Journey Map

If who a person is today can be defined by the sequence of decisions made in their lifetime, the question that I am faced with is: what made that person choose those paths in the first place? What critical milestones and influences paved the way? I believe that understanding these factors directly link to better analysis skills beyond just business but down to a deeper personal level. So in this blog post today, I will map the journey of a close friend of mind who I have kindly named John. The story of how John became the person he is today stems from the myriad of moments that brought him to finally choose to become a marketing major at the University of Texas at Austin. Following the critical moments in his life, I will document how a person’s daily life – as well as other factors – influence major decisions in his or her life.

I. Early Life

Now, a good story always has its traditional beginnings, so here begins John’s childhood dream to be a businessman. Early on in his life, John was exposed to the importance of making money and following his dreams. His influence for a future career path trace it’s roots back to the hard working lives of his parents. John’s mother and father were both immigrants to America bringing nothing but the desire to achieve the American Dream through hard work. They focused their careers on being entrepreneurs of owning businesses while still working traditional jobs. John’s mother had numerous businesses under her name, including two after-school learning centers, two lab-testing businesses, while still managing a medical career – all aspects filling her plate with dedication, yet she managed to come home and spend time with him and his brothers. His father, at the time, was no different. As a highly positioned engineer, John’s father constantly traveled around the world to manage the construction of numerous projects, yet he too still found time in between to be with the family.

Goals at a Young Age

            As John grew up surrounded by constantly working parents, he realized how important it is to maintain good personal interactions – both at work and at home. Though he was exposed to a plethora of career industries (i.e. medical, business, engineering, etc.), John found that the one that required the best of working hours, the most amounts of time stability, and the most profitable career would be business. His focus was on making money efficiently so that he could spend more time with his own family (compared to what his parents were able to provide) when he too would be a parent in the future.

II. High School

            By the age of 15 or 16, John’s father and mother were grooming him into the business mold. Real estate seminars, business ethics meetings, and even the family business executive seminars filled the weekly planner as weekends and weeknights were packed with anything to develop him. John emphasized how essential business books written by acclaimed authors such as Robert Kiyosaki were to the family as the family read the same books together and held weekly discussions. Prior to any college application or decision where to go, John knew with full confidence that moment he would only be a business major. With his grades, exam scores, and rankings elevated to the top-tier of his high school, his second option of anything outside the business school became out of the question. It was business or bust.

Breaking Family Tradition

            Therefore, when junior and senior year of high school rolled around, John had to decide on what type of business into which he would go. His father had a real estate background, yet the market reflected little confidence in that area. Both of John’s brothers were finance majors with minors in economics so that too played a heavy role in helping him decide, but that too did not fully appeal to him because it was very number heavy. Plus, there was a lurking feeling deep down in him that kept telling him to break the trend. Why go all in when its better to differentiate and experience something different such to build off of the family norm? Though John was still unsure of which major he would pursue in the business school, he knew that he still had time to decide when he got there. Thus, he would be open-minded to all options.

III. College

            In his first semester here at the University of Texas at Austin, John began to lean towards finance as a leading option. Not that he discredited choosing any other major, but the decision was nearly set in stone. McCombs had exposed him to plenty of career options in the field and the versatility that the major brought. Finance had been a top major choice of several college students within the business school and recognized nation wide among other public schools of business. With his family by his side, John had found his major – for now.

The Shake-Up

            Entering his second semester, John was already advanced in credits so choosing a major for good would have to come sooner than later. In his attempt to graduate early in 3 years, John took BA101S that Spring of his first year with almost 60 hours of credit. Unaware to him, his life was about to be shaken up. Every semester, professors come into each BA101S class to talk to the students about choosing their major. One by one they preach and convince the class with future potential or technical analysis or any form they can to connect with the students on their level. But to John, nothing fazed him in his decision. It would take a miracle to change his mind.

            That miracle would walk in last into that room. As John recalls the moment, he depicts a somewhat older more mature man walk in slowly and confidently to the front of the room. No PowerPoint. No fancily worded speech. Nothing. The man sat down on the table and plainly said, “Now I am not going to bore you with some speech, so let’s get down to business. Yes, all those majors are great. But you all are here to make money, right? You cannot make money if you do not sell anything. That’s marketing. That’s the link between all these majors and the customers that are out there.” The man continued on with a PowerPoint as John furthers his memory, and when the end of the presentation rolled around, the man simply put a stack of business cards on the table and walked away. A flood of people rushed to the front to grab them, and there would not be enough for everyone, including John.

The Decision

            Not remembering his name or very much about him, John did know what that man looked like and what he said. Those words he held onto closely. After that day, he thought only a miracle could change his decision to become a business major, and a miracle it was. At that point, John proudly and confidently filled out his major selection sheet under “Marketing.”

            Later on, in his Spring semester of his second year, John had unknowingly signed up for two classes taught by the very man who convinced him to become a marketing student. Sitting near the front of his class in amazement, he proudly thanked the teacher for what he said that day semesters ago. “Thank you, sir. Truly. Your speech that day was short, direct, and ever so inspiring. You are the reason that I have followed the path of marketing. I do hope to enjoy your class. By the way, my name is John, sir.” The man replied, “Why thank you, John, and I am John Highbarger.” And the rest is history.