Forge your own path

Forge your own path:

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Forge your own path.

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Go your own way.

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As Robert Frost said in ‘The Road Not Taken’.

Adding the full thing below for context.

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Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

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Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

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And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

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I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

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Those last lines.

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

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There is so much wisdom in that.

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First read this poem in Grade 10 English.

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At the time, had no idea what it was about.

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None.

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I remember we had an assignment to dissect every single line of poetry.

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‘In leaves no step has trodden black’.

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What the f*** does that mean ahaha?

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But those last lines.

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The road less traveled.

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Take it.

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It makes life more interesting.

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Way more interesting.

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It’s what I’ve done.

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What I’ve chosen to do again and again.

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Take the road less traveled.

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The one that no one has taken.

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At least no one around me.

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Started in high school.

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Thanks to my parents and a friend, got really into researching UK medical schools.

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There was a path to get into medicine out of high school instead of doing the normal undergrad and MCAT road in North America.

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Was it expensive?

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Absolutely.

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And this is where luck comes into play.

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I’m not here without any of it.

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Primarily because of my parents.

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They gave me everything and more.

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I am nowhere close to the man I am without them.

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They showed me opportunities.

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But I took advantage of them.

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And sometimes even disobeyed them.

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Even before applying to university, my IB story.

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The thing that almost ruined my life.

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Quick background lesson:

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IB is the International Baccalaureate program.

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A gifted program where the curriculum is standardized around the world.

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A lot of top-tier high schools have either the IB or AP program.

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The AP program allowed you to choose your courses in high school.

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The IB program didn’t.

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You had to take everything IB.

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IB was usually grade 11-12, the last two years before university.

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But we had a pre-IB program.

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A 2-year program before IB to get you ready for it.

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I hated it.

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Worst experience of my life.

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Constant homework.

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4-5 hours a night as a 14-year-old.

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And that was me being fast.

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I put too much pressure on myself.

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Crying constantly.

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Wasn’t performing.

Didn’t get the best grades.

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That’s typical IB as your grades get curved up, but I couldn’t take it.

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I wanted to quit.

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My dad wouldn’t have it.

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That’s the closest I ever came to this.

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I was in a bad place.

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I needed a way out.

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I said I’m quitting.

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My dad said I was screwing up my life.

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Especially my path to international schools, let alone med school.

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But I tried anyway.

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Persisted.

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Wrote the exams.

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Wrote the applications.

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And got in.

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Not just to one.

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But multiple.

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Multiple med schools abroad at 16.

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All thanks to a Canadian public school education.

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So the next few years took me to Scotland.

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A place I had barely visited.

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Didn’t even see the town I was moving to.

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Didn’t know anyone.

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Moved on a whim.

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At 17.

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By myself.

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While all of my friends were going to school in Ontario - places like Western, Queens and UofT, I was leaving the continent.

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The road less traveled.

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So began the greatest experience of my life.

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6 of the best years ever.

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Learned so much about the world.

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And people.

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And medicine.

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Became a doctor.

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Finished.

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But I wasn’t happy.

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Didn’t love the job.

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Could do it, but didn’t love it.

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So I took a different path.

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The summer before my last year of medical school, I spoke to a consultant and an investment banker.

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They told me to stay in medicine.

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Get your residency.

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Then come back.

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I didn’t want that.

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Especially with my circumstances.

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I failed.

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Failed to get into residency on my first shot.

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Spent all this time at medical school and couldn’t even practice in my country.

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Let alone get a shot.

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All because of one exam.

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One multiple-choice test.

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Did everything else right.

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But one test ruined all of it.

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So I had to pivot.

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Had to take a different path.

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Decided to go back to school.

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Getting a master's at UCL in London.

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Taking a year to chill with friends, enjoy London and get a job out of it.

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Instead, life had other plans.

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At the same time, I cold emailed 75 people around the world about my story.

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Most people didn’t respond.

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A couple did.

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One even got on the phone with me for an hour and a half.

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Another said ‘we have an internship, are you interested?’

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A few interviews later and I got it.

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Next thing I knew I was on a plane to Amsterdam to work at a healthcare venture capital firm, an industry I knew nothing about.

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The road less travelled.

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3 months in and they had no job for me.

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So I had to network my way to another one.

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Spoke to a 100 people.

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Few interviews.

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One offer.

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To come back home.

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Back to Canada.

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Eventually, back to Toronto.

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Think about that.

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From medical school to job in a different industry back in Canada within a year.

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I did that.

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Took the road less travelled.

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Now I’m doing the same.

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My latest lonely road.

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The Ironman.

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A 3.8k swim.

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180k bike.

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And 42k run.

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A challenge few complete.

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Apparently 1 million people ever.

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Why?

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Because why not?

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The road less travelled.

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All of these experiences have been challenging.

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They’ve tested me.

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They’ve put my back against the wall.

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And what do I do?

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I figure it out.

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We all do.

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Only till I’m put in the situation do I understand what to do.

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Before that, I’m making it up.

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Just like we all are.

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But I’m ok to fail.

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I’m ok to fall flat on my face.

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I’m ok to try again.

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Life is not a straight line.

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It’s not supposed to be a straight line.

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At least I don’t want my life to be.

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I want it to be fun.

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And interesting.

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And challenging.

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That life only comes when you make difficult choices.

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When you leave the comfort of your nest and fly away.

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You need to get out of your bubble.

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Out of your algorithm.

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Go experience the world.

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Go see what it has to offer.

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It’s scary.

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And intense.

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And you may fall.

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But man is it fun.

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Man it’s exhilarating.

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Man does it not give you a ton of stories.

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Because what matters at the end?

Experiences.

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Stories.

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Memories.

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That’s all we have after this life.

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You can massively increase your number of stories by living an interesting life.

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That only happens by choosing the path people haven’t walked.

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Choose the road less travelled.

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Forge your own path.

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