Quitting the Corporate Life

My final day of work is now behind me and everything leading up to this point has unfolded magically. I’m really starting to believe that when you make a decision to follow your passion and face every doubt and fear head on, the universe will always conspire to line up circumstances in your favor. When I started to look at my life a year ago and really became honest with what I wanted out of my time on Earth, 2 main things came to mind, I wanted to inspire others to love life, and I wanted to experience great adventures. What job entailed these elements I thought to myself? As I let that question sink in, I started to find the answers and moved forward confidentially. I decided that there doesn’t need to be a job that possesses these 2 elements, the better approach is to figure out how to bring these elements into my life and value will be created through the positive energy and actions from my intention.

So that is what I’ve been operating on over the past several months, the details I’ll elaborate on in future posts, but this past week has proven that with a positive intention and your internal compass directed towards what you really want in life, everything will work itself out. Before fearing a tire puncture in the Gobi Desert or hitting India during Monsoon season, my biggest fear has been making a clean break from the office life. I truly prepared for the worst, fearing a forced removal by armed security, being sued for the signing bonus that I spent, general upheaval, these were all in my mind.

Going in last Monday, I sat at my desk shaking, anticipating the perfect time to tell my boss that “we had to talk”. At first met with an ounce of shock followed by downright support, my decision to quit my job in order to bike from Istanbul to Beijing ended up being a breath of fresh air for the entire office. My boss fully backed my desicion, albeit being upset to loose me, and the rest of office was equally as supportive. I spent the week fielding worried questions about my journey, listening to peoples support, and got to connect with people that I was never been able to connect with over my year or so at work. The day after my plan was made public information, my boss pulled me aside and told me, while they would love for me to finish out my two weeks, that due to the distracting commotion around the office it would be best if I ended a Friday early, and that I would still be compensated for the extra week, I took the news willingly.

With my last day of working life days away, I thought it would be an appropriate move to make clear my intentions of quitting to the whole company. I really didn't want to leave the impression on anyone that I was quitting as a frustrated escape from corporate stress or out of bitterness for the company, but rather to fullfill an urge that I have in life to explore the planet and to connect with people who feel they can do anything they put their minds to. Thursday morning, my roommate and I drafted an e-mail that would give everone a clear idea of what I was doing and link them to my blog so I could stay in touch with everyone supporting my mission. The e-mail went out to over 5000 employees Thursday morning and within minutes my inbox was flooded with hundreds of responses. I spent the day replying to people wishing me the best and really got to speak from the heart with people I have worked with over the years, and people I have never even talked to before. I even got a call from someone in India thanking me for what I was doing and saying that I was an inspiration, and hoping he could show me his hometown when I bike through. My friend in another building said as he walked the floor, every computer monitor had my blog, New Life Travel pulled up, or a map of Asia, it was the talk of the office for the rest of the week. My last day provided a lot of sad goodbyes, and was ironically also the night of my groups annual Holiday Party.

At the party, one of my friends pointed out that the CEO was present and sarcastically joked that my mass e-mail to all of her direct reports must have left a good taste in her mouth. I waited for the right time to go up and introduce/explain myself, but she approached me before I could. She looked me right in the eyes and told me the move I pulled the other day was bold, and that by breaking the mold and chasing my dreams I was really proving my character; that I will be even more of a valuable corporate asset when I return, and said to stay in touch and that she would be following the blog. It was an emotional goodbye as I let people know that I won't be back at work on Monday, and people who hadn't really gotten to know me spilled their hearts to me about what I was doing and their lives. Leaving work so far has been the most incredible part of this process, and as people go back to work without me, I hope that I have made a lasting impression.

While some questioned how possible the voyage was and whether or not they would want to do it themselves, my decision to follow my dream inspired a lot of people by simply showing that it’s possible to go off and do the things you want to do in life, if you’re willing to make some sacrifices. I think the reason the transition out of corporate life felt so amazing was because I was authentic and fully open with everyone I talked to about my decision. What follows is the e-mail I sent out to the company explaining my plan, and the replies, which served well at filling in the world and connecting me with all the people who are on my side: