The best way to describe my aha moment really has to do with the fact that I’m an ex-Hollywood Assistant Director-turned-psychotherapist.

I didn’t know anyone when I started in Hollywood. I literally started from scratch. I’d been working really hard to climb the ladder. I had just finished a couple seasons on a TV show. It was very exciting, but it took a toll on me.

My aha moment, funnily enough, came in a therapist’s office. I was telling him that I hated my job. He posed the question, ‘Have you thought about doing something else?’ I had never wrapped my brain around that possibility. In that session I got this aha. ‘I can do something different! I can pursue a different career.’

Then, I finally got an opportunity to work with this crew that I’d really wanted. It was Spielberg’s A.D. (Assistant Director) team. So I started this movie with them—A.I.. It was really exciting the first couple of days. By week two, I was on set and I just had this moment, ‘I don’t want to be doing this.’ I’d always dreamed of working with this caliber of people: big budget, big scripts, big talent. Spielberg! It was like, ‘Okay, here you are, here’s what you wanted! But—aha!—you don’t really want it!’

I did finish the film. Then I packed up my car and drove out of LA.

I wanted to do something I was more passionate about. I went back to school and here I am. It’s the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. This work that I do now, helping people work through their relationship struggles and other problems, has had a huge impact on my life. It’s really powerful to see my clients have their own aha moments.

An aha moment, I think, can be described as a ton of bricks hitting you on the head. A sudden wave of understanding. A moment of clarity.

Follow your dreams. And if you change your mind, that’s OK. Do something that matters to you.