"I met Susie through ThinkLA and was so impressed with her passion and dedication to helping others with their careers.  She has an incredible gift for organizing the process of discovery that can help people find not just a job but the right career direction for their passions and strengths.” — Lisa Solomon, Atheneum Collective

SERVICES

My first car was a pastel yellow mustang convertible. It had a black top and black tinted windows. I hung 1950’s polka dot fuzzy dice on the rear view mirror. And, I was OBSESSED with it.  

I worked hard at my waitressing job for years to get it, and when I did, I worked much harder to keep it in excellent condition. I spent my summers washing it. I spent my money fixing it. And, I drove a lot of people crazy parking really far away to preserve it. 

I never doubted if all that trouble was worth it. Because, there was no other car for me. I kept it for years, doing everything I could to make it work.

Why did I go to so much trouble? 

Because the first day I drove it, it felt like I had driven it my whole life. Like it was meant to be mine. It was me. It was the car version of what I saw my ideal self as: bright, retro-looking, and fun! I never felt more like myself than when I was driving that car.  I was completely and utterly Susie. It embodied my ability to explore, and felt like no other car could take me to where I want to be. That yellow mustang meant that I had worked hard to attain the freedom and happiness to go where I wanted to go. To this day, I’ve never met anyone who was as excited to get in the car as I was. I always wanted to drive.

Looking back, it’s funny because I genuinely couldn’t understand why anyone would buy any other kind of car when they could get this one. After a while, I would see cars on the road that were newer, shinier, and more expensive. And, I thought to myself, “Why would they choose that car when they could clearly afford one like mine?” I realize now that that feeling only comes when you are truly content and happy with your choices. When your choices are true to your authentic self. What I had learned was that with passion, planning, and grit, I could attain that feeling of being genuinely happy in my own choices. 

For over 10 years, when I got in that yellow car, I felt a twinge of excitement – even towards the end when I wasn’t sure it would get me where I needed to go. I didn’t feel that same twinge every morning until my first post-graduate job - the dream job of my 25-year-old self - where I was so happy to go to work every day, I constantly questioned if I was really getting paid to be there. (Don’t worry, I was!). 

Nowadays, I see these feelings as one-in-the-same, and one that everyone should get to experience. The feeling of knowing that you can get exactly where you want to go in a way that is completely authentic to who you are. It’s more than just education and skill sets (although those are vital parts!). It takes grit, audacity, and determination to get the feeling of being in the driver seat, the feeling of driving to where you need to go, to feel Driven.

That’s what I want for you, and that is what the Driven Career Navigation System is all about.

Are you ready to get in the driver’s seat?