I Studied Law, Work in Strategy, and Played Underwater Hockey – How It All Makes Sense (Sort Of)
If you’ve ever had someone glance at your CV and frown slightly at the zigzag of your studies versus your career, you’re not alone.
"You studied what and now you do what?"
Yes. Law. Then economics. Then a whole lot of doing.
It’s a question I’ve been asked more than once. I studied law, did part of my articles, and if you asked my 21-year-old self, I might have said I’d be arguing cases in the Constitutional Court by now.
Instead, I build businesses, design strategy, train youth in process mapping, and consult on everything from blockchain to compliance. A straight path? Not exactly. But is there a golden thread? I believe so.
Let’s start at the beginning.
What You Study May Not Be What You Do - But It Shapes How You Do It
Some people study law to practice law. I studied law because I liked logic, language, and understanding how power structures work. Law trains you to think in frameworks, to question assumptions, to spot loopholes, and to argue with precision. That kind of mental conditioning doesn’t leave you. Even when you’re not in a courtroom, it walks into boardrooms with you. It informs how you write a strategy doc, draft a risk register, or coach someone through a compliance crisis.
After law came economics. Less Latin, more numbers. Systems thinking, opportunity cost, incentives and constraints - this was like being handed a zoom-out lens on how the world moves.
Law gave me the rules of the game; economics taught me the motives and movements of the players.
Together? They’ve been my double helix. They shape how I think. How I argue. How I build.
Famous People Who Didn't Stick to Their Studies (And Turned Out Fine)
Reed Hastings studied mathematics. He founded Netflix.
Howard Schultz studied communications. He built Starbucks.
Mayim Bialik holds a PhD in neuroscience. You probably know her as Amy Farrah Fowler on The Big Bang Theory.
Martha Stewart studied history and architectural history before becoming the queen of homemaking and media.
Arnold Schwarzenegger studied business. Became an actor. Then a governor. Now, an author and climate activist.
The pattern? Foundations matter. But flexibility defines the trajectory.
How Sport Helped Me Build a Career
I’ve never been one for idle hands or idle legs. I’ve scuba-dived, snorkelled, windsurfed, and played underwater hockey (which, if you haven’t seen it, imagine rugby meets ballet meets low-visibility chaos).
Later came cycling - road, mountain, city-style (in the Netherlands, the latter is survival-of-the-fittest-meets-courtesy-of-the-bell).
Sport has taught me:
Discipline – You don’t finish a mountain ride without commitment.
Breath control – Underwater hockey demands it. So does public speaking and consulting with clients’ challenges and/or mid-crisis.
Teamwork and flow – Some games are won not by who’s strongest, but who’s most attuned to rhythm and movement.
Recovery and resilience – Both physical and mental.
And sailing? That’s been a reminder that not everything can be controlled. You work with the wind, not against it.
The Golden Thread: A Lens, Not a Ladder
So what’s the golden thread? It’s not one subject. It’s not one job title. It’s not even one company.
It’s how I see things.
I think in process and in systems. I ask how things work and why they don’t. I’m curious. I like connecting dots across disciplines, industries, and borders. I like putting things in motion.
Whether I’m mapping out a client’s supply chain, teaching CEOs to think differently about AI, or mentoring someone who’s figuring out where they belong in the world of work, it’s this systems-thinking-meets-practical-action-through-process mode that shows up again and again.
The law and economics gave me a foundation. Sport gave me stamina and style. Business gave me the field to apply them.
So, Does It Matter What You Study?
Yes. But not in the way you might think.
What you study teaches you how to learn. It teaches you language - of law, of numbers, of code, of reading, of writing and of people. It gives you anchors. But what you do with it - that’s your real education.
I tell young professionals or career-switchers: if your degree doesn’t line up with your current job, that doesn’t mean you took a wrong turn. It might mean you’re building a bridge others don’t see yet.
I didn’t abandon law or economics. I use them daily - just not in ways my university-self would have predicted.
And I keep playing sport. It still shapes how I lead, compete, recover, and breathe through hard moments.
What About You?
If you’re reading this and wondering whether your past “fits” your present - or your future - consider this: maybe the thread isn’t in the subject, but in how you stitch it into the fabric of your life.
Ask yourself:
What do I consistently enjoy doing?
What kind of problems do I love solving?
What feels like work to others but play to me?
What sport or hobby has shaped how I think and feel?
Then look again. The golden thread might be right there - running through the pages of your study and life notes, your career twists, your hobbies, your values. Go ahead, draw your past, now and future path. It brings insights.
It’s not about being linear. It’s about being literate in your own story.
Bon route!