Until last fall, I had been chugging along in a full-time (well, let’s face it, much more than “full-time”) job. I’m an app developer. I’ve worked at places like AT&T, Merck Pharmaceuticals, Time Inc., Citymaps, and Facebook.
I’m making this short. One day in September, I walked into the office and had the thought, “I can’t do this any more.” It wasn’t a decision. It wasn’t a choice. It was a realization that hit me on the head like a sledgehammer. I literally couldn’t do it any more. I decided that day that I would be giving my 2-week’s notice in the next couple of weeks. What would happen after that, I had no idea.
Looking back, it’s the best decision I ever made. But it’s amazing how solidly fear can petrify you. At the time, I felt stuck and unhappy, sure, but LEAVING didn’t feel like an option. Until STAYING was no longer the option. I’m not sure what switch flicked on in my head, but I wish I could bottle it and sell it.
I’m still not exactly where I want to be. I’ve started a consulting company called Codepunk LLC. I’m working with my first client, Airtime Media, and I’m quite happy there. Still, the pie-in-the-sky goal is to create something that changes the world and gives me passive income at the same time. A guy can dream. But for now, I’m about 1737% happier than I was when I was wandering the halls and the couches and the ping-pong tables of Facebook. Onward and upward!