The Books That Altered My Career Path

Summary

Harley King's career path was significantly influenced by his early exposure to diverse literature, leading him from a aspiring minister to a successful speaker and writer in the healthcare industry, fulfilling his childhood dream in an unexpected way.

Abstract

Harley King's journey began with a childhood dream of becoming a minister, nurtured by his religious upbringing in a conservative Mennonite community. However, his career trajectory shifted after reading Huston Smith's "The Religions of Man," which opened his eyes to a world beyond his small town. This book, among others, led him to abandon his initial goal of ministry and pursue a career in English and writing. Despite economic challenges and initial uncertainty, King found his calling in writing policy and procedural manuals for healthcare, eventually managing marketing communications for a large healthcare company. His passion for customer service and inspirational speaking was influenced by motivational figures like Lewis Timberlake, Zig Ziglar, Denis Waitley, and Tom Peters. Over thirty years, King delivered over 5000 speeches, realizing his dream of becoming a preacher through his messages of hope and change. Although he has not written the great American novel, he has dedicated over fifty years to writing, publishing extensively, and continues to inspire others with his work.

Opinions

King believes that reading broadened his horizons and reshaped his career aspirations.
The influence of "The Religions of Man" by H

The Books That Altered My Career Path

As children we are often asked the question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” And most of us give various answers that often don’t reflect the work we finally choose to do. I still remember in junior high school of wanting to be an architect. My father was a general building contractor and it seemed like something I wanted to do. My parents even gave me a drafting board to encourage me. My wife and I did similar things to encourage our daughter when she was a child.

I grew up attending a conservative Mennonite church in a small farming community in central Illinois. We attended church on Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesday evening. Our mother regularly read us the children’s Bible. I memorized 300 Bible verses in order to attend summer camp. So, it is not surprising that I made the career decision at the age of fourteen to become a minister.

While many boys my age were probably stealing glances at Playboy, I chose a different path. I read the book, The Religions of Man (now titled, The World’s Religions), by Huston Smith. The book changed my life and my career choices. Smith introduced me to a religious world beyond the borders of my small midwestern town where everyone attended either Catholic or Protestant churches. I learned of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam and Judaism. My eyes were opened and I saw the world differently.

I continued through high school to read other books on religion and by the time I graduated I no longer wanted to be a minister. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I entered college still listing my major as religion. My parents had been willing to send me to college since I wanted to be a preacher. I was the first of both sides of the family to attend college.

When I had to declare my major my sophomore year, I chose English and a desire to write took root. When I graduated in the midst of a recession in 1971, I still had no idea what I wanted to do with my life — no career goals. I had some vague idea about wanting to be a writer but had no idea about how to pursue my dream. I wandered the country both literally and figuratively for four years until by chance I was hired to write policy and procedural manuals for a health care corporation. Service to others in their time of need was a key element of my religious upbringing.

Fast forward a dozen years and I was managing the marketing communications department for a large health care company, and my dream of writing the Great American Novel still festered in my soul. The seeds of a new dream had also been planted in my heart. I wanted to be a speaker. I had heard Lewis Timberlake, Zig Ziglar and Denis Waitley on tape and read their books. I had read a Passion for Excellence by Tom Peters and watched the man on videotape. I was passionate about customer service. I chose to adopt his high energy speaking style and make it my own.

Now over thirty years later and having delivered more than 5000 speeches, I have a confession to make. I became the preacher I dreamed of being at the age of fourteen. My gospel may have been different, but the result was the same. I have touched the hearts of thousands of people with a message of hope. I have inspired others to change and improve their lives. People come up to me after a speech and say, “You missed your calling. You should have been a preacher.” I smile and thank them because in my heart I know I became that preacher I dreamed of so many years ago.

Yet, I have not written the great American novel nor achieved fame and fortune. But I have spent more than fifty years writing by stealing thirty minutes here and an hour there to write. I have spent years playing with words. I have written hundreds of thousands of words and published my work in magazines and books. And hiding in my file cabinet is my unfinished novel.

So what I have learned through all of this is that in the final analysis we do the work that we were meant to do. It may not take the shape or form that we dreamed it would. Our paths may be slightly different from our dreams because of the choices we make along the way and the books we read that touched our lives and inspire us to achieve more. And that is okay.

###

Harley King has been speaking and training professionally for more than 30 years before groups ranging from 10 to 600. He has trained more than 7,500 people to speak and train.