Last night, after a wonderful date with my husband made possible by the generous offering of a restaurant gift certificate from a client,  I stopped by the independent book store in town. I was hoping to find something along the lines of  Entrepreneurship for Women’s Small Business in Health Services for Dummies. Instead I walked out with Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks: One CEO’s Quest for Meaning and Authenticity. I can hear those of you who know me well saying, “Of course you did!”.

This morning I found the answer to the question I posed in my last post; “How is it that I own a successful business?”

In the first few pages I found the following: “…authentic success—whether personal, professional or organizational—is usually only the by-product, the trailing indicator, of serving a mission that is bigger than yourself.”    

That is EXACTLY how I find myself in this position. I never set the goal for myself to own a business. My goal has always been to serve others, and the way I have found to do that is through midwifery.

I remember early in my apprenticeship telling my mentor that it felt as though I was remembering how to be a midwife rather than learning it. I have since heard this sentiment from others in midwifery as well. There has never been a question for me about whether this was what I was supposed to be doing. It just IS.

There have been times when I would have liked to walk away to become that person who waters the flowers in the medians, or the person who delivers your organic milk to the door, or maybe the toll taker on the interstate, but midwifery has never let go of me and I wouldn’t really be good at any of those other things.

So, here I am, serving in the only way I know how. I am excited to dive into this book and find what other treasures it will offer up. I am grateful today for finding another validation for this crazy, circuitous path.