Slingshot Weekly (2/11/26) | The Internship That Changed Everything

The headline celebrates the trophy. What it does not immediately show is the decision that made it possible.

When the Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl, head coach Mike Macdonald became one of the youngest champions in NFL history at 38. More than a decade earlier, Macdonald had a secure offer from KPMG, a respected firm with predictable advancement and strong earning potential. On paper, it was the responsible move. Then something unexpected surfaced. A low paying internship with the Baltimore Ravens. No guarantees. No prestige. Just proximity to the work he genuinely cared about.

Choosing the internship meant walking away from immediate financial security and long term stability. He was warned it could close doors. He was advised to play it safe. But he recognized something that many people eventually confront. Comfort does not always equal alignment. Ignoring the pull toward coaching would have created a deeper regret than failing at it. That decision did not immediately lead to championships. It led to the middle.

Over the next twelve years, his career unfolded through disciplined skill building, mentorship, adaptability, and steady growth. He did not leap from intern to champion overnight. He learned systems. He studied defensive strategy. He developed leadership capacity. He positioned himself through contribution rather than title chasing. The trophy is the visible outcome. The invisible work of choosing growth over security is what made it possible.

This is where his story intersects with something larger.

One of the biggest myths about designing your future is that you are supposed to know before you begin. Know the path. Know the outcome. Know the exact destination. But the people who move forward rarely have more certainty. They have more willingness to experiment.

Macdonald did not know he would become a Super Bowl champion. He knew he wanted to be close to coaching. He tested direction. He gathered information in motion. He stayed through the middle when effort became routine and progress felt incremental. Design lived in motion. Motion created clarity.

In a world where many feel disillusioned by traditional career promises, his path reinforces an important truth. Modern careers are built on skills, relationships, adaptability, and clarity of direction. They are not built on safe decisions alone. Alignment, courage, and long term development create durability. Choosing the internship was not reckless. It was intentional. It prioritized learning over immediate reward. It prioritized proximity over prestige. It acknowledged that clarity grows through action, not waiting.

You may not be deciding between the NFL and finance, but you are likely standing at your own intersection. A comfortable option. An aligned option. A choice between certainty and curiosity.

Designing your future does not mean declaring a permanent decision. It means testing direction. It means asking not “Is this guaranteed to work?” but “What can this teach me?” It means being willing to stay in the middle long enough for identity to shift and competence to compound.

The trophy is rarely the beginning of the story. It is the result of years of invisible design.

Your future is not built in one bold leap. It is built in small, intentional moves toward alignment. The question is not whether you can see the entire map. The question is whether you are willing to step toward the work that pulls at you and trust that clarity will meet you in motion.

Reflection Questions of the Week:

• Where in my life am I choosing comfort over alignment, and what might that cost me long term?

• What small experiment could move me closer to work or environments that genuinely energize me?

• Am I waiting for certainty before acting, or am I willing to gather clarity through motion?