His career plan was a dichotomous key, working back from the goal to build the steps that would take him there.  My career plan was a rose in bud.  It burst with potential, each petal hidden within until the next layer unfurled.  He and I shared the stage in speaking to an assembly of younger employees. Twenty years later, one of them thanked me for helping her to embrace the fuzzy goals she had at the time and to trust in flow for the rest.

My experience with career has interwoven threads of strategy and surprise.  Like my friend, I started out with a clear goal, took the prescribed steps, and landed precisely on target.  Before long I saw that the job of my dreams didn't fit that well after all.  

After leaving that field and embarking on another plan, I hit one wall after another.  Then one day my car broke down far from home, and that one thing led to another beginning.  A small-town job opening provided the unlikely entry to a rewarding long-term career. 

Several years later, I set my sights on promotion but was discouraged by a series of fruitless job applications.  I had come close to giving up when a chance encounter turned the tide.  

When at last it came time to retire, I trained for a new profession and took the first unsteady steps toward starting my own business. While struggling to achieve the goal I had set, I began to volunteer.  In the process, I have found work that I love enhanced by the freedom of serving for free.

These days I find myself in many conversations about work.  My son and daughter-in-law are navigating the early stages of their careers.  My friends in midlife face questions about changing employers, taking on more responsibility, or going into business for themselves.  My peers wonder how to make the best use of their time and talents in retirement.  

Though the details differ, the challenges we face at different times in our lives echo the childhood question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"  And though the details change, the journey through stages of work remains a creative blend of purposeful planning, disciplined preparation, sustained hard effort, and trust in the unknown.

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What is your experience?  Has your career turned out as planned, or has the magic of serendipity played a role? How would you encourage someone who feels stuck and wants to break loose?