Page 112 - Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows

CHAPTER 10

LEADERS HAVE PASSION

It was 1994, and I had the world on a string. I was a graduate of the Air
Force Academy, a highly decorated military officer, a former White House
Fellow, and a recent Columbia Law School graduate. I was off to Miami
for a plum job—a one-year clerkship with a federal judge—and was about
to move my young family from New York to sunny southern Florida to
launch what promised to be a marvelous legal career. Everyone was excited
about my prospects for success.
Everyone, that is, except me.
Our bags were packed, but as moving day drew nearer, I became more
and more convinced that I was not meant to practice law. I knew I had
the intellect and skills to be a good lawyer, but I was missing the most
critical element: passion. I realized that what made me come alive was
using my leadership talents and creative abilities in an entrepreneurial ven-
ture. I came to the hard conclusion that I did not want to practice law
because it was not my calling: It was not something I was so passionate
about that it would sustain me through all the rough spots along the way.
Could I muster the courage to forfeit the sure thing—a legal career—to
pursue the pipe dream of being the nation’s next great businessman? What
if I failed? And what about that $70,000 law school loan I was obligated
to repay?
After some serious soul-searching and with only two weeks left before
I was due in Florida to start my clerkship, I decided to follow my true
passion and become an entrepreneur. I was apprehensive, but I was also
determined, and after enduring a few bumpy spots along the road, just

97