My ‘One Word’ this week is: QUITTING

I didn’t tell my wife I was quitting my corporate career for good.

Why? Because even I didn’t see it coming.

Let me explain.

I was the head of marketing at an online lingerie company with a culture that didn’t match my leadership style. Every day was a swim upstream with no shore in sight. I was miserable.

During my annual performance review, I remember vividly saying to the CEO,  “I must be reading the wrong report.” To which he replied, “No, this is your review.”

Shock, disbelief and confusion flashed across my face. While I may not have had the best year of my career, I certainly did not feel I had performed as poorly as the Rich Keller in this report.

I took a deep breath, got up, and closed the door. No more fighting the currents for a dream that wasn’t even mine anymore. I decided to take control of my destiny.

So I drew a check on a piece of paper (with my salary on it), handed it to the CEO and gave my resignation with the following request:

“I’ll stay 6-weeks for a smooth transition in exchange for my bonus, unemployment benefits, a reference, and severance pay.”

For one moment that felt like many, time stood still. The CEO’s eyes darted between my face and the crudely drawn check. He was stunned, and frankly, I was too. But not only did he respect my decision, he commended me for doing whatever was needed to leave on the best of terms with my head held high.

And held high it was—until the drive home to face my wife, that is. I’ve never done something this abrupt! I dreaded her reaction.  Would she be angry? Scared? Disappointed?

I should have known better.

She knew how unhappy I’d been, and her immediate response was, “Now go impact the world.” I remember saying that we will have to adjust our lifestyle if I decide to do something on my own, to which she replied, “I don’t care if we live in a hut…whatever-it-takes to make you happy.”

Candidly, the fortitude to make the leap to where I am today comes from the incredible support system around me: my wife, who never judges my pursuit of passion, my 2 kids who continue to trust me as I show them how we can all make a difference in the world and my friends who encourage me everyday to just show up as my authentic self.

Looking back, I realize I had acted in line with my core value. My ‘One Word’ is CATALYST. When I disrupted my life, it catalyzed a new journey that resonated with my identity.

I’m not saying you should storm into your CEO’s office and quit your career! After all, they’re probably out for lunch right now. 

Your path is going to look very different than mine, because YOU are different. What’s important is that you stay true to yourself and step into your identity—even when that first step looks more like a leap.

All it takes is ‘One Word’!

What are the moments in your life when you realized your experience wasn’t resonating with your identity?