I Quit My Six-Figure Job to Pursue My Passions

I Quit My Six-Figure Job to Pursue My Passions
by Joshua Millburn
March 1st was my point of no return. That’s right, I quit my six-figure day job.
It feels great to say those six words. And it is incredibly liberating to write those
six words. It is also terrifying and exhilarating and scary and exciting and surreal and
unbelievable and, in many ways, indescribable.
A New Day
It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me. And I’m feeling good.
—Nina Simone
These words, sung by Nina Simone, are from my late mother’s favorite song, Feeling
Good. And these words connote something utterly different for me now. A new
beginning. A fresh start. The precipice of something incredibly exciting.
March 1 was my first day of freedom.
February 28, 2011, was my last day working at my big fancy suit-and-tie
corporate job. I worked for a large telecom company for the last 12 years. I worked my
way up the ladder from an 18 year-old sales rep to various management positions.
Eventually I was promoted to Director of Operations where I managed a multi-million
dollar operations/capital budget for all of our consumer sales channels.
Most recently I was a Regional Manager (what many companies call a District
Manager) for a region of retail stores. I led and managed up to 100 employees in 16
stores. During my career I opened 15 retail stores, hired hundreds of employees, and
helped dozens of people grow and realize their full potential.
I was very, very good at my job. I won back-to-back President’s Club trips
to London and Hawaii for outstanding sales performance. I hired some of the best
people in the industry, people who quickly grew and earned promotions throughout the
organization. I contributed to people and helped them grow. And people respected me:
when I announced my departure, dozens of people asked me where I was going and if
they could come with me.
I’m not trying to impress you with these details. If I thought that these things
would impress you, then I wouldn’t have left my job in the first place. Rather, I give you
these details to impress upon you my need for change. Because even though I was living
the corporate dream with a big salary and elevated status, I was not completely happy. I
was not pursuing my passions, I was not pursuing my mission in life, and I was not
pursuing my dreams. Not completely at least. You see, I don’t care about impressing
you, I care about helping you live a more meaningful life.
And now, a few months before my thirtieth birthday, I’m starting a new chapter
in my life. I’ll still be leading people, it will just be a different group of people: you, the
readers, for whom I am eternally grateful. We already have well over ten-thousand
readers each month, and we will have over a hundred-thousand readers per month by
the end of this year.
There are several reasons why I had to walk away from the corporate life…
Why?
You might want to know why I did this. I mean, you’re probably thinking, the economy
is in the toilet, right? And many people would give several digits off of their non-use
hand to make that kind of money. And yet you just walked away from it after working
your way up the corporate ladder for twelve years?
Yep.
Why? I did it to pursue my passions, to pursue my mission in life.
Passions? Mission? What does that mean? Yes, for me that specifically
means writing (essays 0n our site and my novel) and helping people by contributing to
others through charity work and other means.
How Can You Afford To Do This?
I wrote three long essays that will help you understand the dynamics (all three are
contained within this essay collection):
• Stop Living the Lie; Start Living the Life
• Screw You, I Quit!
• Minimalist Finances and Budgeting
With respect to finances, here’s a hint: it’s easier to survive when you get rid of
the vast majority of your bills. You don’t need cable TV or Internet or a $600 car
payment. You have a choice: freedom or extra bills. You can’t spend money like a
drunken sailor and expect to reclaim your freedom. It doesn’t work that way.
I can also tell you that I don’t have some big savings account to live off of for a
long time either (the life I was living didn’t allow me to build up some sort of huge nest
egg; this is covered in the essays too). I have enough money to live off of for a few
months as a safety net, because I will live a simple life with few expenses.
A Better Life Is Out There
I am not telling you to quit your job. Hell, you might love your job. Good for you if you
do. In fact, I didn’t hate my job. But if you’re not happy (and let’s be honest, you’re
probably not), if you’re not truly fulfilled, if you’re not living a meaningful life, then you
must make a change. I’m excited to share those two essays with you so you can see how
and why I made the change.
Contribution
I’ll contribute to people via our site. I’m thankful that so many of you find inspiration
here. I’ll also contribute through other means, such as charity and donating my time to
help others.
Writing and contributing. That’s what I’m doing now. I refuse to be a slave to
cultural expectations, ensnared by the trappings of money and power and status and
perceived success.