Choices

I watched The Little Prince over the weekend and the movie keeps coming back to mind. When I’m working. When I’m walking the dogs. When I’m thinking of all the choices I have to make: for my career, for the house, for my happiness.

Note: This is the thirty-third post in a group series called #ArchiTalks. This month’s topic is “Choices.”

The movie is beautifully made, which means most art-based people love it anyway. There’s a beautiful storyline, but I’m not going to spill it. Just go watch it on Netflix and then come back…

The piece that keeps coming back to me is the journey the little prince goes on. And the journey the little girl must go on to learn. Traveling to all of the stars, to all of the places. Seeing all sorts of things both wonderful and scary. At first the girl can’t imagine breaking her routine to experience the unknown; to hear more of the story of the far-off stars and the little prince who navigated them.

If we think about architecture and the journey of a career as the choices and lessons of the stars, then the asteroids and keepers of the stars start to make sense. The star with the narcissistic man is that one boss who doesn’t give anyone else credit and teaches you about the importance of a team. The star with the king whose stars obey is the boss who no longer understands where the company is headed. The star with the businessman who counts them all is the firm who only cares about quantity, not quality.

The star with the beautiful rose unlike any other is the company you will find that will help you learn and flourish. It is the confidence you will find as you grow in your career that helps you defeat impostor syndrome. To take on a new project type. To help mentor others. Or maybe it gives you the strength to leave and try something new. And maybe someday you will find your way back, but you always have the choices of the stars and the lessons you’ve learned along the way.

The point is that along the journey of your career, you will have many choices and many paths. You will mess up. You will make new friends. You might move cities, states, or even countries. You’ll likely fail a test or two en route to licensure. You’ll definitely learn a lot. But the choices of where you go, what you do, and what you learn…are all yours. Do not hide from them out of fear. You have the power over the choices you make and the path your career takes. Do not ignore them, waiting and squandering their brightness. You have the power to seize them and learn from them while they shine.

There are as many choices as there are stars in the sky. The point isn’t to become overwhelmed by the amount, but marvel in their beauty. Somewhere out there among the choices of the stars is your future.

Grab your fox and go forth.

To see the take on “choices” from other Architects, follow the links to the others in the #ArchiTalks group who are posting today on the theme:

• James Mehaffey – Yeoman Architect (@jamesmehaffey) “Choose Your Battles”
• Eric Faulkner – Rock Talk (@wishingrockhome) “Choices — It’s Everything!”
• Michele Grace Hottel – Michele Grace Hottel, Architect (@mghottel) “Choices…”
• Mark Stephens – Mark Stephens Architects (@architectmark) “ArchiTalks Choices”
• Jeffrey Pelletier – Board & Vellum (@boardandvellum) “How Do You Deal with Choices During the Design Process?”
• Keith Palma – Architect’s Trace (@cogitatedesign) “Slow… merge… stop”
• Lee Calisti – Think Architect (@LeeCalisti) “choices”
• Mark R LePage – EntreArchitect (@EntreArchitect) “Limit Their Stress By Limiting Their Choices”
• Brian Paletz – The Emerging Architect (@bpaletz) “A million choices”
• Nisha Kandiah – ArchiDragon (@ArchiDragon) “Life is a Gamble that depends upon your choices”