I was thinking about the old expression,“If you get onto the wrong train, be sure to get off at the first stop. The longer you stay on, the more expensive the return trip will be.” The source is a bit sketchy, as so many great quotes are. Most likely it’s been refined by time and many iterations, in much the way that we are. Anyway, the quote: It came to mind while I’ve been navigating this particularly eventful year. And as you might have guessed by the position of said quote at the beginning of this blog post, it prompts a story.

Scrolling through LinkedIn to see what my network was up to, I came across a person I’d managed once upon a time. He’s a C-level executive now, on the board of a few companies, a real model of success in the world of corporate ladders and hustle. I wondered at the journey he’s had in the gap between when I last saw him at my going away party and now. He got exactly what he wanted back then, and I wondered at the price he paid for it. For every journey has a toll.

The thing is, I can quietly celebrate his accomplishment without any bitterness at having not arrived at the same place myself. That going away party was my first step away from corporate ladders and hustle. My own journey carried me to the sidelines of high school basketball gyms and track meets and dance recital venues. When I traveled for work, my free time didn’t take me into bars or golf courses, but on side trips to waterfalls and old battlegrounds quietly awaiting a moment with someone who remembered the toll paid by the participants back in their time. There are plenty who would point out that my focus on family and micro adventures demonstrated a lack of hustle for business success. Delightfully guilty, thank you. I was never one to pay the toll of a C-level executive, and yet I haven’t taken a vow of poverty either.

Our journey to personal excellence is ours alone. We know that comparison is the death of joy, yet so many look at where someone else has arrived at without considering the toll they paid to get there. The gap between the toll he paid to reach the C-suite and I paid to be present with my own priorities is profound. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. I wonder if he still feels the same?