Today is bittersweet for me.
For the last 15 years I’ve been working a 9-5 corporate job in the aerospace industry. I remember when I started, the company was a smaller private company and when I left, it was public and part of a multi-billion dollar organization. I started as a part time receiving clerk and worked my way up to senior leadership during those years.
Today is bittersweet for me because today was my last day at that company. Three months ago I told the CEO that I would be leaving before the end of the year to pursue my SaaS startup (PodMatch) full time… And here we are.
Now I know what you’re thinking, “Ah, Alex must have hated his job!”
Although I know that many people hate their jobs, that wasn’t the case for me. I loved the aerospace industry and the company I was working for. It was a great career, I was considered “extremely accomplished’ for my age especially. But, again, here we are.
As I’ve been telling people, I’ve received mixed responses. Some people think I’m crazy, some are very worried about me. On the flipside, some people are beyond excited about what I’m doing.
Here’s what I’ve learned through all of this:
Some of you may already be aware of this, but every year on my birthday, I pray and ask God to give me a word/theme for the year. My year for the 32nd year of my life is CHANGE. When I first picked this word, I was nervous, unsure of where it would lead. Because of this, I wrote down these words that are worth sharing in this post:
“Good things are supposed to happen to me through these changes in my life.”
Some days I believed these words, some days they even inspired me. Some days they made me scared, but regardless, I’ve never let fear stop me – And that is why I am where I am today.
No one knows what will happen. When you step into the unknown, it’s just that, unknown. All you can do is take hold of fear, and pursue great instead of good, even when it means sacrificing the good. Take calculated risks when you can calculate, and when you can’t, trust yourself and have faith.
Get your people in your corner:
- I spent time in prayer and felt peace from God to make this transition.
- My wife supports me through this as we’re now both full time with PodMatch and Creating a Brand.
- Many of you have supported us as well. (I’m thankful to have so many great people believing in us!)
I’m optimistic about the future. The one thing I know is that this will make me a better leader, friend and servant of others as a result of these changes in my life.
For the memories, here is a picture of the building that I took after concluding my exit interview with HR:
Here I am now, at the end of my last day, looking forward to the future that’s in front of me with a smile on my face! Thankful for what equipped me to take on the future.