No Wrong Path 2026

I'm not being lazy, but I'm revisiting a blog post from 2024 that itself was a reworking of a blog from 2021. Today is exam results day in Scotland, so I'm resharing this with a small update because I've already said most of what needs to be said on the subject, however, I feel it is important to restate all of this again today.

You or your child may have been one of those people receiving that envelope or text message this year. For us in the House of Rous, our middle child was the recipient of their last set of school exam results, which gives us about 4 or 5 years grace from this now before youngest child reaches this occasion. For you or your child, today may be a positive or negative experience, or somewhere in between. Whatever the situation, this is not the end.

Personally, I was rubbish at exams! I know its hard to believe, but I am of the age that was the second cohort to take on the GCSE’s which had a bit more coursework that counted to the final result, but was still quite exam heavy at the time. Thankfully times have changed, and my daughter had already received results for half of the subjects taken because they were practical courses with no final exam. Part of the system is realising that exams aren't everything. And what I have learned over the years is that as important as our time at school and those exam results can be, they do not necessarily close any doors to a positive future. We should all make the most of any learning and development opportunities that come our way throughout our lives, especially at school but through our later years too. But we should also never think that we’re stuck on a particular path if it isn’t working out how we hoped.

Over recent years, the social media hashtag #nowrongpath has grown momentum. This is when people share their journey to where they are now and prove the point that where you start out isn’t always where you end up. For some, they know where they want to go from an early age and make every effort to get there. But many others start out on a direction and either find it wasn’t for them or that life has opened their eyes to other opportunities. Others still have complete curve ball life changes that they could never have expected. So, as I have done a few times before, I thought it might be helpful to share my journey to where I am now, that will hopefully serve as encouragement for those who think they may be stuck or not sure where to go or what to do. It's summarised in this image (with a 2026 addition at the bottom) but below that is a bit more explanation.

Here's a bit more to go with the above image:

• Left school with 3 GCSE’s;

• Took and passed a 1 year Construction Course at college – planning on being an architect (also made a tool box that I still use today!);

• Re-sat 2 GCSE’s and passed 1;

• Switched plan and started a 2 year Business and Finance Course;

• Got offered, and accepted a job after the first year work experience placement on that course and began working in finance for the NHS;

• After 3 years, I was made redundant and spent a short time working as a Kitchen Porter – doing the dishes in the staff canteen of a large Pharmaceutical Company;

• Eventually got a part time job in finance at a University Student Union;

• Also got another part time job at a Christian Bookshop which later became a full time job;

• After another 3 years, I returned to finance to become a Regional Finance Assistant for The Salvation Army;

• Left 3 years later to go to Bible College;

• 15 months later I moved to Scotland with my now wife;

• Spent 4 months working as a Chef in a busy Restaurant;

• Spent 18 months as Assistant Cafe Manager for a Charity run Community Cafe;

• Was then involved in setting up a Salvation Army Furniture Re-Use Project and managed this for 6 years;

• Spent 2.5 years as Managing Director of a Furniture ReUse and Community Support Charity;

• Left to take on 2 Development Roles – one for a Community Development Trust to move them closer to having a Community and Sports facility, and the other back with The Salvation Army, this time setting up Charity Shops and Furniture Projects;

• Also established a consultancy business, helping people to turn their Ideas to Enterprise;

• After just over 3 years, I left to work in a full time Development Role to convert a former Church to a Community Facility;

• 4 years later, I got a job in my community as a Community Coach, with the aim to help people get the skills to develop projects rather than just doing it myself. I did that for 2 years - during covid!

• Trained to be a Christian Development Coach

• Picked up some work on a Christian Radio Station and on another faith programme on a mainstream station (well, with this face.....!)

• Worked as a Charity Funding Officer for a short time.

• Went full on freelance in 2022, as the Church and other Community Developer that you know me as now, including volunteer radio production and presenting, and a developing itinerant preacher role.

• In July 2026, I took a part time employed role with the Church of Scotland Presbytery of Perth, as a Mission Plan Implementation Officer, essentially doing a lot of what I do in my freelance life (with the addition of some work with Church Law), but bringing a bit of stability for me and my family alongside my other client work.  

I started with some wild idea to be an architect, discovered I was better at finance stuff, did a bit of catering, then got involved in charity enterprise activities, learning about development and Social Enterprise as a result, discovered a passion for “Developing Projects that enable People and Communities to be Developed”, and ended up in what for me as I am just now, is the perfect role, spread now across employed and freelance opportunities. And ironically, I have, and continue to, work alongside a few architects on church development programmes! I guarantee this would not have been the journey a careers person at my school would have set out or even been aware of the end destination. It’s not exactly a linear path, and quite frankly, neither should it be!

So, whatever stage of life you are at, or if you’re trying to encourage a child of yours along the way, be encouraged that there is no wrong path on the journey of life. And if you have a passion for something burning inside you and either don’t think you could achieve it or haven’t got a clue where to start, then find someone who can help you make that first step. Go for a coffee with a trusted friend and see where you end up. Go on. See what your next "right path" is.

This blog was originally published on CommunityDan in August 2024, having been reworked from a blog written by Dan for Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill in August 2021