I Quit My Job
Hey everyone,
When I first started writing this email newsletter almost a year ago, I knew it was a step towards something but I didn't really know what. Now I know that it was a small step in the direction of pursuing the things that really mattered to me. For a while I wrote in private, then shared it to a few close friends, and then to anyone who wanted to read it. Last summer a friend asked me what I planned to do with the newsletter long term and I said that I didn't know, but that I knew I had to keep doing it because I knew it would take me somewhere. Eventually, it led me to starting making videos on YouTube, because I wanted to share more of the things that I wrote about here. Making videos then showed me how much I care, how hard I can work when I believe in what I am doing and how I excited I want to be about the things I am working on. So I decided to quit my job...Friday was my last day.
I was working as a graduate management consultant for a really great company, but the work didn't particularly resonate with me. I loved the people I was working with and the atmosphere in the office, but I was never won over by what we were doing.
Quitting did happen fairly quickly in reality (about 3 months after starting YouTube), but it was not without serious reflection and consideration that I actually ended up handing in my notice. I have been incredibly stressed about it at times because it felt like it was stupid to turn away from a good job with clear career progression. I will obviously be making a video about it soon and I want to share all of the different ways to approach the problem if you're thinking about quitting, and how I think about my career in general.
Ultimately though, the thing that did it for me was that the risk of not quitting was greater than the risk of quitting. Staying and losing time now felt worse than trying something that I wanted to try and failing.
My plan is to be an educational tutor and work in the online education space in general, whilst continuing to make videos every week and building an online audience. I will share more details about what I am doing with my time when I have more to share lol. I don't know exactly what the future will look like but it excites me so much more than what I was doing.
I needed the graduate, suit wearing, corporate job to learn about that world and to give me the courage I needed to do something different like start an email newsletter and a YouTube channel, because no matter how strange it felt at least I had a traditional job. As soon as it had given me that courage to act, it had given me what I needed. I had to move on.
Finally, something that reassured me about this difficult decision was a note that I found in the diary I keep on my phone. I was re-reading things from three years ago. I wrote it whilst I was working in the library at university, revising for my final year exams, and clearly wasn't enjoying the work on this particular day!
Here is a screenshot of it:
This really surprised me because it was exactly how I felt about my consulting job. I predicted my future, how epic of me. When people asked me about my job I always said "yeah the work is ok but I really love the people I work with" and this screenshot just reminded me that I felt this way before, I wasn't acting impulsively. For some people, I'm sure working with your friends would be enough, but it just isn't for me it seems.
So moral of the story: think big, take small steps and keep a diary.
Have a great week!
Tintin
Videos from this week:
Favourite podcast from the week:
This episode from The Knowledge Project with Walter Isaacson is brilliant. He talks about the creative genius of Leonardo da Vinci, Steve Jobs and other great artists. The coolest thing was listening to him talk about the thing that all these people had in common which was a deep curiosity.
Quote from the week:
Another little extract from my diary for you. This is from the day I decided I was going to make YouTube videos. It's a stunning quote/expression if you ask me.