What do you do when you have invested so much time and energy into your career?

It is really challenging at 18 to see a future for yourself outside of going to college for a degree that sounds great in the moment and finding a job in that field. Then you get into a role in that field, or even more likely, a role in a field where you really didn't need to get that specific degree to do, and you think “oh this will be great.” To find out that it isn’t so great, but maybe it pays well, has some decent people you work with, and you don’t exactly hate it. You don’t really feel all that impactful, your industry isn't creating world change, but you have invested all this time and energy to get where you are. You played the corporate game, saw the benefits, but do I really want bust my ass for my managers role? My managers managers role? If no, where do I go in the company?

You compound this problem with the fact half of the people you know from college that went to “lesser schools”, or “lesser majors”, or put in “half the amount of work as you”, are right now in a very similar position to you, likely making very similar amounts of money, doing very similar activities in life. And you ask now what? I have invested my college career, part of my young adult career, I make good money but now what?

If that is you, that is and was also me. and I am here to tell you that you don’t have to give it all up. You don’t have to hit quit your job and life where you are to go travel the world, or go live in the woods for a few years to find out who you are. It is honestly terrifying to “give” all that up. To just walk away from a career you have spent 5-10 years building. Especially when you look at it being potentially 20 to 30%, maybe more of your life invested in getting where you are right here today. That honestly should scare you.

I am not perfect, but I have been to over 20 countries, spent almost a year traveling the US as a digital nomad, just got back from Japan for a month, have a home I love in Denver, home with my family for all the holidays and plenty of time to spend with my friends all while still working that same 9-5 job that I am frankly too scared to leave, to scared of throwing away my time.

I share this not to flaunt my experiences, but to show you that it is possible. Yes, it demands effort and more importantly being deliberate, but it's about recalibrating and not revolutionizing.

In my own journey, I have developed strategies and systems for this lifestyle. Should you start on this journey know you are not alone. I’m here to guide, to share, and to help you navigate this junction of your life. Remember your path is not about tearing down, it is about weaving the lifestyle you want into the life you have.