I just finished reading “Four Black Trailblazers On How They Are Empowering Communities Of Color” and exploring the very interesting website Jopwell which connects top candidates of color with great employment opportunities. Unsurprisingly, the article “How I Built The Life I’d Always Dreamed Of” by Bevy Smith caught my eye. I love reading stories about dreamers and builders, people who design their careers and then step into a life they love. Her story was no different.

Like many of my clients, Bevy had a great job, an enviable job, a job that people would think she was crazy to leave. As a fashion advertising executive at Rolling Stone, she was making good money and traveling regularly to Europe. Why did she leave? Because it wasn’t a good fit for her.

Today, Bevy hosts her own radio show, a choice she made after a three season TV show. How did she go from advertising executive to media maven? Well, she has her own opinion about how she made that happen, but one thing she said struck me. “…I channeled my talent for bringing people together and began building a business on the side.” This is not the usual path to get into media. But she knew her strengths and used them to create the life she wanted.

You can do that too!

Don’t live someone else’s life. Own and embrace who you are and what you want. Experiment, play, design, and build. Blaze your own trail!

What do you want? What’s your favorite talent? How can you use that to get you where you want to go?