A continuation of last week's reflection on career.

And of course, in the wisdom of Bruce Lee: "absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own."

Pardon the length, we will revert to brevity next week!

Connect

Leaving the corporate and culinary worlds, I set off to travel, seeking autonomy from the rigid systems I’d experienced.

At first, my partner and I moved pretty fast. Visiting cities, UNESCO sites, climbing things - it was like racing an invisible clock. By the end of the 90-day Schengen visa, I was… tired.
(Burnout? From travelling? Seriously Jinn??)

Then, crossing Russia and Central Asia, the Altai ranges invited stillness. We stayed with a semi-nomadic family - kids running with animals, adults unhurried, a whole goat simmering over the one shared stove. The hospitality overflowed. People who had “less” seemed to give a lot.

Strolling through Eastern Europe, I encountered another side of humanity. Traces of world wars and political conflicts scattered the cities. It was harrowing to think of the displacement and suffering experienced, but also inspiring to feel the courage and collective strength of what we humans are able to honour and rebuild.

The power of common humanity, of connection. I just had to open my eyes.

Pause

Along came COVID.
Someone coughed beside me on a flight leaving Turkey, and soon I was bedridden in Tbilisi. The next day, the entire country went into a “State of Emergency”.

Strangely, it felt calming.

A few months earlier, we’d completed a silent meditation retreat, and this felt like an extension of it. Silent breathing turned silent living.

After running so fast for so long, I was finally forced to stop. So I took it as a gift to reset and reflect on what came next. I had the physical experience of travel, now to process the mental, emotional, spiritual.

I started to ask about my motivations. What did I really want?
The freedom to choose and create my own path. The deep sense of shared humanity I’d connected with. And purposeful growth - not just getting good at something but learning and growing in service of a bigger ‘why’.

My old drivers, like the “shokunin” (master of the craft) mindset from Jiro Dreams of Sushi, didn't quite fit anymore. It wasn’t about being the “best in the world”, but maybe being “best for the world”, in my own small way.

Align

When the world reopened, the next step felt clearer.
On paper, going from corporate to cook to coaching wasn’t a jarring leap as it was a natural evolution. Finance built a foundation, ramen created opportunity, and travel helped me see balance. And through reflection and research, I uncovered coaching.

Coaching gives me autonomy to build my own path, gives me purposeful growth through mastering a craft of service, and meaningful connection with others and their journeys.

I don’t need to be the expert - my clients already are.
I like that. It’s the exciting part. I get to be a traveller in their world, exploring without directing, observing without critiquing.

Now, don’t get me wrong - I’m not now perched on some enlightened pedestal ready to preach dogma to the masses.
I’m just one person making one set of choices for my own sanity.
And in the world we live in, where money doesn’t come from trees, I still have bills to pay, rules to follow, and mouths to feed. (My boys seem to really enjoy eating, go figure!)

What I’ve noticed is that life choices aren’t always a red-carpet moment of clarity.
It can be a quiet process - born from pauses, questions, and a simple curiosity to align with.. what matters.

#13 - Career Part II

#12 - Career part I