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The Best Career Advice is in a Single Line From the Wheel of Time
Forget passion, profit, or status — this is the true secret of success.
I’m not a Robert Jordan fan boy, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the mini-series.
There are lot of moments that stand out, visually and dramatically— but one minor line, only twelve words, delivered by Maria Kennedy Doyle, has echoed in my brain for almost a month now.
If you’ll pardon a minor spoiler, I’d like to share it with you.
Perrin vs. Plot: a classic hero’s journey
Perrin was perfectly happy being a blacksmith in his small village, when stuff happened that forced him to leave (I’m trying really hard to make this as non-spoilery as possible). After some misadventures, he takes shelter with the Tuatha’an — a non-violent Romany-analogue culture in the Wheel of Time.
As Perrin travels with them, he uses his skill as a blacksmith to fix some of the wagons and such. The matriarch of the group, Illa, thanks him, and he attempts to do the manly thing of shrugging it off with “no big deal.”
Illa gives him an amused, patient look, and says the line that has echoed in my mind ever since:
