archives

March
February
December
October
September
August
June
May
April
March
January