Using Your Why to Fuel Your Why Not

by Keaton Higgins, PharmD(c)

I want you invite you into a scenario and imagine that you’re standing in front of door.

Behind that door is anything you could ever desire. Literally, you name it: exotic cars, dream vacations, mansions and yachts—the possibilities are endless. The only thing separating you and these dreams of yours is this door, and that door is locked. It remains locked because, based on his previous experiences, 990 of the 1000 people that have tried to unlock that door have failed to unlock it. Now, I’ll admit that I was pretty good at math in school (until they threw the alphabet and imaginary numbers in there), and those numbers above come out to a 99% failure rate.

The reason I paint this picture by inviting you into this scenario is that’s how most people have been conditioned to see their dreams: a locked opportunity with a 99% failure rate.

It’s human nature to look at those odds and say that it’s not likely, maybe not even possible so I might as well save myself the hassle. 

Those ten people out of one thousand that did unlock the door didn’t just get lucky. Sure, maybe one person had a little bit of lock-picking experience and happened to get it on his first couple of tries. But those other nine people? They tried it once and they failed. 

Instead of seeing that failure as an ending, they used it as a lesson. Their one or two or three failed attempts didn’t dissuade them from the pursuit of their dreams. They used their experiences of their failed attempts, honed their skills, gained useful knowledge of locks and keys that they could utilize, and reached out to experts in lock-picking to teach them techniques and skills until they unlocked that door to lead them to their dreams. 

The door was not open—it needed to be unlocked, and that required skill.

Instead of following the lead of the other 990 people who either didn’t bother trying or gave up after a half-hearted attempt or two, they said…Why not me? Why can’t I be that 1%?

Growing up, I always knew that I wanted to help people. My dad created customized wheelchairs for people with disabilities, and my mom is a pediatric physical therapist (I’m still convinced she just gets to play with children’s toys all day for a living but that’s a different story). They instilled in me at a young age that we were put on this earth to help other people. From them, I have always been immersed in healthcare, and I saw this as a viable path to serve my larger goal of helping other people live healthier, happier lives.

However, I also saw from them and my extended family the negative effects of either working extremely long hours, or working a job that didn’t truly fit their passion. From these experiences, I had decided at an early age that although I had a passion for helping people, I also had a passion for experiencing life on my terms and valuing my time on this earth above all else. 

I started out my freshman year of college as a Pre-Physical Therapy student while majoring in Athletic Training. I had an incredible athletic trainer throughout high school that helped me rehabilitate myriad of injuries—some more understandable than others (sorry mom). Through my time spent with her, I saw her job as a way to combine two of my favorite things: healthcare and sports.

Throughout my time at University of Northern Iowa I also had gained my Certified Pharmacy Technician license and was working at a rural, independent pharmacy and then later at a Hy-Vee Pharmacy. While during my three and a half years of my Athletic Training studies, I was falling in love with the education, rehabilitation, and prevention of injuries and health concerns that come along with working side-by-side with high school and collegiate athletes, at the same time, I was losing interest in the physical therapy aspect of it that was my initial goal.

Along with attending clinicals for 10 to 25 hours per week providing rehabilitative measures through practices and games of D1 athletes, I was also falling in love with my job in the pharmacy that I worked at for 15 to 25 hours  per week. These two jobs, along everything else that comes with student life, led me to a fork in the road for my academic endeavors where I knew I had to make a decision.

Although I everything involved with athletic training skills, I knew I didn’t have the passion or commitment to work the long hours for the length of time required. I also realized that I couldn’t work as a physical therapist, so I made the fateful decision to apply to pharmacy school. And let me tell you one real truth: I got A LOT of strange looks when I told my Athletic Training professors and classmates that I wanted to be a pharmacist.

I’ll let you in on a little secret: ZERO people who have completed that program went on to pharmacy school. In fact, to my knowledge, there has NEVER been a dual-credentialed PharmD, ATC…Why not me?

There are pharmacists that work with the Olympics and professional sports teams…so what’s stopping me from being one as well, as opposed to the 99%?

After cramming for the PCAT in two weeks, paying overnight shipping for my transcripts, and submitting my application the night before the deadline, I was thrilled to find out that I had been accepted into the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy. While I was ecstatic about having the next step in my life figured out, I knew that my work was just getting started.

As a P1, we’re “energetically introduced” to new information and resources, while the essential skill of networking has become a requirement to succeed in today’s world of pharmacy. We are told that pharmacy is such a small world, but also incredibly competitive. We are encouraged to go and meet as many people as possible…while also making sure that you are memorable. For my career path being as unique as I realized it was, I knew that if I wanted to meet someone that had achieved things that I expected myself to achieve, I would have to swing for the fences and make some bold moves.

So, among all the other typical things like going organizations and attending meetings, I started a LinkedIn account and I spent hours, if not days searching for professionals that had any level of success combining my passions (fitness, sports medicine, and pharmacy) into a career.

I considered how strange it may seem to have a first-year P1 trying to get in contact with some of the most high-profile pharmacists there are, and then I thought…why not? The worst they can say is no—which is always a win-win. This has led me to connecting with some of the most successful people in their respective niches in pharmacy. These relationships I have built with these leaders in pharmacy have led to, among others, an interview and mentorship from the first pharmacist to ever work with the U.S Olympics, a possible internship with the United States Anti-Doping Association, and perhaps most important to my life– meeting The Fit Pharmacist himself, Dr. Adam Martin.

An example of how I used my “Why” to fuel my “Why Not”:

During my first semester of pharmacy school, every time I mentioned to someone one that I was a certified Athletic Trainer, they usually 1) assume I mean Personal Trainer (which are completely different) and 2) mentioned that I should check out The Fit Pharmacist – whoever that was. So I did some research and I found Adam on LinkedIn and I sent him a connection request because, Why Not? I checked in every once in a while, for about a month it still showed it was pending, so I dug a little bit deeper. I found his website, and searched for his contact information and ended up sending him an email because, Why Not?

I wrote to him about how I had a passion for pharmacy and fitness, and I wanted to impact people’s lives and he ended up writing back, but that was kind of the end of that communication. Then one night, I noticed that he had posted on Facebook that he was flying to Iowa to speak at the Midwest Regional Pharmacy Expo, so I commented on the post welcoming him to Iowa because, Why Not Me?

A couple hours later, I took my own message to heart and realized that this may be my only opportunity to meet the man that had already had a big influence on my life in person. So I sent him a message on Facebook about potentially meeting him if he could spare anytime, and he actually responded. So I cleared my schedule, drove four hours round to the Midwest Pharmacy Expo and listened to him speak. Afterwards, I got to interview him, he invited me to be on his podcast, and now I have the honor of calling him one a great friend and my personal mentor all because I said…Why Not Me?

With all things in life, you get a choice. Do you want to be discouraged by the 990 people that gave up before you because it was easy…or do you want to be excited to be a part of those ten people that are living their dream lives because they saw their opportunity and worked hard for it? 

Instead of settling for the comfortable things, I urge you to push yourself to talk to that person you have been hesitant to, go to that meeting, volunteer for that event. Sometimes, just reminding yourself—Why Not Me?—can lead your life in a direction you could have never imagined in your wildest fantasies. Your dream is out there, and if you don’t go live it, someone else will. So…

Why not YOU?

About the Author:

My name is Keaton Higgins and I am about to enter into my P2 year at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy.

You can connect with me via:

-LinkedIn: https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/keaton-higgins-atc-75402a190

-Instagram: @keatonhiggins

If YOU are looking for a mentor to help you dominate pharmacy school and script your dream career, look no further than THE book to guide you through doing just that: Gen-Z Pharmacist!