As I was getting ready for a new chapter, I found myself reflecting on what brought me to that point…
My origin story, as Amanda Baker would say*
So, here are the steps, the moments broken down. The makings of my Origin Story. The ‘how I got here’:
Career paths rarely unfold as planned. Looking back, mine feels like a series of seemingly random events that somehow led me to work that energises me.
People have always fascinated me. As a kid, I’d get completely lost in books, musicals and a range of (possibly unsuitable?) epic movies with compelling characters and complex stories.
The Way We Were, The Godfather trilogy, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Mary Poppins… I’m still constantly revisiting these tales of authenticity, loyalty, reinvention and family.
Plus, you know – the role St Paul’s Cathedral plays in Mary Poppins 👌🏻 I take a deep breath every time I wander past – I can’t believe I’ve worked a stone’s throw from there.
If you’d told four-year-old me that I’d build a career in finance, she would have had no idea what that meant and been eternally surprised given how tricky she found learning her times tables. Even twenty-year-old me couldn’t have predicted where those early temp jobs would eventually lead.
Accidentally Finding Finance
Running out of money at university forced me to get my finances sorted quickly. I took temp jobs to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, and somehow always landed in Finance departments.
I met a future boss completely by chance when he was a customer. It seems my path chose me before I chose it.
These were ‘sliding doors’ moments, starting to tilt my career in a particular direction.
I spent a lot of time talking about Anything But Finance but now I embrace it – that’s getting older for you!
Your reflection: What practical necessities or chance encounters have shaped your career direction in unexpected ways?
When Plans Fall Apart
Failing to get a promotion I thought I was a shoe-in for knocked me sideways. But that disappointment led me to leave Manchester for Cambridge – a move that’s worked out rather brilliantly (if I say so myself).
Then came two redundancies. Tough at the time, absolutely. But they redirected my career in ways I couldn’t have planned – first from Large Corporate to FinTech, then from Profit to Purpose.
Your reflection: What disappointments or disruptions in your career have ultimately led to better opportunities?
Balancing Acts
I’ve combined some of my most demanding professional roles with raising a young family. Sometimes I wonder how I managed it.
It felt like a white-knuckle ride – hanging on to full-time work and a hard-earned career when my health was suggesting that it might not be worth it.
Ten years of parenting on, life in the McD household is still busy, but I’m in a calmer, more settled, more purposeful place now. I have a toolkit of tricks to lean on when life gets hectic and a resolute focus on rest as a non-negotiable.
Your reflection: How have you navigated competing priorities in your life?
Full Circle
My career has always been guided by a desire for connection and relationship building. Don’t believe the corporate stereotype – Financial Services is 100% people-focused.
From colleagues you collaborate with, to borrowers you support, to professionals you partner with, to communities you build and to change that you deliver. It’s ALL about people.
And so my story comes full circle – I’m in a career where I get to learn about my team’s hopes and dreams while helping business owners bring their strategies and purpose to life with money.
What makes the work meaningful is understanding how financial decisions affect real people’s lives and futures.
Questions for Your Own Origin Story
As you think about your own journey:
- What themes or values have remained consistent even as your circumstances changed?
- What moments felt small at the time but proved significant later?
- What did you once say you’d never do, and how do you feel about it now?
Your Turn…
What’s your origin story? What are the moments that make you who you are? I would LOVE to hear them.
Picture below: four-year-old me (before the unsuitable movie days). Same fringe, same smile. Absolutely no idea what she was in for!
*Amanda is brilliant at challenging us to keep it real online and might be helpful to you too.
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