This piece really made me reflect. I am 65. I did leave the corner office of Time Inc at the stroke of the Millennium for that internet thang. Crazy adventures. Class Four rapids. Near misses. Big misses. But I had fun and now I feel like a new beginning is happening again with what is possible with AI. Scary is now intrigue. Dangerous is looking back on the media world I left and seeing Pompeii and feeling glad I didn’t stay in that corner office.
Leaving the corner office at the stroke of the millennium for "that internet thang" is the whole essay in one move. And the Pompeii image is staying with me. You already learned the thing most people spend a lifetime avoiding: the corner office was the dangerous seat. The ones who leaped once tend to spot the next one early. Sounds like you're spotting it.
Nathalie, thank you so much for this! If you ever listened to Sara Blakenley from Spanx' episode of HIBT, I'm Chandra whose app appears on the post script of that episode. Had a few SF tech experiences but never quite could get off the runway. In an event, I've just made a leap of sorts to a new country with a "safe" tech job but deep down I have and am experiencing a lot of what you outlined here. Bookmarking this for reference, and am looking for mentors if you're taking on any mentees!
Chandra, thank you so much for this, and for sharing where you are right now. That leap to a new country with a "safe" job while something deeper is stirring is exactly the in-between I was writing about, so it means a lot that it landed for you.
I'm not able to take on mentees right now, my plate is full in a way I'm trying to be honest with myself about. But I have a strong feeling you already know more than you think you do. The fact that you can name the gap between the safe job and the deeper pull is the whole game. That awareness is the thing most people skip. Cheering you on and sending all of the strength!
This really landed for me too, Nathalie! So powerful. It's funny b/c I agonized over leaving my corporate CPG career around the time I turned 40 (now 8 years ago)! And went into cannabis. Everyone thought I was nuts. And I probably was but it was a purpose driven move for me. Going on 9 years later, our cannabis company was sold while I was CMO, I then founded my own, moved my family to rural Nicaragua and have found myself letting go of my fears more and more as each year goes on. I think what you said about doing the "scary thing" gets easier once you just make the leap. Then you feel confident doing it again and again and life really opens up 🫶
Yes, but I am not sure the "dream life" exists. I think it is all part of the fantasy we sometimes tell ourselves. There's always positives and negatives to every move and that's part of the journey!I
Oh yes, to this Lisa! Without the friction there is no growth. I wouldn’t want to live in a world without challenges. But I do we believe that if we are intentional enough, we can live most days according to a rhythm and reality we set. To me, that’s my personal dream state and I do believe we all have our own versions.
Lisa, “letting go of my fears more and more as each year goes on" is exactly it. Yes!! Sold company, founded your own, moved the family to rural Nicaragua. Sounds like you're living your dream life, honestly.
This is such a powerful post. I'm on the precipice of my own 'picking scary' thing and it's both exhilarating and terrifying (particularly when it's building something from the ground up again). I feel like you wrote this at the right time, and the moment I needed to read it.
This landed for me as much as the post landed for you, thank you. The precipice is the right place to be. Cheering you on as you build the next thing. You are an incredible builder and the world needs whatever you are contemplating.
This piece really made me reflect. I am 65. I did leave the corner office of Time Inc at the stroke of the Millennium for that internet thang. Crazy adventures. Class Four rapids. Near misses. Big misses. But I had fun and now I feel like a new beginning is happening again with what is possible with AI. Scary is now intrigue. Dangerous is looking back on the media world I left and seeing Pompeii and feeling glad I didn’t stay in that corner office.
Leaving the corner office at the stroke of the millennium for "that internet thang" is the whole essay in one move. And the Pompeii image is staying with me. You already learned the thing most people spend a lifetime avoiding: the corner office was the dangerous seat. The ones who leaped once tend to spot the next one early. Sounds like you're spotting it.
Nathalie, thank you so much for this! If you ever listened to Sara Blakenley from Spanx' episode of HIBT, I'm Chandra whose app appears on the post script of that episode. Had a few SF tech experiences but never quite could get off the runway. In an event, I've just made a leap of sorts to a new country with a "safe" tech job but deep down I have and am experiencing a lot of what you outlined here. Bookmarking this for reference, and am looking for mentors if you're taking on any mentees!
Chandra, thank you so much for this, and for sharing where you are right now. That leap to a new country with a "safe" job while something deeper is stirring is exactly the in-between I was writing about, so it means a lot that it landed for you.
I'm not able to take on mentees right now, my plate is full in a way I'm trying to be honest with myself about. But I have a strong feeling you already know more than you think you do. The fact that you can name the gap between the safe job and the deeper pull is the whole game. That awareness is the thing most people skip. Cheering you on and sending all of the strength!
i’ve always chosen the scary over the dangerous. this framing was affirming!
Kevin, you are far wiser than most!
This really landed for me too, Nathalie! So powerful. It's funny b/c I agonized over leaving my corporate CPG career around the time I turned 40 (now 8 years ago)! And went into cannabis. Everyone thought I was nuts. And I probably was but it was a purpose driven move for me. Going on 9 years later, our cannabis company was sold while I was CMO, I then founded my own, moved my family to rural Nicaragua and have found myself letting go of my fears more and more as each year goes on. I think what you said about doing the "scary thing" gets easier once you just make the leap. Then you feel confident doing it again and again and life really opens up 🫶
Yes, but I am not sure the "dream life" exists. I think it is all part of the fantasy we sometimes tell ourselves. There's always positives and negatives to every move and that's part of the journey!I
Oh yes, to this Lisa! Without the friction there is no growth. I wouldn’t want to live in a world without challenges. But I do we believe that if we are intentional enough, we can live most days according to a rhythm and reality we set. To me, that’s my personal dream state and I do believe we all have our own versions.
Lisa, “letting go of my fears more and more as each year goes on" is exactly it. Yes!! Sold company, founded your own, moved the family to rural Nicaragua. Sounds like you're living your dream life, honestly.
This is so powerful- thank you for sharing. Queen!
Lilia, thank you for reading it so closely. The ‘dangerous one’ framing took me a while to arrive at. Glad it landed.
This is such a powerful post. I'm on the precipice of my own 'picking scary' thing and it's both exhilarating and terrifying (particularly when it's building something from the ground up again). I feel like you wrote this at the right time, and the moment I needed to read it.
This landed for me as much as the post landed for you, thank you. The precipice is the right place to be. Cheering you on as you build the next thing. You are an incredible builder and the world needs whatever you are contemplating.
Reminds me of some advice I got many years ago..."Don't let a good thing get in the way of a better thing."
Love that quote.
Yes! Exactly. And the trap is that the good thing is genuinely good, which is what makes it so hard to walk away from. Thank you for reading, David.