#24 What I learned after quitting a full-time job
It has been three months since I quit Google, where I spent 10.5 years. August obviously felt like a simple vacation. I made a lot of plans for September, hoping to slow down in October. You might have seen my brief update in the Email #18 How I deal with my freedom, a brief update.
When I discussed my departure with friends and colleagues, I told them that I would most likely properly mentally acknowledge that I had quit sometime in November. Well, I think it has started happening, so it's time for another update.
Disconnecting from Google
Working for a large brand means that people project their feelings about your employer onto you. It's very refreshing now to talk to people for whom Google is just one part of my larger experience, and it's not the main topic of our conversation. I rarely get asked why I quit, by the way. I guess the 10-year tenure is self-explanatory.
When I was doing my goodbye “tour” of meetings with colleagues, one of my ex-managers told me, “Get out. You can do so much more outside. People inside the company will think of who you were 5 or 10 years ago, while your new colleagues will only see who you are right now. You have done so many transitions in your life, and the next one will be even more amazing.”
Now I really see what he meant. I no longer see excitement about Google when people talk to me. I see excitement about myself. It is very inspiring.
Expanding the scope of my story
For many years, during business meetings, I was telling my story from the angle of my employer, always keeping in mind how to create value for Google or for the person in front of me through Google products. When you do business development and work on strategic partnerships, at some point it becomes your default instinct.
At the same time, focusing only on the needs of your employer limits you quite a bit. You have a certain business task, you need to solve for it, but it will always be rather narrow. You are always stuck inside your professional mandate.
Presently, I am going crazy and experimenting a lot. I test the angles, I try different positioning and facts, I mix the narrative and play with it.
During several conversations, I mentioned that I am a medical doctor by training, and that opened up entirely new areas for collaboration. Now I include it in my default elevator pitch and have stopped underestimating the rarity of the MD+MBA+Google combination.
My schedule continues to be nuts
I must admit that initially, I pictured myself hanging out alone in the streets of Paris, while my friends continued with their full-time jobs. I am even more busy than I was while I was working. Have only been to a museum once, and barely make it to the swimming pool twice a week.
I have a lot of meetings and trips, but all of them are the ones I want to have with people I wish to see. Although I overcommitted during the past two weeks, and ended up with a couple of days of migraine right before a huge conference at INSEAD. Meeting with everyone who wishes to see me proved to be impossible, since I only have 24 hours per day, so from now on, I will be prioritizing things even more.
Unexpected and exciting incoming requests continue to arrive, so I need to account for those in my schedule.
Having time to explore is priceless
I have no pressure to find a job within a certain timeline, which is a well-planned privilege that I wish everyone had. I can spend time on things I'm curious about without immediately thinking about the short-term benefits of those efforts. Even though there are too many of those topics, and each conversation leaves me with a list of 50 things to research and evaluate properly.
But after spending more than ten years in one segment of one (albeit massive) industry, I keep getting amazed by the richness of things that exist in the world. I speak with people about blended finance, social entrepreneurship, impact investing, carbon credit market, health tech, investment advisory, deep tech, sustainability startups, and contemporary dance bien sûr 🤓
While I am still in touch with quite a few colleagues from Google, my emotional connection with the company has faded.
I think of those years with a lot of gratitude, but I also admit that I moved on and continue to think that this summer I have made one of the best decisions of my life.
In addition to all the previous ones.
Whether you have a full-time job right now or not, I strongly encourage everyone to look around and get outside the bubble you find yourself in. There is a very interesting life out there.
Until next time!
nat
To watch
5 steps to designing the life you want | Bill Burnett | TEDxStanford - Some nerdy academic from Stanford, a bit too structured, but he got 7M of views, so please watch :)
It's never too late | Dilys Price OBE | TEDxCardiff An 84-year-old Dilys is the most inspiring person I have listened to this week!