At Acton, we believe everyone has the ability to change the world in a profound way. We believe that with some sincere effort and introspection; you can identify your star: a vision of who you can become and what you can accomplish. A unique combination of your passions, your strengths, and what the world needs from you.
The Acton Career Compass website is a tool we encourage our students to use to guide them along in the job search process and help make this vision clearer. Once you find your star, you can identify the path of Steppingstone jobs leading to it. Please begin by working through the decision tree above to identify your starting point, and where to go next.
Steven Tomlinson, an Acton Master Teacher, shares this story every year with our Acton graduates.”The Tree Story,” as Steven calls it, changed his life direction and led him to explore his own career compass. We want Steven’s story to be an inspiration to you as you chart your own journey.
"My father almost never gives me advice,” Steven begins, “so when he does, I always listen. I was 24 years old, working on a Ph.D. in economics at Stanford University, and he called me one night when I was in my dorm room, sweating over my econometrics problem set, a model that predicted empirical irregularities. I was stressed."
"Steven," he said, "You sound depressed. You are doing something very foolish. You are getting good at something you hate. Tell me… how would you want to spend your day if no one knew what you did and you didn’t have to worry about money?"
I had no idea whatsoever. I had spent my entire adult life completely focused on doing whatever it would take to get good grades, win awards, impress people, and keep climbing to the next level of success.
He said, "I want you to go lie under a tree. And don’t leave that tree until you can identify three things that you enjoy doing for their own sakes."
So I went and I lay under a tree and I watched the wispy clouds pass through the branches and I felt bugs crawling on me. And I was bored, and I was angry, and I was surprised that I could have so little knowledge of my own heart.
Finally, after a while, I had a revelation. It occurred to me that I loved bowling. And I hadn’t been bowling in years. Why not? And I liked telling stories. And I liked making dinner with friends. And long speculative theological conversations. And walks at night. And teaching children. And singing.
And when I left the tree I had rekindled a bit of passion.
Ask yourself, how would you spend your day if no one knew what you did and you didn’t have to worry about money? Perhaps that simple question will force you to dig deeper, like it did Steven, and discover what you really want to do.