Up until 10 days ago, I worked for a major Financial Institution for the past 23 years. I'm proud to say it had nothing to do with the Mortgage debacle or economic collapse we have been experiencing the past 6 plus years. It was an awesome place to work with great people, I was blessed to have some really good immediate managers and when I didn't report to a good one, they were at least tolerable. I loved the people side of my work and was able to have great interactions on a daily basis. The last two years were my most rewarding from developing people, working with a ridiculously talented management staff and delivering top performance results.
So why leave? Well, my life is directed by my intuition. What I mean by my life is every aspect of my life. I listen to my intuition on everything, as a matter of fact I cultivate it and ask my intuition for direction, and it's never wrong. I won't get into details but over the past 60 days, things have just fallen into place so much so that it was obviously time for me to leave my job. How did I know all of these things were setting me up for my departure? How it felt. I felt like I was floating six inches off the ground. Most of the time, I had an ear to ear grin on my face.
When I told my staff that I was leaving, the first question was "where are you going?". My reply, "Nowhere", I'm taking the summer off, do some riding, go to some races, get my muse on and then in September I'll start thinking about what I want to do next. I literally walked away from a job I had been at for 23 years with no idea what I was going to do next for income.
The last day of work, my son came down the stairs to go to school. He asked, "Your done today aren't you?". I said "Yep", he then asked me "what are you going to do next?", and I told him "Epic Shit". His reply was "I knew that". My oldest son, when I told him I had left the company, said "Good for you, You're such a bad ass for being true to yourself". That's about all the confirmation I need (not that I needed it) to know my decision was dead on.
I rarely remember dreams that I might have, but fairly frequently I'll have visions that come to me almost as stories or metaphors. One that hit me strong and was the tipping point for me in making my decision was this. When I was learning to ride a bicycle all those years ago as a youngster, I had training wheels on my first bike. One day my dad grabbed my bike from me, told me he would bring it right back. My mom asked what he was doing and my dad replied "taking the training wheels off so he can see what he can really do with the bike".
I had a similar vision of this memory, a little different but very vivid. It was just my dad and I, I was an adult, there was no bike and my dad said to me in a very nurturing but assertive way "Take the Fucking training wheels off!!!!". I don't remember ever hearing my dad use a curse word, so it was almost like a degree of emphasis on a clear message to me to follow my bliss. It was one of those moments of clarity that transcends all the crap we normally associate as being life and was the nudge that made up my mind on how I would move forward.
I've always known that I would end up doing my own thing eventually, but never really could put my finger on it. I love coaching, and based on feedback from those I work with, I'm pretty good at it. I love speaking to groups about talent and personal growth, and I keep getting asked to come back, so I'm at least tolerable in that arena. I've always believed the notion that the best way to learn is to teach, and I'm doing what I teach. Not sure how that will all manifest for me, but I trust my intuition will provide me with the clarity to move forward.
Metaphorically speaking the training wheels were my awesome, very nicely paying job that I loved. Taking them off is the catalyst to see, as my dad said way back when, "what I can really do". This blog will serve as record of following my bliss and what doors opened up where there were only walls.
Pretty liberating to answer the call to adventure trusting that the Universe will conspire on my behalf and allow me to see what my potential really is!! My highest goal is to be connected with the flow of the Universe as it expands and progresses. Feeling very connected right now!!!
