Continued from Paths Not Taken (Part One)
It was the cheese, the crust and the sauce that made a Buddy’s pizza. The other toppings were just there to hitch a ride on the cheese, the crust and the sauce. And I had the recipe for all three – never to do a single thing with any of them, except for an occasional personal pie for family and friends. The cheese, the crust and the sauce.
But I would be lying if I said I never seriously thought about it. In fact, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve threatened to open my own restaurant, a bed and breakfast, food truck or catering service. But as so many other things, life gets in the way of the things we dream of.
You’ve probably heard it suggested that, “the food business is a young person’s game.” While I believe there is some truth to that, I also believe I will never be too old to do something I really have a passion for.
Except becoming a theoretical physicist. I think I am too old to become a theoretical physicist.
I have always loved physics. I can still hear my high school physics teacher providing the only law of physics we should absolutely never forget – ever. Referring to electricity, he beseeched us, “never become the pathway for electrons.” This, as he would continue to explain, would mostly result in death.
Good advice really. And it got my attention. Thus began my love of science, particularly physics – another path not not taken.
But that reminds me of what I love most about my chosen career path.
As a brand, marketing and communications consultant, I get to work with the restaurants and scientists I thought I was leaving behind, among a myriad of other businesses every day. As a web usability expert, I get to design websites for every type of business imaginable. It’s through these businesses in which I get to live my paths not taken vicariously – every day.
I am really happy to have learned all about pizza at Buddy’s, cooked in my dad’s bar and restaurant, and worked doing magic as a bartender during college. But if I hadn’t taken the path I did, I would never have had the opportunity to consulted with several very cool restaurants – developing their brands, menus and marketing strategies. I never would have been able to work with the esteemed scientists, doctors, college professors, community leaders, government agencies, artists, musicians – or several of the largest companies in the world. For these reasons and more – I am grateful the unique and rewarding opportunities my path has afforded.
But there they sit in my recipe file. The cheese, the crust and the sauce.
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