I come from a ‘railed’ background: I grew up comfortably, went to a good school, received good university education, secured a well-paid job, moved to a more challenging and rewarding job and then another and then… I QUIT – and let me tell you, I have never been happier.
I will share with you some of my thoughts and experiences and the realisations that came as a result of the change.
Quitting was not as hard as I imagined it would be, but then again I was a banker in Greece during the worst crisis the country has ever faced — so I guess I did not jump off a bullet train, more like a steam locomotive decelerating as it was heading towards a cliff edge.
It’s a very interesting path the one I am now walking on; my actions are more potent, my efforts more effective; I am directly responsible for the outcome and I feel ownership for all my decisions. I am using skills I had not effectively used before and I get to know my strengths and weaknesses better. I often have to challenge my comfort zone and learn a lot in doing so. In short, I definitely recommend you jump.
The leap does not have to be a leap from a corporate to an entrepreneurial career, it could well be from one job to a position you believe better fits with your long term goals; a shift to charity, more time for your family or for a hobby you love. It just needs to be an honest questioning of the situation you are in, some self-searching to clarify your aspirations, and a gap-analysis (to use a term of my past) between the two. You then need to take bold actions to begin filling in that gap.
The excuses for not taking the leap are countless, we are naturally reactive to change; we find reasons to negate examples of success ultimately making them feel unreachable to us and attributing them to external factors. We should be using these success examples to help us drive our own change. The success of people we know or relate to can inspire us and help us realise that success is within our reach. Furthermore, in my experience, successful people are willing to give tangible advice and help you in your own success.
People have often advised me that to make it big you need to bend the rules and that the practice is not for everyone. I have to admit that I now realise that the advice is partly true but, we are living in a period when the traditional rules are changing and conditions are becoming favourable for driving change. I don’t believe we should take the leap to change the world, I say lets take it to change ourselves; you never know we may end up succeeding in both.
The article originally appeared in the Rethink* blog of Hellas Direct
Updated on 29 Sep 2021.
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