The Awesome Power of Quitting Your Job
Life is short… be true to who you are and follow that truth.
This article was originally published on LinkedIn in May of 2022. I’m reposting it here as part of moving my writing to my own platform…
I’m quitting my amazing job working with amazing people creating amazing learning for amazing customers.
Uhhhh wait what?
Whew!! I said it… out loud… Soooooo much angst went into that poorly crafted opening line, but really, I just needed to get it out into the world in whatever form I could to make it real.
So you’re really gonna do this?
Snarky voice in my head you can’t have it both ways! For years now, you’ve been nagging me in the background. You’re the one who knew ‘something’ wasn’t right. You’ve been saying it, but it took a 3 month ‘mental health break’ from work to get my head clear enough to hear what my heart has known for a while… It’s time for a change.
20% -- That’s how much of my life I’ve been working as a “Content Manager” for what could arguably be called the top two online learning organizations in the world… Lynda.com morphing into LinkedIn Learning. At the time I started, the role was a ‘too good to be true’ combination of my skills. Subject Matter Expert, Teacher, Content Creator, public facing Representative, Project Manager, Recruiter, Strategic Thinker… But all things change and as the company has grown, the job has changed into a more behind the scenes, procedurally driven role focused on pushing as much content as possible into the top of an incredibly refined production and publishing pipeline. It is not the same gig I signed up for.
LinkedIn and LinkedIn Learning do sooooo much good in the world. I’ve always been proud to tell people where I work. But, my small part of that big machine hasn’t been making me happy for a while. I’m a lucky guy who hit the lotto and landed an incredible job at what he thought was a ‘small’ company that got swallowed up by a big company that in turn got swallowed up by the nearly the biggest company. But, in my core I’ve always been a creative professional and teacher. I like to make things, share what I know, and help people learn.
But Rob… Quitting scares the shit out of me!!
Again, Snarky, you can’t have it both ways!! I’m terrified too, but I’m not going to be consumed by that fear, I’m going to lean into it and use it to motivate me into action.
Although I’ve taken some big chances in life, I’m not a ‘risk taker’ by nature. I tend to calculate the emotional/physical/financial costs of a course of action and jump ONLY if it makes sense to jump. In the mid 90’s when I told the owner of the ad agency I was working at that I knew how to use Cosa Effects when I didn’t, that was a calculated risk. It hadn’t been bought by Adobe to become After Effects yet, but I’d always wanted to learn motion graphic animation, and I knew in my core it was something I’d be good at. When he bought the software and gave me the opportunity to do a project for a new client, I dove in HARD to keep that promise.
Now, I find myself at another fork in the road... LOL Some might call it a “self imposed” fork in the road… I’m 56 years young… I have what most would call a pretty cool job making great money at one of the most recognizable companies in the world. I could just coast out my remaining work years… exssssssssssssssssssept, I’m not happy.
We only have so much time here on earth and we need to spend it doing things that make us happy (without hurting other people). It’s become a cliche to talk about how 2020 and covid have spurred many into the great resignation, or the great reshuffle. Ultimately though, each of us needs to ask the question… Is what I’m doing making me happy?
For some folks working a job they don’t love can be a means to an end. They have the ability to put just enough of themselves into a job and save the rest for outside of work. I’ve never been able to do that. I can’t “half-ass” anything. I put my whole ass in or not at all. This might sound harsh but I don’t mean it that way… it’s more of a burden for me. I give all of my mental/physical/emotional energy to what I’m doing and at the end of the day I don’t have space to do other stuff. I kinda wish it were different, but it’s how I’m made. I’ve been fighting it for a while now. Trying to care less about work and do things outside of work to fulfill me. Maybe I could have pulled it off 20 years ago, but now I just don’t have the energy to subdivide myself.
OK Rob, I get it… So what are you gonna do?
I want to make cool things, create content and directly help people. The best case scenario would be if I can create content that directly helps people.
It’s not exactly a ‘revelation’. It has taken me a ton of therapy to figure out that I didn’t need to ‘reinvent’ myself, I needed to ‘remember’ myself… I’m going to get back to a version of who I was and adapt that person to the current world.
Hmmmmm… How the F are you gonna do that?
Thanks Snarky, you’ve set up the last third of this article nicely! Remember earlier when I said I’m a ‘calculated’ risk-taker? During my sabbatical I wasn’t rolling around in my own self-pity. Sure, I was doing that for a while, but once I figured out what I needed to do, I got off my ass and started planning to leave my job.
I have a whole other plan for what I'm going to do AFTER I leave, and I'll be writing about that in more detail over the coming weeks/months. This is a list of things to do BEFORE you leave. Some of these I’ve been doing for years, and others are things I need to get cracking on. If you’re considering a big change like this there are things you can do to set yourself up for success.
Maintain your mental and physical health.
This might sound obvious, but it’s really hard to think clearly about your career if you don’t feel good. This doesn’t mean you have to be a fitness model. Nobody’s going to accuse me of having six-pack abs, but I ride my bike and walk every chance I get. I go to the gym when I can and don’t beat myself up when I don’t. It doesn't take much to feel better. I’ve also started meditating. If you don’t know where to start, there are tons of apps for this, but I’ve found that the completely free app “Healthy Minds'' is incredible. It’s a full curriculum by qualified mental health professionals that takes you from zero to regular practice one step at a time. Oh and it’s freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! (but you can donate to help their mission)
Maintain your financial health.
Save money!!! For most of my early career, I was treading water financially. Spending too much on things that don’t mean anything. Cars, clothing, you know… stuff. I’m not saying you need to live like a monk, but be very careful and conscious of what you’re spending your money on. It has taken years, but with a combination of luck, hard work and tough decisions, my family is debt free (except for the house note). We’ve got enough in the bank to take some calculated risks. If you don’t have the self-discipline, hire a financial planner and be accountable to them. YOU have the power when there’s money in the bank.
Learn new things… ALL THE TIME!!
Curiosity doesn’t kill cats… It makes them a successful apex predator and it helped them own the internet. Take a page from their book and stick your nose into everything. Growth and learning are directly tied together. There’s an old saying that “You can make your own luck” and learning is right at the heart of that. Take classes, read books, watch courses on LinkedIn Learning. Whatever it takes… Learn.
Approach EVERY job as if you’re going to leave it, but don’t burn bridges.
This is something I got hung up on… I’ve been way too comfortable in this job. It has a lot of cool aspects. It pays really well. It’s a product that helps people. I work with incredibly smart, caring people who I genuinely enjoy hanging out with. But there’s the trap… I’ve been so comfortable in the benefits that I’ve gotten stuck and lost track of who I am. LinkedIn has an incredible cultural value of “the next play”. You’re encouraged to always be thinking about what it is you’re going to do next whether it’s inside the company or not. Everyone needs to adopt this mentality even if the place you work doesn't. If your role is not a good fit, it’s much better for you to figure that out than for your boss to figure it out first.
Talk to as many people as you can, but spend more time listening than talking.
Each of us has a network of people whether we realize it or not. Sit down and think about the people whose input you value and reach out to them. Tell them where you are and then shut up and listen to what they have to say. It might not always be comfortable, but that usually means you need to hear it even more. Never forget though that you are the decider in your future. Listen and incorporate what works for you but never follow advice blindly.
Stop screwing around.
How are you spending your time? Is what you’re doing advancing your goals or is it holding you back? We each have things we do that waste time. Don’t get me wrong… it’s good to have some down time every now and then, but it can’t be all the time. Create a balance that gives you as much productive time as possible but also gives you the freedom to say “I’m gonna play Minecraft with my sister today” and not feel guilty about it.
Know what you want!! (In a complete sentence)
This is the part that has caused me the most trouble. You can’t really start to plan until you know where you need to go. My managers have been asking me this question for a long time, but I’ve never been able to say why I wasn’t happy until now. It took a shitload of therapy and a leave of absence from work to get clear enough so I could see the forest AND the trees. The clarity of thought I’ve been able to get has been exhilarating. It’s also terrifying LOL but the planning helps mitigate the terror.
Over the coming weeks and months, I’m going to share the rest of my plan more directly here on LinkedIn as part of that goal of creating content that helps people. I hope it helps you.
Since you made it this far, here's how I created the cover image. This is 100% not real because I am NOT a fan of swimming LOL...
