Leaning Is All About The Angles

I just made a big decision and left a well paying C-level job. I guess it was an easy decision. As I’ve shifted priorities to make sure I’m as healthy as possible, working to live and living to work have taken on new meaning for me.

So I did the easy thing and I left to go out on my own.

I was in the middle of building something professionally. Something that was going to be really cool and significant. But I wasn’t connected to the work in the right way. The “getting lost in the pillow fort in the basement” sort of way.

It was a relief, it was exciting, it was back to the days of being totally in control of my destiny. But I wasn’t fooled. I knew in the back of my mind that this was the toughest decision I’ve made in years.

I’ve got a brady bunch…3 are mine, 3 are hers. I’ve got 2 in college and a house with a mortgage. Anyone with a family knows that a nut this large comes with strings. Taking a left turn in your 40’s with all these responsibilities is like walking on a steel beam 150 stories in the air. Layer on putting 20 years of business experience on the back burner to focus on real estate during one of the most stressed housing market since 2008 is not a walk in the park.

So why am I doing this now?

Why should I take this type of risk? Because I’m leaning in. Yeah, I read all that jazz about leaning in circa 2008. The fad only lasted in the headlines for a few years, but as with anything, the poison is in the dose.

I still have to coach and consult clients on the side to pay my bills. I still have to lean on my 23 years of experience and my network to make sure food is on the table. But for me, leaning in is a way that I can continue to learn and grow. It’s the way I can ensure the world is my playground and to ensure I’m never the guy that will list you all my regrets when I’m 100.

How are you going to lean in?

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