Breaking Point?
Finding Your Voice When Your Career Path Demands Change
The Breaking Point
In state government, I learned that being a "team player" was often a meaningless concept. Since I was writing and editing most of the time, I let it go. I let it go when I ghostwrote magazine articles for a commissioner. I let it go when I wrote emails from the commissioner to the governor—and even answered them as the governor.
Then came an assignment to organize and oversee a statewide children's art exhibit promoting the federal census. I was responsible for developing promotional materials, organizing and chairing meetings with county officials, recruiting judges from the state arts council, and securing exhibit space in the state museum.
On the day the winner was announced, parents, local politicians, regional Census Bureau personnel, and members of the press gathered at the museum. After a few welcoming remarks, my supervisor announced the winner, smiled for the cameras, and took credit for the entire project.
Breaking Point
That day became my breaking point.
From then on, I refused out-of-title assignments and declined promotions to positions that were not specifically focused on writing or editing publications.
Following my dream, however, did not mean foolishly giving up a paycheck. Dreams don't pay the bills. Instead, I spent evenings and weekends honing my fiction-writing skills and narrowing my focus to crime and forensic mystery thrillers. When the opportunity for an early departure came along, I signed on the dotted line.
A move to Nevada provided new and exciting settings, rich history, and a wide variety of mentors. Before long, I had published an award-winning series of forensic mysteries. Soon, I was speaking to educational and professional organizations about the portrayal of forensics in novels and television. Staying current on scientific developments and legal decisions enabled me to hold my own during question-and-answer sessions with law enforcement officers, attorneys, and other experts.
The dream had become reality.
As the book of Ecclesiastes reminds us, there is "a time for every matter under heaven," and a breaking point is one of those times. Consider it a wake-up call—a time to reassess the career you have, the career you aspire to, and the best path for getting there. It is also a time to develop resilience, discover your strength, and find your own voice.
