Four years

It’s a cozy November day in my home office, with the dog at my feet and a warm beverage nearby. It’s also a spacious day. I typically don’t see clients on Fridays, and I dedicate two hours of the morning to writing.

This week marks four years since I left my last full-time job to make Peaceful Direction my living. I’m feeling purposeful, content and optimistic.

What a contrast to the way I found myself four years ago: aimless, frustrated and afraid.

I was aimless because my well of purpose had run dry. I could no longer see the point of the effort I was putting in on the job.

I was frustrated because the team, the program, the company I’d built seemed mired in office politics. Despite my reputation and track record, my decisions were being questioned. Progress was slow.

I was afraid because my relationship with my boss was unsteady at best. Colleagues I’d admired were disappearing from the organization right and left.

I’d had enough. And for the first time since graduating from journalism school, I had a clear picture of what I wanted to do next. I wanted to work for myself, as a full-time executive coach. Would it actually work? 

Four years later, I can say without hesitation that it does.

I’m doing the kind of work that fills me with joy. Spending less time on the job. And making more money. I travel about once a month and spend the rest of my working time in my home office. I prioritize family, exercise, rest and learning. I’m in the best shape of my life and have spent not a moment worrying about office politics in four years.

I’m not going to tell you that getting to this point was easy, or that my personal brilliance made my new work life possible. It took resigning from 8 jobs and getting fired from 2 along the way. I’ve also had the benefit of an expensive education and gobs of unearned privilege. So you’ll never hear me say, “Here, please follow my exact recipe so you can have a life just like mine.”

But you will hear me say this: 

You don’t have to be miserable at work. 

You don’t have to feel stuck. 

You have more choices than you realize. 

You may have to find them, or create them. 

And I’d love to try to help.