Big, BIG news (and a little bit of fear)

So there’s a big secret I’ve been keeping from you. It’s been hard to keep it because I love to share things with you, my beloved readers, but I had to keep it quiet until a few important people knew about it. And now that they know, I can share it…

I AM QUITTING MY JOB!

It’s true! I gave my notice a couple of weeks ago, and now that all of my staff have been informed, I can share it with the big wide world. I’ll be finished here at the end of September.

It’s one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. Even scarier than skydiving. I am leaping and hoping that the net will appear.

I’m going to be self employed. (“Joyfully jobless” as one of my favourite Twitter friends says.) I’m going to follow that dream that has been niggling at the back of my heart for so long. I’m going to create my own version of a consulting company and do the things I love to do – write, teach, provide communications/public relations advice and expertise, facilitate workshops, do public speaking, and maybe produce a few videos of interesting international development projects, if that kind of work comes along. I expect that some of it will take the shape of “Sophia Leadership” which I talked about last month.

The day that I came home from work and told Marcel that I really felt like the timing was right to quit (even though he hasn’t found full time work yet, and we’d always said that would be when I’d make the leap), he agreed and we both felt quite peaceful about the decision. Minutes after we talked about it, I opened my email and there was an email from the University wondering if I’d be interested in teaching a “Writing for Public Relations” course! My first contract and I get to TEACH! (A contract, by the way, that came about partly through a referral and partly because of this blog!) That little email felt like just the kind of encouragement I needed to believe this is the right decision.

Today – the day after I made the announcement to staff and some of my network of colleagues – I am feeling a mix of nostalgia, excitement, fear, and relief. I’m getting flooded with friendly emails, phone calls, and visits from colleagues and associates who have become friends, and it’s so nice to hear from the people whose lives I have touch and who have touched my life. I will miss this place and all of the wonderful things it has brought to my life.

I would be lying if I didn’t admit that this job has burnt me out somewhat (managing up to 17 people and a million dollar budget can be really, really hard some days), but I have had so many wonderful opportunities here and learned so very much about the world, about myself, and about what it takes to be a leader.

None-the-less, even though I’m walking away from what has been one of the most perfect jobs I could imagine, I feel at peace about this decision. There is something new waiting to be born in my life and I am ready to see what that is.

The chrysallis is emerging from the cocoon and the butterfly is ready to try her new wings.