What I hear you saying is...

So my advice to my friend: I don't know the right career for you. You probably don't either. If you don't like the one you're in now, try something else. You're smart, personable, ambitious - lots of opportunities out there. Don't wait around for "exact" fit, because there is no such thing. Try something new and see where it takes you.

When I reflect on some of the best decisions I've made in life, they each involved trying something new... and risky.

Japan

Moving to Japan was a big one. A recount of my first 24 hours in Japan leaves most listening to the story wondering if I was insane. At 22, knowing absolutely no Japanese (other than what I'd learned from Styx), with no job in hand, and about $700, I got on a flight to Tokyo to go and find a job. At the time it was terrifying. But looking back at the facts: I was an English Lit major, graduating into a recession. My best prospects were moving to Kansas City to write greeting cards for Hallmark. (In the parlance of Jack Arnold, I was not going to let that "happen" to me).

What did I have to lose? Nothing at all.

What did I gain? Four of the most exciting years of my life. I got to travel around Asia, learn a foreign language and adapt a new culture, and most importantly -- it's where I met my better half.

Tech

At 27, I felt the tug to return to a "career path". Graduate school was an obvious choice, and so I applied and was accepted to an East Asian Studies program that, according to my plan, would parlay into a doctorate in Anthropology. This would set me on the respectable path to academia, where I could sequester myself in the cloisters, or do whatever those professor types do in the off-hours.

Within 3 weeks of returning to the classroom, I became acutely aware that academia was not for me. (If you think the politics in your office are bad, try the social sciences department at your local college.) My end-goal was recalibrated to graduate as quickly as possible, and to move on. My advisor had all-but-convinced me to apply to US State department and try the diplomacy route. Meanwhile, I'd had an offer from Matsushita (Panasonic) to move back to Japan and take a cushy job on a managerial track. Sure seemed tempting.

Then one day as I was crossing the quad, I pretty much stumbled on a late-season job fair. I meandered around the booths, but most companies were trying to hire MBAs, CS, and EE degrees. After some uncomfortable cold-shoulders from the McKinsey and Andersen consulting booths, I wound up at the Apple table. By sheer coincidence, it turned out that the hiring manager was also a grad from the same department, and that we'd shared many of the same instructors. We hit it off, and in spite of zero tech experience, he asked me to come in an interview for a QA job testing Japanese database software.

My wife thought it was nuts -- I had a great gig lined-up in Japan, and I was willing to toss it for a job that I was not very qualified for.

Again, a seemingly risky move at the time, but what did I really have to lose?

As it turns out, while mulling over the Apple job, I was contacted by Matsushita and given the hard sell. When I countered that I needed more information about where we would be working and living, they revealed that after a few years in Japan, I would be sent back to the US to help manage one of their battery factories in the Midwest.

Battery. Factory. Midwest.

So I took the Apple job.

What did I gain? 10+ years working in a dynamic and fast-paced industry. Chances to work with intelligent people from all over the world. A career that affords me the ability to live in the SF Bay area and actually enjoy it.

Topix

A couple of years ago, I found myself sputtering a bit at large, highly dysfunctional organization that runs a payment platform that rhymes with "HeyGal". Something wasn't right, and things weren't improving. Just as I was reaching the nadir, I received an out-of-the-blue mail from Rich saying that Topix had received funding, and that they were hiring. I met with him the next day, and he basically made me an offer that night.

But was I ready to go back to a start-up? I had been burned before in 2000. Now I had a mortgage and a little one on the way. Was it going to be alright? Was everything going to be ok?

Yes.

What's the point, Blake?

There's a Taoist principle known as Wu Wei, which essentially means understanding when to act and when not to act. Another interpretation is that Wu Wei is an understanding of when to adapt to your environment or circumstances in order to best take advantage of an opportunity.

Though scary at the time, in retrospect my decisions were stupidly obvious ones, with little or no risk at all. In each example, my mind was clouded with doomsday scenarios that, if followed to their logical outcomes, were about as likely as getting hit by lightning.

But that's life. Life is cloudy. Life throws us curve-balls everyday. Some we artfully dodge, while others we take smack in the center of our noggins. But some... are thrown perfectly across the plate.

A pro pitch moves at over 80+ mph. A great hitter can't really see what's happening -- he doesn't think. He just knows when to swing instinctively. You too will receive such pitches in life. Though they will look just like the other curve balls, they'll be the ones you want to hit.

Will you be in the proper state of mind to act upon them, or will you retract in fear? Will your mind be clear?

Be the ball, Danny. Be the ball.