The O-Factor

"What's your Personal Legend?" asks the inquisitive boy to me, the reader, as I recently devoured the bestselling book, The Alchemist. According to the book which is a journey towards fulfilling your dreams, we all have personal legends which were determined when we were younger. Some people abandon them, some place them aside for future use, others put them nicely on a shelf to never pursue because they'd rather wish upon what might have been instead of acting upon it and others, well they never stop believin' or pursuin'.

So when it comes to the O-factor, we're not talking Oprah. We're talking about your omens. In the book there are spiritual guides who help the boy along with his journey. Does he stumble a few times? Yes. Do the guides try to help him back on track? Yes. Interestingly enough, lately I can't help but feel like I've been providing omens to other people and quite honestly, it feels really cool. While the book focuses on people who help the boy, in the spirit of giving back to the Universe, it's pretty special to point people towards their path as well. In recruiting I've been connecting people a lot and I feel like I'm their omen: they're looking for a better opportunity and it's more like a right time, right place, I can help open doors for them to pursue a fabulous new opportunity.

Or even my friend who is pursuing a career in the aviation industry. You can't deny that's her own personal legend: her face literally lights up when she talks about traveling all corners of the globe. Does she have concerns about leaving her comfort zone, missing her friends and family for a job where she'll be living out of a suitcase? Of course, that's only natural but it's apparent she's been exploring these opportunities to live out her personal dream.

Sometimes omens even happen on a smaller scope unrelated to careers like the bewildered couple who stopped me last week on a street corner to ask where the nearest bookstore was located. Turns out they were headed in the wrong direction yet if they simply started walking north they were only five books away from their destination.

That's the beauty of it I suppose. They could have easily given up not realizing how close they were to reaching their goal. I think that's a lesson in it for all of us: we may or may not always have personal omens right in front of us, we may not always be in the position to guide others along the way. But lately after reading that book I'm certainly more aware of things, little signals, people I encounter, even the wandering couple, to realize how important it is for us to stay the course.