Today was my Commencement from Seth Godin’s altMBA workshop. I started it 4 weeks ago in the spirit of professional development. To put it lightly, this workshop transcended professional development and into personal metamorphosis.

In short, the altMBA program is a 4-week workshop that promises the experience of a 2-year MBA program. There are no tests and no lectures. It’s one of those things where you get what you put into it—and it requires tremendous amount of emotional labor.

My biggest revelation from this experience has been that I had, in a way, put a snuffer on my spark by keeping my enthusiasm and passion from my colleagues. For me, passion and purpose for my work comes from spirituality—which I had somehow compartmentalized out of my professional engagements. What I have come to truly understand now is what Einstein stated in 1940: ‘Science without religion is lame.’

Now for a personal story: 3Q2020 was the most successful quarter yet for my consulting business. For 2 months (October and November), I worked 70-80 hours/week, with most work happening after 9pm. Thanks to the pandemic, both of my little ones were at home, so I took care of them during the daytime so that my husband could attend his meetings during business hours. I didn’t know when the schools would re-open or when the work would die down (basically, there was no end in sight). Although I was tired throughout these 2 months, I was stress-free, happy, and left everyone around me delighted: my clients, kids, husband, and myself. What kept me going during this trying time? After all, there is no amount of money you could’ve paid me to create slides on p-values at 2am when everyone else is sound asleep—day after day. To willfully take up struggles beyond all reason requires a higher purpose.

For me, I take my career AS seriously as family and spirituality. The reason is: WHAT I HAVE IS GOD’S GIFT TO ME; WHAT I DO WITH IT IS MY GIFT TO GOD.

The funny thing is…none of this was taught in the altMBA. What it did provide, however, was the space to experiment with my baseline ideas and a supportive network to tell me like it was.

Seth Godin himself showed up at the Commencement to share some insightful thoughts:

• Change can be done to us or by us. If it’s done by us, then we get to do the work that we’re proud of.
• Given the injustice, illness, and trauma in our society, we can think our way out of this by WORKING our way out of this.
• Commencement is not the end, but it’s actually the beginning. Go forward because you can’t step in the same river twice. Now what do we do with it? We get a chance to begin.
• Go make a ruckus everybody. The work matters.

I would love to hear from you! What keeps you going during trying times in your career? What give you the spark?