At the close of every life chapter, I find myself conducting a little ritual where I stop and take one look back at whatever building I leave behind and thank it for the memories and experiences contained within its walls. When I moved out of my family’s home of 15 years, I put my hand on the doorframe and thanked the home for keeping us safe and providing us with lifelong memories. This ritual has helped to give me a sense of closure in a world that, at times, can feel nebulous at best.
A little over ten years ago, I loaded up the few personal belongings I kept in a shared cubicle at work, handed in my badge, and closed a chapter in my professional life. As I walked out the door, I turned and thanked the organization for the mix of both uplifting and painful lessons I learned from that experience and decided that I wanted something different professionally.
The word exceptional has two definitions. The first is unusual, or atypical. However, it’s the second definition of exceptional – unusually good and outstanding – that resonated with me. When I started Exceptional Futures, I made it my mission to help those struggling in their professional lives try to define what an unusually good and outstanding career looked like for them.
Ten years, hundreds of clients, and a book later, I feel that Exceptional Futures, the company, is ready to cross the threshold into a new chapter. Some of the biggest stressors I see in my clients center around identity, belonging, and change. Yet there are few frameworks to help people navigate important life decisions in a way that isn’t focused solely on the individual or through a high-touch (note: expensive) experience. It is time to offer something a bit more accessible.
As we begin the next decade of our exceptional future, we will be introducing new resources to help you navigate big decisions from a culturally sustainable perspective. To help professionals working with diverse clients, we will offer some tools that will be beneficial in building your practice.
So now, I turn back and thank you, my community, for providing me with the memories and experiences that have made my life that much fuller over the past ten years. I look forward to creating new memories together!
