Authentically Flawed

“If the plan doesn’t work, change the plan but never the goal.”

In my Christmas letter last year, I said my priority in 2020 was my happiness and I knew quitting my job would be the first step in making that a reality. I had no idea the abundance of blessings that would follow my resignation, especially since I was so anxious about not having an income. I also didn’t realize the universe would intercede and force me to evaluate my decision to move back to San Diego.

At the beginning of Week 3 of my ‘funemployment’, I got an email from a staffing agency about a potential position at Apple, doing organizational change management (essentially my dream job & dream company). The catch: it was in Austin. Nothing came of this other than a serious evaluation of my next move. I had been procrastinating on packing the house and arranging all of the logistics to move but I couldn’t figure out why. There was just this nagging feeling that I wasn’t ready to leave. Every time I’ve made a major life move, the pieces just came together; not to say that they were easy – change never is, but they weren’t forced. In addition to feeling off, I started looking practically at the move. Returning to California from Texas is financially daunting. Everything is more expensive, and when I say everything, I mean ev-er-y-thing. Income tax, sales tax, gas, food, utilities, to say nothing of the massive increase in rent/ mortgage expense. It’s one thing when you live there and don’t know anything else, but when you get used to the cost of living in another state it’s a lot to consider returning to the Sunshine Tax. As I mentioned in “Sitting Still”, I chose not to continue analyzing this situation. I had a job interview with a software company that I really like, with a gorgeous office in my favorite part of San Diego, and then my love and I went to Jamaica to celebrate my palindrome birthday. Any other 0202 babies out there? This is our year! How do I know? Because when I came back from that vacation, all of the scattered pieces of my life and next steps fell into place.

The day after we landed in Austin, I had my final round interview with said software company. Up to that point, everyone I’d met with had been amazing and I had a great feeling about the company, the culture, the people, and the role. The only negative was I knew it would be a pay cut, but I had no clue by how much so I continued on in the process. With 10 minutes remaining in our conversation, the Vice President I interviewed with let me know that 15 minutes after we started talking, he emailed the recruiter to put together an offer package for me. I have a separate post about the interview process because it was the best experience I’ve ever had, but this is about the pieces of my life coming together. As we wrapped up our conversation, I asked if there was an opportunity to start in Austin as a remote employee, and relocate to San Diego at a later date. I’ll never forget his response. “We hire adults, and we trust them to do their job; I don’t care where you work from. Stay in Austin, relocate to our office in Dallas, relocate to San Diego – it’s up to you. But if you want to stay in Austin for now, let me know and we’ll anchor your offer there.” Stunned, I simply responded “that would be great, thank you.” The official offer letter came the next day and I had to do some serious soul searching. Do I want to take a pay cut right now? Yes, actually! Everything I’ve done since June has been pointing in this exact direction.

I had already adjusted my finances – I thought for the move, but turns out, to be able to take this very job. I purged my house, but didn’t pack or arrange to put my stuff in storage. What I thought was procrastination was just my intuition telling me to hold off a little bit; I’m so glad that I chose to sit down rather than fight my way through and limit my options. Now my house is clean, and I get to stay! Making my previous salary would very likely mean taking on another high-stress role which would possibly lead me back to where I was: neglecting what I really want for a paycheck. The new job is the antithesis of my last one. The company culture is phenomenal, I’ll be doing a combination of training and process development, which is my passion, and I’ll have the time and flexibility (and support from my team) to continue writing. Icing on the cake: I can work from the San Diego office as often as I’d like – in fact, I’ll be spending my first week there for onboarding.

This is not at all to say that I’m not moving back to San Diego at some point; I am – when it makes financial sense. In the meantime, I’m happier than I’ve been in many, many years. The time away from work has been exactly what I needed to recharge, refocus, and get back in touch with myself. And now I can enjoy the last two weeks of my voluntary unemployment completely unburdened. Moral of the story: do the thing. Whatever it is that has been nagging at you. Quit the job. Start the business. Call the estranged friend/family member. Write the book. Whatever it is that comes up again and again in your life, attack it. Also, read The Alchemist. My boyfriend recommended this book, and I fully believe that reading it is a huge part of the reason I was able to take a step back and pay attention to the signs the universe placed in my path. I was terrified to resign from what most would consider a ‘good’ job but it turned out to be the best decision I’ve made, maybe ever, and just five short weeks later, I’m enjoying essentially everything I’ve ever wanted in life.

Cheers to Week 6!