“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost

Aren’t we always making choices on which path to travel?  Personally, I dislike freeway driving and prefer a more scenic route.  My husband can’t figure out why I would want to deal with traffic lights when I could get to my destination in a straight shot.

It’s just not my nature to go the most expeditious route.  I have my destination in mind but I tend to get side tracked on the way, and frankly, I have become lost on occasion.  Regardless, I ultimately arrive at my destination.  I am better at it now, however when I was younger (pre GPS) driving home to see my parents, my father would always question my route.  I would always have my comeback, “I had a tankful of gas and plenty of daylight in front of me.”  You see he and my mother were concerned about my driving all over the country on my own.  I was eighteen years old, in the Navy, and had bought my first car.  They knew I was enjoying exercising that car.  My parents would plead with me to not let the tank get too low on gas and make sure I was traveling in daylight.

Luckily, my own daughter is still in elementary school so I have a few years before I have to think about her with a car and a desire for freedom on the highways.  Life’s highways. And as much as I will want to caution her, I know mistakes happen.  She will find detours, pot holes and delays in addition to wondrous vistas, straight aways, and a string of green lights.  Because that’s just the way life is, a mix of good and bad.  My job is to do what my parents did, making sure I was instilled with the right basics, and maintained a positive outlook in life.  And someday, if my daughter’s come back  to me is “relax mom, I have a tankful of gas and plenty of daylight in front of me”, I’ll  be good with that.

Nursing Notes:

Entrepreneurship is the road less traveled in nursing because it steps outside the traditional, familiar paths of bedside care, administration, or academia. Instead of following established roles, nurse entrepreneurs carve their own path—turning their expertise, ideas, and passions into businesses that solve problems in new ways. It’s unconventional, often misunderstood in the profession, but it’s also where creativity, autonomy, and impact live.