Quit Until You Find Something You Can't Leave
"Quit as Often As Possible Until You Find Something You Don't Want To Leave" - Bobcat Goldthwait Bobcat Goldthwait probably isn't the first person who jumps to mind when you read an inspirational quote. Frankly, most of you probably have no idea who Bobcat Goldthwait is, but in the unlikely case that you do, please get in touch because we'd probably be good friends. Honestly, in the context of this write up, It doesn't really matter who Bobcat is, but do yourself a favour and watch the man talk on this episode of the Joe Rogan podcast for more insight. Now back to the message, "Quit as often as possible until you find something you don't want to leave." It's the type of quote you look at and think, "yea, no shit" In reality though, how many of us will ever put that into practice? It's just a terrifying proposition. It's sad (but also kind of funny to me) that even if we despise the direction our lives have taken, the fear of change alone will paralyze us from trying something new. Disclaimer: This is funny to me because I have a weird, fucked up sense of humour I know. I've been there. My life only changed when I realized that I'd become so depressed that sticking around was scarier than leaving. If you can avoid hitting that point by having the courage to quit as soon as you realize you need to, do it. I can remember exactly how I "pivoted" my life. It seems weird to apply that cliche to my personal life, but that's exactly what happened. I'd been going down one path and although I became increasingly more disillusioned with it, I'd set my goals, and I was going to nail them. Then I reached each one of those goals, and then I started to crush those goals, which is when I realized, 'oh shit, accomplishing these things has made me 0% happier'. That was a painful moment. I knew I had to take stock of my life, and in a very real sense, research myself. The man who was instrumental in helping me make my transition is actually someone I've never met. Richard Branson. I was reading an interview in which the interviewer asked Richard if there was just one piece of advice he'd give to anyone trying to achieve his level of success. He quickly responded "just start working out everyday". A lightbulb when off in my head, unfortunately, my fat lazy body wouldn't accept the message. When my brain said, 'work out', my body said 'ah, fuck off'. I frankly don't know how I ever let myself get to that point. I'd played varsity and rep in hockey and soccer, and been the president of my high school. I always thought of myself as a "go getter". Might as well keep throw cliches into the pile of shitty cliches I've already started. However, when things started happening in my life that were way out of my control, I began to struggle immensely. Depression's a weird thing. It's like someone's put a blanket over you, and it's eerily comfortable until you realize the blanket's suffocating you. Time's flying by and one brutal day just merges into the next. When I found myself in that position, I had no idea what to do and because my family is Eastern European, mental health wasn't a topic of discussion. The way I was brought up, depression is a sign of weakness, and that's that. You don't 'get help' for those types of things. You go to the doctor when your leg is broken, but not when your mind is. Although I struggled immensely at first, I knew that there was no quick fix. I needed to sacrifice and bust my ass. I knew from my previous experience of training for hockey in the summers, which is awful, that if I went to the gym three days in a row, I'd be hooked. So I did. Not only did I go to the gym. I ran. I ran in the mornings and I ran when I was hungover as hell. I'd been smart enough to start getting rid of the negative influences in my life a while before, so I decided to end it in one pretty thorough sweep. I probably burned a lot of bridges, but I didn't care. I needed to be selfish. Then a random encounter with an old friend in a Starbucks during Christmas time led to a long life talk. He offered me a place to live in New York for as long as I wanted while I worked things out. I knew opportunity doesn't usually kick you in the face like that, so I went home, booked a ticket, packed up my bag that night and flew out of the island a couple of days later. Since I was in a consulting role, I didn't have to give two weeks notice. I actually emailed them from New York to say I wasn't going to be working with them anymore. I didn't know what I was going to do, but I knew that a) I needed to get away and b) I wanted to live in NYC. Insane right? Yes. But since then, I've had some of the best experiences of my life in New York, met the smartest and funniest people I've ever met (shout outs to UCB), learned how to code, and just got offered a job in Palo Alto this morning. So go be insane. It'll work out, and if it doesn't, can it really be as bad as those god damn TPS reports?