Can Do #20: Would you quit a $500K job?
(Yuri Tremler, A New Adventure)
Welcome to the 20th edition of Can Do, a newsletter where I share my journey of building a Career Multiverse™.
You can also read my previous editions and follow me on Twitter.
Newsletter at a Glance
Career Multiverse™: If not this, then what?
Article: Only Intrinsic Motivation Lasts: Why I quit a $500K job at Amazon to work for myself
TED Talk: Don't ask where I'm from, ask where I'm a local
Career Multiverse™
As I continue to develop the value proposition for Walnut, I reflected on my own personal story and what led me to co-found Walnut. I called the story, If not this, then what?
If not this, then what?
Ten years into my career, I was stuck. I could not see myself continuing on the same path. I majored in accounting in college to build a foundational knowledge of the business world. I never had any intentions of being an accountant my entire life. However, there I was in 2010, ten years into a “stable” career and feeling so lost and confused.
I started to explore other options. Suddenly, franchising popped up on my radar. That was not something I had ever considered or knew much about. I purchased a book, Buying a Franchise: Better Business Bureau: Insider's Guide to Success. I read it and decided it was a path worth pursuing.
I researched half a dozen different franchises and came across one called Expense Reduction Analysts. I thought it aligned well with my business background. I also became a huge fan of a tagline that franchises use: “You are in business for yourself but not by yourself.” That’s exactly what I was looking for.
Before making the final decision, I reached out to a life and career coach I had worked with in the past. I wanted to get an objective opinion on my decision. The life coach did not like the idea of me buying a franchise. In fact, she thought it was a really bad idea.
As I listened to her response, I felt I was falling into an abyss. At that moment, I said, “But if not this, then what?”
I did not see any other options for myself. If I did not want to have another corporate job and buying this franchise was a bad idea, then what? The coach went on to tell me that there are many ways to make a living, and I should explore other paths.
I didn’t see it. I went ahead and bought the franchise.
It was neither a good decision nor a bad one. It was a massive learning experience that, over a year later, led to an unexpected new job opportunity. I would have never had that opportunity had I not gone the franchise route. Buying a franchise is expensive. I did not make money the way I had planned, but I recouped my costs and earned a lot more money by taking the new job.
I never forgot the moment I uttered, “If not this, then what?” I felt so hopeless then. I had no sense of direction, no answers, and no one to talk to who I thought would understand.
During the following ten years, I often wondered if there was a better way to navigate a career. Just because someone chooses a certain major at 18 years old, do they really have to live with that decision for the rest of their life? Are there no other alternatives?
There are many alternatives. I know that now. The way you find out about them is by joining communities, talking to people, and networking. However, it is not the type of networking they talk about in business schools. This is the kind of networking where you build relationships with people, learn about their values and priorities, share experiences, and help them without expecting anything in return. When you do that, new opportunities appear, opportunities you would have never imagined.
At Walnut, we want to help young professionals navigate their careers with confidence and support. We want them to uncover opportunities through their relationships or, as we like to say, “Walnut: cracking open career opportunities.”
Article
Only Intrinsic Motivation Lasts: Why I quit a $500K job at Amazon to work for myself by Daniel Vassallo
Why would anyone quit a well-paying, stable job? Not quit to take another job, but quit entirely. That’s crazy! It goes against everything we have ever been taught.
In this article, Daniel Vassallo explains his decision to quit a job at Amazon, where he was making over $500K a year. I am glad Daniel wrote it.
When I quit my corporate job in 2019, I did it for reasons similar to Daniel’s, but I did not write an article about it at the time. In fact, I did not want to talk about my decision at all. I was not embarrassed or doubted what I did, I just knew that most people would not understand.
I did not want to be in a position where I had to defend my decision or convince anyone of anything, so I remained silent.
It should come as no surprise that I find Daniel’s Small Bets community of 1,000 members immensely inspiring. Those are my people. They come from all walks of life and from nearly 50 countries. They all share a similar philosophy about work and lifestyle design.
TED Talk
Thank you, Jose Briones, for pointing me to this TED Talk as a response to last week’s newsletter, in which I shared how I view my nationality.
This TED Talk will make you think and pause before you ask anyone again, “Where are you from?”
https://www.ted.com/talks/taiye_selasi_don_t_ask_where_i_m_from_ask_where_i_m_a_local?language=en
Thank you for reading!
Alina