golden path fallacy

“𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀?” When my boss asked why I wanted to be a commanding officer one day, I answered: “𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽.” And the moment I said it, I knew that answer wasn’t good enough. That’s when it hit me: I’d been following the 𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵. I was doing…

Carving your own path isn’t just okay—it’s courageous. It means you’ve done the hard work: Gaining clarity of purpose Examining your current path Aligning your actions accordingly Copy and pasting someone else’s path is tempting. Their success is inspiring, and the path they took seems like a proven formula. But it doesn’t work long term.…

You’re worried about pleasing everyone. Why? Instead, lean into what makes you unique. I was at Mike’s Pastry in Boston the other day. Signs plastered everywhere: “Cash Only” Line out the door every day in the middle of the day. The pastries are delicious, but that’s not what struck me. Here’s a company that: Does…

You’re at a crossroads, and you aren’t finding answers. You seem to be looking everywhere. You’re facing: Transitions Major decisions Leadership challenges No matter where you turn, the answers elude you. You’ve tried everything: Colleagues Mentors Friends Yet you still feel unfulfilled. 𝗪𝗵𝘆? 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻. You’ve been following someone else’s path.…