Here are more examples of people just like you who took that hugely scary risk and are happier because of it. Please let them inspire you.
- After the company he worked for was closed down, a friend of ours created share-ware software that has supported him and his wife for 6 years!!
- After a company she worked for went out of business, a friend of mine decided that she wasn’t enjoying the marketing and copy work she’d been doing for a living. She realized that her calling is in her organizational skills (we call her “The Border Collie”). She took a huge risk and spent a chunk of money to go to school to become a life-coach. Now she helps people get their shit together and gets the satisfaction of having a positive influence on the world (vs. making money for some unappreciative CEO.)
- A friend of mine who was laid off from “The Company” (see the Fired and Uninspired thread) re-examined his values and embraced the idea that his unique personality does not mesh with the business world. He’s gone back to school to get his teaching certificate and is currently substitute teaching. Obviously, teachers get paid less than software folks – but he is much happier, and feels like he is making a positive impact on children. I never heard him ever say he felt like he had any impact at all – positive or negative – when he worked in software.
- The CTO at the current company I work for just resigned. He apparently has been thinking about taking some time off, just for himself, the last couple of years. Yes, he has the money to be able to do that, but still it is a big risk. Who’s to say that he’ll be able to get back into the business after a few years off – especially at the level he left? Who’s to say it isn’t better to bank that money for his old age? Still he recognized that he wasn’t happy, that his unhappiness would eventually rub off on his employees, and he was willing to risk doing what he needs to do to be happy.
- My Mom was in education for at least 20 years. After my parents were divorced, she applied for the personnel director job for a small city – just on a whim – I don’t really know what the catalyst for this was. She had no personnel experience at all. She got the job! I remember her coming home and saying, “Now what? I don’t even know how to do this job!!” That was 20 years ago, and she has had a very successful career in personnel ever since.
- Me. My calling is analyzing software. I love it! I’m happy doing it. I’m not happy with the way some companies think about QA or the way they treat their employees. I’ve been critized and belittled so many times for choosing the ‘lesser’ path (ie: I’m not a programmer). I don’t really care what people think. I took a huge risk when I dared to question The Company and their decisions that changed my job into a job where I cried on a daily basis. I knew that questioning the man in charge would get me fired. It was a risk I relished taking. My next job was total chaos, and I was exposed to a manager who was so incredibly immature and rude – who turned every discussion into a personal analysis of how uncool you were or whether or not he ‘liked’ you – that I left. I took the risk to take another job. The manager gave me a huge guilt trip about how it would look bad on my resume to leave so soon…blah blah blah. You know what, after those two big risks, I’m in a job that fits me. I like the people. I love the projects. I’m learning a ton of new things (that are very scary and I’m not sure I’m going to be able to scramble up the learning curve fast enough). It was (and is) scary, and I still doubt my decisions from time to time. The industry I’m in, and my current job, is anything but stable – but right now I am very happy. I’m satisfied that I stayed true to myself and acted like myself at The Company, rather than comprimising my day-to-day happiness. I’m healthier, a better banjo player, a better house-keeper, a better cat companion, and a better wife too. It’s worth the risks.