chapter twelveRealizing Your Potential
Lessons for Getting Started
Every man has his vocation. The talent is the call.—Ralph Waldo Emerson
“My passion is solving puzzles,” said Ken Wadland, sitting at home in Albion, Rhode Island.
“When I graduated from college, I found out that people would pay you a lot of money if you write computer programs that solve their puzzles. It worked out really well while the economy was doing well.”
Then came the Great Recession of 2008 to 2009, when along with a pink slip, Ken’s company assigned him the toughest puzzle of all: career obsolescence in his late fifties, much earlier than he could afford or had planned.
“At first I figured, do what they tell you to do: take your time, reassess your skills, restart ...
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