When I left my job in corporate America I didn’t do it without a lot of thought, prayer or meditation. In other words, it wasn’t done on a whim. I’d been working for a very long time. I had a good work ethic and produced high quality work. When I first got hired into the business it was a means to get money to pay bills and buy things I liked. Somewhere along the line I started taking the job seriously. I found out I was creative, great at problem solving, getting results and was excellent at offering great customer service. It wasn’t long before I started getting promoted to higher positions. I loved working with people, listening to them and resolving their issues. I also made lots of money for the company. The best part of my job was coaching and mentoring others to excel.
There were parts of the job that I didn’t like but so what. Everything has it’s not so good or pretty parts right? Just because I didn’t like a task didn’t mean I didn’t perform the task with excellence. I was good at my job and knew it.
One thing I took pride in was leaving work at work. I don’t mean I never brought actual reports home or didn’t work from home at times, what I mean is I left the emotional part of the job at the job. I had great work / life balance. I preached it, I even coached others on how to achieve it.
It wasn’t until I left the job I felt something wasn’t quite right. All the while I was working, I had a career so when a new acquaintance would ask what I did, I’d perk up and tell them my job title and place of employment. I’d say it with such pride too. “I’m Blah Blah So and So at The Blah Blah Company”. I wonder what I would have said if someone asked “who are you in the whole scheme of things?”. Would I have blurted out my job title?
It didn’t take too very long to figure out what was wrong though. I had become the hole in the donut! A nothing. Let me explain. When I was working someone would ask “what do you do” I would spew out my job title. Well, now that I’m not working I would get the same question and I would be stumped. What do I do? I didn’t know what to say. I would mumble some crap like “oh lots of things”, then quickly change the subject or sometimes would start talking about what I used to do! In my mind it equated to: I do nothing therefore I am nothing.
How sad is that?
It came as quite a surprise how wrapped up in the job title I was (notice I didn’t say MY job title). I didn’t realize I had no clue where the title ended and where I began. We were intertwined. We had become one and not in a sexy way. The title was as close to me as my name. Yep, somewhere along the way I lost my true identity. Somewhere on that proverbial ladder Marsha was left behind. This was quite a revelation, one that brought with it some pretty dark days. It wasn’t the leaving of the job that was so depressing, it was learning how immersed in the job I had become. What an awesome awakening though. Painful and depressing but awesome just the same!
Leaving the job was not just for the restructuring of the company but more importantly, the restructuring of my life. I had to find me in the muck and mire; to get up each day pray and meditate and work diligently to uncover dreams that had been clouded over. Did I ever have dreams?
Don’t get me wrong, the time spent in corporate America afforded me many benefits, perks and lots of shoes and other material things. I gained a deep knowledge of the industry; developed many skills and received top notch training. Not a bad deal. The time spent working I met many, many wonderful people, quite a few have become life long friends and some even considered family. Again, not a bad deal.
This has been an amazing journey. I would not change a thing. I’m still evolving. The path hasn’t been easy but it’s most definitely worth it. I feel so fortunate and blessed. Why? you ask. Because some people never have the opportunity or don’t want the opportunity to work toward living their dream. I may not know exactly where I’m going but I’m on my way! How exciting is that?!!
Now when people ask me what I do I tell them I’m a business consultant, blogger and a volunteer. You see, I can be whatever I choose to be and what I choose to be is me, Marsha.
Nice to meet you.
When I left my job in corporate America I didn’t do it without a lot of thought, prayer or meditation. In other words, it wasn’t done on a whim. I’d been working for a very long time. I had a good work ethic and produced high quality work. When I first got hired into the business it was a means to get money to pay bills and buy things I liked. Somewhere along the line I started taking the job seriously. I found out I was creative, great at problem solving, getting results and was excellent at offering great customer service. It wasn’t long before I started getting promoted to higher positions. I loved working with people, listening to them and resolving their issues. I also made lots of money for the company. The best part of my job was coaching and mentoring others to excel.
There were parts of the job that I didn’t like but so what. Everything has it’s not so good or pretty parts right? Just because I didn’t like a task didn’t mean I didn’t perform the task with excellence. I was good at my job and knew it.
One thing I took pride in was leaving work at work. I don’t mean I never brought actual reports home or didn’t work from home at times, what I mean is I left the emotional part of the job at the job. I had great work / life balance. I preached it, I even coached others on how to achieve it.
It wasn’t until I left the job I felt something wasn’t quite right. All the while I was working, I had a career so when a new acquaintance would ask what I did, I’d perk up and tell them my job title and place of employment. I’d say it with such pride too. “I’m Blah Blah So and So at The Blah Blah Company”. I wonder what I would have said if someone asked “who are you in the whole scheme of things?”. Would I have blurted out my job title?
It didn’t take too very long to figure out what was wrong though. I had become the hole in the donut! A nothing. Let me explain. When I was working someone would ask “what do you do” I would spew out my job title. Well, now that I’m not working I would get the same question and I would be stumped. What do I do? I didn’t know what to say. I would mumble some crap like “oh lots of things”, then quickly change the subject or sometimes would start talking about what I used to do! In my mind it equated to: I do nothing therefore I am nothing.
How sad is that?
It came as quite a surprise how wrapped up in the job title I was (notice I didn’t say MY job title). I didn’t realize I had no clue where the title ended and where I began. We were intertwined. We had become one and not in a sexy way. The title was as close to me as my name. Yep, somewhere along the way I lost my true identity. Somewhere on that proverbial ladder Marsha was left behind. This was quite a revelation, one that brought with it some pretty dark days. It wasn’t the leaving of the job that was so depressing, it was learning how immersed in the job I had become. What an awesome awakening though. Painful and depressing but awesome just the same!
Leaving the job was not just for the restructuring of the company but more importantly, the restructuring of my life. I had to find me in the muck and mire; to get up each day pray and meditate and work diligently to uncover dreams that had been clouded over. Did I ever have dreams?
Don’t get me wrong, the time spent in corporate America afforded me many benefits, perks and lots of shoes and other material things. I gained a deep knowledge of the industry; developed many skills and received top notch training. Not a bad deal. The time spent working I met many, many wonderful people, quite a few have become life long friends and some even considered family. Again, not a bad deal.
This has been an amazing journey. I would not change a thing. I’m still evolving. The path hasn’t been easy but it’s most definitely worth it. I feel so fortunate and blessed. Why? you ask. Because some people never have the opportunity or don’t want the opportunity to work toward living their dream. I may not know exactly where I’m going but I’m on my way! How exciting is that?!!
Now when people ask me what I do I tell them I’m a business consultant, blogger and a volunteer. You see, I can be whatever I choose to be and what I choose to be is me, Marsha.
Nice to meet you.
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