I had gone from school with internships straight into my career before graduating. It was the right move. It was stable and predictable. But I dreamed of a gap year, backpacking Europe, and spending time in the woods. I was envious of those able to make the unpredictable leap, not feeling like I had the ability to do the same. I stayed heads down: grinding and saving. I didn't know what I was saving for, but I knew my first job wasn't going to be "it" for me.
Once my retirement was vested, I left and my second "job" was looking much more like a "career". I was able to leverage new technologies and project based skills I had recently honed. It was remote in 2015 before "corona" was anything more than a beverage you'd have at Carmels (RIP). I was encouraged when I did well, taught when I needed to improve, and rewarded without needing to be prompted. Then we were acquired. The position didn't "die" immediately, but it went from a place with core values to one where the IDEA of core values was there only to impact the bottom line.
It was lip service, and I was done with it.
I have always had structure. I have always "lined something up before resigning". This time I nuked the foundation. I needed a fire. I needed a reason to figure it out. I needed a reason to focus on me and do what I value. I needed to define it for my self, not inherit someone else's opinion of success. Or effort. Or anything. I needed to be brutally honest with myself instead of floating by on faux sunshine and fuckin' rainbows.
This is a reminder for me. Lean into the things you value and what you truly care about. It's ok to walk away from things that you don't. It's no longer ok not to try. OVERSTOKE! is just an idea at this point. Nothing concrete. Don't make it any more than it is. Which is nothing. Yet...
1:1 Interviews with what STOKES people! This could start as little articles that flourishes into a podcast type thing of sorts. Or it could just be a great way to foster deeper social connections. Either way I hope to document and consolidate these thoughts and experiences to learn from, and hopefully something will come from the effort. Or not. No way to be sure.