True to form, Lisa trusted her gut and leapt into an industry she knew absolutely nothing about, courtesy of a newly launched program at a global insurance firm.

The pressure was high. The program was brand new, and every participant was a walking pilot study. She showed up on day one ready to “sell insurance,” only to learn she couldn’t make a single sales call until she passed a certification exam. A certification exam in an industry she had just recently learned about.

Test day arrived in a government building that felt like the DMV’s less friendly cousin. When the woman behind the glass handed Lisa her passing score, she cried actual tears of joy. The woman stared for several moments, maybe debating whether to care, and then yelled:

“NEXT!”

Lisa took the win and kept going. Slowly, the small wins turned into big ones. Big wins turned into really big ones.

So when her overall program ranking came in lower than expected, she didn’t make a fuss. Avoiding the comparison trap sounded healthier anyway. She stayed focused, finished strong, and assumed the results were the results.

Then the final scores were published, and it turned out a simple accounting error had hidden the fact that she was actually 1st in the entire country.

Which, honestly, tracks. Sometimes direction appears only after you’ve already walked the path.