What Falling from a 40-Foot Tower Taught Me About Career Growth

It took surviving a 40-foot fall for me to understand what it really meant to own my career. 

In 2010, I had chosen a career in the military. Until this point in my life, my career path was simple: get straight A’s, graduate, and attend college. But I wanted to challenge myself, serve others, and make a meaningful impact. 

It was time to shake up my plan and courageously step out of my comfort zone. I lost 50 pounds, ran a mile for the first time in my life, and trained hard to enlist. Soon after I enlisted, though, my plans came to a halt. While scaling the 40-foot tower during basic training, I lost my footing as I neared the top and fell to the ground, landing on my back. 

Surgery, physical therapy and two years of bed rest followed. I went through stretches where I couldn’t see a clear path forward. But what initially seemed like a dead end turned out to be the entry point to a whole new career — to where I am today as a SAG-AFTRA actress, a motivational speaker, and a career coach for employees at both LinkedIn and other organizations through my consultancy, Be Your Craft Inc. It’s a unique and fulfilling combination of roles that lets me step into the power of who I am and share my gifts.

One of those gifts is inspiring others to take charge of their career. My accident shook up my life and my life’s work. It also taught me some important lessons that can help HR pros — and all employees — think big about their own careers. Let’s get after it together.

1. Nobody controls your career but you 

It’s common to put your career in someone else’s hands and assume your manager will tell you when you’re ready for a promotion or when it’s time to take on a new role. Sure, they may influence your career path, but only one person truly controls it: you!

This is a lesson I learned after my fall. At first, I was waiting on my platoon leader or someone else in a leadership role to tell me whether I should challenge the doctors orders for medical retirement or push my body beyond its limits and fight to stay in the military. But then a captain came to visit me in the hospital and asked: What are you fighting for? 

I was young, I was going to recover, but if I stayed in the military, another injury could mean I’d never walk again. That one question changed everything for me. It gave me permission to think about what I really wanted to do, and led me to my first master’s degree in organizational leadership, my second master’s in communications, and my doctorate in leadership and professional practice with a focus on expressive arts therapy. 

Key takeaway: Even when — especially when! — you feel stuck or blocked in your career, ask yourself: What am I fighting for? What do I want to do?

2. Embrace a RICH mindset to help you take action

As I recovered from my injury, I realized I needed to make a shift from thinking about my next move to actually taking action on it. That was the start of what I now call the RICH mindset:

• Redefine your path: What are your dreams? What are you seeking as an outcome? 
• Identify skills: What are your current strengths and skills? What skills do you need to develop to get to your next play? 
• Challenges: What challenges or conflicts have I overcome? How can I use those to build my confidence?
• Honor your goals and commitments: What promises have you made to yourself? How can you align with your manager or coach on readiness and timing? 

At the time, this framework helped me think about how to motivate myself to move in a new direction. Now it’s something I use in my role as a talent consultant to help others find the courage to dream bigger. 

Key takeaway: Use the RICH mindset to help you make a move in a positive direction. It’s yours to do what you want with, whether it’s driving your career or overcoming personal hurdles.

3. When imposter syndrome hits, avoid “playing small” 

So many of us have experienced imposter syndrome, where we don’t feel like we belong in a role, room, or conversation. As an Afro-Caribbean woman in corporate spaces, I certainly have. My tendency used to be to “play small” — to silence myself when I felt a lack of belonging. After leaving the military and getting into acting, I quickly learned I needed to shed that habit. 

Take my role in Flatbush Misdemeanors on Showtime, for instance. The role I landed was originally written for a 45-year-old male-identifying actor, not a woman in her 20s with a Trinidadian accent. Even though the producers chose me, I felt insecure, worried they would continually question if I was the right choice. What I did know, though, is that I couldn’t walk onto the set playing small.

I took some time to remind myself what I had been through, all that I had overcome, and why they had selected me. Instead of counting myself out, I believed in myself and showed up and I allowed for the possibility that others would do the same. 

Key takeaway: Notice when you’re playing small and step into your power. Give others the opportunity to choose you. 

4. Focus on how you can serve others 

My original intent for going into the military was to serve: to serve others and to serve the United States. Today, my desire to serve persists. I frequently ask myself: How can I best serve others? 

If I think about how I’m going to serve someone today, tomorrow, next month, it helps take the pressure off of the work I’m doing and puts the focus on how I can show up for others with my gifts. 

This can be a valuable perspective for managers. Consider how your skill sets have grown or shifted and who can benefit from those skills. Maybe you want to serve a new team of leaders, or maybe you want to serve and mentor a new team. 

While it’s easy to get comfortable in any given role, challenge yourself to step outside of your comfort zone to grow and advance your career. 

Key takeaway: Whether you’re looking at a new career opportunity or trying to overcome imposter syndrome, identify how your unique skills and gifts serve others. A small shift in perspective can have a big impact on how you show up.

5. Stay open to going where your heart leads 

We’re in an acute moment of economic uncertainty. And when you’re facing headwinds — whether they’re global, organization, or personal — that’s when you need to double down on having heart-centered conversations with yourself to identify new opportunities.

There’s a quote from motivational speaker Les Brown that I love: “If you fall, land on your back. If you can look up, you can get up.” When you unlock your heart and focus on looking at the world from a more holistic view, it allows you to see what you can control and how you want to respond. 

I recently put the advice into practice. When the pandemic started, I lost most of my clients for my consulting business, Be Your Craft Inc. 

I had a choice: I could shut down completely or I could jump into a new space and meet people where they were. I did the latter. I could no longer focus on who I used to be because as I always say, used-to-bees don’t make honey. I stopped asking, “what am I supposed to do” and faced my fear of vulnerability, unlocked my heart, and asked myself, “who do I need to become, and what skills do I need to up-level to serve my clients in today’s market?” 

Like falling on my back, it was painful and hard work, but I was still able to look up and see what opportunities were available. 

Key takeaway: Keep your heart and mind open to new career opportunities. 

Final thoughts: The kindest question you can ask yourself

In tough times, it’s easy to be hard on yourself. But putting yourself down holds you back more. That’s why, when I make a mistake or make a decision that doesn’t work out, I don’t say: “What was I thinking?” Instead, I ask the kinder question: “What was I learning?”

After all, it’s through learning that we grow, both personally and professionally. And once you learn what it takes to pilot your own career and step into that role, then you can inspire your team and the employees you serve to do the same. 

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