I Quit My 6-Figure Job Three Months Before A Global Pandemic
Lessons learned in chasing dreams during the weirdest time in modern history
When I decided I’d be leaving my job in Corporate America to, as I said, “chase my dreams and find freedom,” I expected to receive a lot of eyebrow raises and “are you sure you want to do that?” inquisitions. Instead, over goodbye coffee chats and tearful embraces, I was told:
Wow, I’ve always dreamed of doing that.
I wish I could do what you’re doing.
You are so brave.
Compliments that made me feel like a fraud. At the time, I had only a blurry picture of the post-corporate mountain top and no real idea of the path to ascend. Brave? No. I was walking blindly into the dark.
Today marks seven months since I walked out of the glass pane turnstiles of my corporate job, vowing to never return again. But, as you know, a lot has changed in seven months.
November 2019 marked 125 months of consecutive US economic growth, seemingly gliding past all predictions of an end-of-decade recession. The housing market was booming. Unemployment was at a 50-year low. When contemplating quitting, I was naturally met by internal fears, but the external environment felt, oddly, safe.
