The Lawyer’s Odyssey: From Superhero Dreams to Intellectual Property
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In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus spends ten years wandering — stumbling, backtracking, nearly giving up — yet each trial becomes a lesson, each detour a guidepost that edges him closer to home. As Odysseus steels himself in Book 5, “Endure, my heart; you have endured worse than this.” That reminder to persist through hardship still speaks across centuries. Sometimes, our lives unfold the same way: wobbly steps towards the truth of who we are.
So it is with our latest guest on Season 4, Episode 8 of the Uncharted: Your Sidekick for Life podcast.
Dwayne Goetzel has his own odyssey: not across seas, but through missteps, choices, and redirections that slowly brought him home to the work he was meant to do.
Today he is a name partner in a law firm, but once he was just a boy running outside yelling “Shazam!” hoping lightning might transform him into a superhero. It never did — so he stumbled his way forward instead. First through basketball with his coach father. Then through a vocational test that suggested fashion designer (an answer he laughed off, though secretly he loved clothes and sketching). Then through college decisions shaped less by ambition and more by financial necessity.
“Son,” his parents told him, “you can go to any college you can afford to pay for.”
That hard truth made him serious, disciplined, and determined to earn scholarships.
From there, his path zigzagged:
Almost quitting law school, until a chance empty hallway kept him enrolled.
Following mentors into trials he wasn’t ready for — and figuring it out under pressure.
Landing in intellectual property law not from passion, but because a firm needed someone who knew how to try cases.
At first, Dwayne coasted on raw ability.
“You’re smart, but you’re not doing enough,” two partners bluntly told him.
His ego bristled — but they were right. He dug deep, learned the craft, and transformed from “just stumbling” to leading as a name partner, protecting the very ideas and identities that give businesses life.
As he put it:
“If I can end up where I am after so many false starts… just keep your eyes on what you want, work hard, and you’ll be okay.”
The question for us is not whether our path is perfect. It’s whether we’re willing to keep going — even when our “Shazam moment” never comes. And for Gen Z, facing a maze of exams, endless options, and the pressure to stand out in an overcrowded system, the question sharpens:
how do you keep moving when school feels more like a battlefield than a guide?
Perhaps Dwayne’s story reminds us that stumbling doesn’t mean failing—it means gathering the courage to keep walking forward.
So here’s the challenge: If Dwayne could turn missteps into mastery, what stumble in your own journey might actually be the beginning of your path home?
Listen to the full episode of Uncharted: Your Sidekick for Life with Dwayne Goetzel.
This blog was written by Anais Schmidt, one of the hosts of the Uncharted Podcast. Anais is also an aspiring musician. When not in her studio, she tours Europe with Monte Mai.
If you would like to join the conversation email us at anais@foundingup.com
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