My name is Bob. My wife, Brenna, and I both awoke early one morning late this July after yet another fitful night, but instead of trying to go back to sleep we started talking. In hindsight, sleep would have been the easier choice.
I'll back up a little first. My job (a perfectly fine one -- if you like that kind of thing) is very seasonal. I have no control over when, or if, I'll be working. When I am working it's 14 hour days, often 6 days a week. My family grows up and goes on without me. When I'm not working I'm worried about no money coming in, and my re-entry into daily family life is excruciating for all of us.
So, back to that morning. There's the job I never loved to begin with. Bosses bent on replacing me with a 22-year old who's excited about being in show biz and happy to work for less money. A laundry list of unfinished creative endeavors. A family life that wasn't working for any of us. And, the crushing thought, "Am I going to be able to do this for twenty-five more years until I can retire?"
Brenna and I sat side by side in bed and decided that we would make a change. Not just work more or work less, save more money or take a vacation. I mean completely shake it up. Rock the whole foundation. I would leave my job, and we would change our lives.
We both knew the weight of the choice we were making, but the feeling was more of lightness, a release from a constant crushing pressure. Things were not going to be easy, but they were going to be better. We decided that I would finish out the television season, saving as much money as we could, sell everything we owned and go explore some other part of the world with our two kids. Maybe we'll sail the Caribbean, go on an Australian walkabout, or explore Europe. Exciting, huh? Crazy too.
Timothy Ferriss says in his book The 4-Hour Work Week,
"Having an unusually large goal is an adrenaline infusion that provides the endurance to overcome the inevitable trials and tribulations that go along with any goal. Realistic goals, goals restricted to the average ambition level, are uninspiring and will only fuel you through the first or second problem, at which point you throw in the towel. If the potential payoff is mediocre or average, so is your effort."
There's no turning back now -- not that we'd want to. We shook on it. If you'd like, check back in every so often and watch the very public chronicle of our journey from here to uncertainty. We'd enjoy having you along for the ride.