Erika Biddix

The day I took this picture, "Just get on the train" was the mantra that carried me through each day. I didn't know it, but my world would change the next day, and along with it, the quote that carried me day to day. I read the quote in Paris, My Sweet, by Amy Thomas. She wrote - "I tell people who are considering moving abroad or doing anything that feels 'scary' to them, that action, activity, motion - no matter how minor, is the key component to accomplishing everything. There's a train metaphor that I like to use. Just 'get on the train' - any train. I mean, you can always switch trains at the next station. You can even take a train back to where you started. But standing still on the platform gets you nowhere in life." I'd done everything the prescribed way - college, job, marriage, job advancement, babies, bigger job advancement. But over the 15 years of working for other people, I found I'd somehow sold my time and energy to my employers. Then my husband won a Fulbright award that meant moving our three young children to Canada for a school semester. "Just get on the train" I repeated to myself, until we crossed the border. I trained for a full marathon. "Just get on the train" I repeated over the miles. I left my job of 12+ years. "Just get on the train" I repeated as I put in my notice. The next job wasn't a fit - and as I repeated "just get on the train”, I registered a business, reclaiming my time and energy for my family. I took on a volunteer role I was terrified of. "Just get on the train,” I repeated as I stepped into leadership. I entered this event already a business owner. I took this photo as the same. But the next morning, a woman named Jade Simmons stepped onstage, and said a phrase that changed me from a business owner to a purpose-driven entrepreneur. It has informed me every day since - "Your purpose is what happens to others when you do what you do." But "Just get on train" got me there.