Glenford Smith | Confused about career direction

QUESTION: I am 19 years of age. I have a dilemma with my career path. My passion has always been in media, especially sports media. I have loved sports all my life as I find it enjoyable and fulfilling. But I love business, too, although not as much as sports media. I am so confused about which direction I should take, and it has been plaguing my mind for some time. What should I do?

N. Reid

ANSWER: Thanks for your letter. It had to be condensed due to its length.

I should first of all assure you that being confused about your career choice is quite normal at your stage. Particularly at your age, it might seem urgent, but it is important that you not become anxious. At 19 years of age, I must commend you for knowing what you love to do.

But I should also caution you about becoming overly concerned about the direction of your career. It's early days yet.

It is refreshing that a young woman is passionate about the area of sport as you seem to be. You have many Jamaican sports luminaries such as Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson, and Veronica Campbell-Brown, among many others, and many more to come. And that's just one sport.

There's a whole world waiting for you. So go for it.

Give sports media and business all that is within you and don't second-guess yourself. There is a dearth of women in the business aspect of sports. You will notice that while we seem to be getting it right with regard to training, in that we have MVP Track Club and Racers Track Club, our athletes have had to turn overseas for world-class management minds.

What should you do, in the present situation? You say that you fear that if you pursue sports media, you are afraid you might not get employed. This is a normal fear to have. You can't know for certain if you'll get employed all of four years or more before.

Nobody can know beforehand if they will get employed. But what you can do is what everyone else has done. They have the belief and confidence in themselves that when they reach that bridge they will figure it out. They give up their search for a guarantee or certainty. And they embrace the reality of the situation.

You are going to enrol in a sports and business course for the next number of years. Perhaps you can major in sports and minor in business. One thing is sure, you will have a very productive time studying. You already know what you're interested at doing, which is a major thing.

Be careful of one thing though. Chances are good that when you go to a tertiary institution, you won't get to do only sports media and business. You will also do less desirable subjects too. Don't let these subjects turn you off. Use the sports media as motivation to take on the challenge of these more difficult subjects.

I am excited for you. I wish for you all the best.

- Glenford Smith is a motivational speaker and success strategist. He is the author of 'From Problems to Power' and co-author of 'Profile of Excellence'. Email glenfordsmith@yahoo.com.