The Trailblazer Archtype

The Trailblazer

“I wonder what would happen if I tried this?”

The Trailblazer is naturally curious about what's possible. She's often the person with a new idea, a different way of doing something, or a willingness to try something other people haven't considered yet. She may have started a business, changed careers, taken an unusual path, or simply never been very good at accepting “that's how we've always done it” as an answer. She doesn't necessarily think of herself as a Trailblazer. She just sees possibilities and has a hard time ignoring them.

When That Strength Gets Complicated

Having a lot of ideas can be exciting, but it can also make it difficult to know which ones deserve your attention. A Trailblazer may start something enthusiastically and then become interested in something else. She may spend months thinking about an idea but hesitate when it's time to actually put it into the world.

There's often some second-guessing mixed in too. Am I qualified to do this? Is this really a good idea? What will people think? Am I too old to start now?

None of that means she lacks confidence or ambition. It may simply be what happens when you're doing something you haven't done before.

I often describe my own experience as building the plane while I was flying it. I've had plenty of times when I didn't know exactly what I was doing. I made a decision, learned something, adjusted and kept going.

That's how I think about confidence now. We don't necessarily need to find more of it before we act. Sometimes we learn to trust ourselves by seeing how we handle what happens next.

What Do You Actually Want?

This may be one of the more important questions for a Trailblazer.

When you're someone who sees possibilities everywhere, it's easy to assume every good idea needs to become something. It doesn't.

Just because you could build the business, write the book, take the position or start another project doesn't mean you actually want to.

I've become much more interested in the difference between “Could I do this?” and “Do I want this?”

Sometimes the answer will be yes, and you'll decide to go for it. Sometimes you'll realize you've been carrying around an idea that no longer interests you. Neither answer says anything about your ambition or your worth.

The point isn't to keep moving forward just because you're capable of it. It's to understand what keeps getting your attention, what keeps getting in your way, and what you actually want to do with it.

A Question to Think About

What's something you've been thinking about doing for a long time—and do you still actually want it?