So, why did you quit your job?
If only I got a penny every time someone asked me this question ever since I quit my job, I would have by now retired to someplace in Hawaii. My friends, (ex-)colleagues and even neighbours I’ve never previously met all seem to ask just this one question – So, why did you quit your job?
People often expect a pithy answer. But the truth is, I don’t have a laconic reply for this question. Of course, I could answer that this move is in line with my dreams and professional goals; but that leaves the un-explained part about those dreams and professional goals.
So, here’s my detailed explanation:
1.) I have always nurtured a childhood dream of creating, building and leading a business venture out of the strength of my character. My dream is to create a start-up and challenge myself to the limits. At 26, I am young enough to chase my dreams. So, here I am, seizing a wonderful opportunity in an entrepreneurial venture. After almost a month, I’ve found entrepreneurship to be far more exciting and satisfying than my previous life as a Computer Scientist in an amazing technology company.
2.) I have with me an incredible set of co-founders and an excellent team. All of us are close friends having graduated from the same university – BITS, Pilani. We have exceptional leadership ability as well as technology expertise in the founding team. We know that we can kick ass if we execute well.
3.) A bit cliched, but true. There really is no such thing as failure in entrepreneurship. Even if you fail, you end up learning something invaluable. (Note: I am in no way suggesting that entrepreneurs should intentionally execute the wrong strategies because it is a great experience to fail.)
4.) As much as I realize that the chances of becoming immensely wealthy are pretty low, there still exists a possibility of making a lot of money at a very young age.
5.) A lot of viable career paths open up if you are a technology entrepreneur. For instance, lots of venture capital firms place a premium on candidates with prior operational experience in start-ups.
6.) Oh yeah, entrepreneurship makes for a great segue into business school if one is interested in the same.
So, if you are considering a career change in order to follow your dreams, I’ll leave you with an English translation of the Roman poet Horace’s famous Latin quote – “Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero”. It means: “Seize the day, trust as little as possible in tomorrow”.
3 comments so far
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Ritz,
Way to go! When you have what you have at reason 1 you really do not need 2 through 6 nor do you need to answer those who do not understand 1.
As Bob Dylan once said ” What’s money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do. ”
Keep Posting.
Regards,
Anand
Nice quote by Bob Dylan.
.
I agree that reason 1 should alone suffice. Thanks for nit-picking and pin-pointing the superfluity of my reasons and for making me look silly in front of the bazillion other readers of this blog
this was more inspiring then The Alchemist… this is my second comment, and I m almost determined to follow your blog.
thks a ton….