What if you took a complete right turn from what you’re doing now in effort to follow what you REALLY want? Where passion, purpose and skill collide, happiness resides.

Awhile back a friend suggested I meet with their friend who was considering moving to downtown Las Vegas. So we met. Cathy Brooks, nice woman, high energy, also in the field of marketing and that was that. She brought her dog to the meeting so I knew instantly that we’d click. Cathy was thinking about bringing her tech/PR/marketing talents to Las Vegas.

Fast forward a few months and I run into Cathy in our community. She made the move! But she decided to do something completely different — to follow her passion. There was a strong need for doggie daycare and a dog park in downtown Las Vegas. (Unfortunately when the mobsters set up shop here many years ago they forgot to add parks and animal amenities. Go figure. ) Cathy to the rescue, her “plan” to move to downtown as a marketing professional was intercepted by her lifelong passion: to work with dogs.

Fast-forward less than a year and I find myself touring The Hydrant Club, Cathy’s creation. To witness someone who has found their perfect spot, no pun intended, is something magical. I get chills thinking about how at home and happy Cathy was when showing me around her park.  She’s created that intersection where purpose, passion and skill collide.

Cathy’s “plan” was to continue her marketing/PR career in order to eventually someday be able to follow her passion. Then serendipity struck. So many of us live by that same template. Do ________ (insert college degree-centric job) until you can afford to do _______ (insert passion here). But what about now?

I asked Cathy, what advice do you have for others so they can also spend their time doing what they love? Was there a specific moment when you just knew? A sign? She said not really. There wasn’t a white flash or “ah ha” moment. It was more of a series of events, experiences and lessons that consistently pointed toward a new path. What’s unique about Cathy is that she listened to herself, the community and the universe and then took action on what she heard.

I’ve been trying to learn more about how this process happens. Seems one of the misunderstandings is that we can’t look for that intersection where our purpose, passion and skill collide. We have to create the space because it likely doesn’t yet exist.

More about Cathy’s journey here in her TEDx Talk: