In the podcast:

01:31 - Why this episode?

03:39 - The situation at time of quitting

05:19 - Post-job nightmares

06:39 - Surprising success in speaking

08:03 - From workshop to forum

10:22 - Globe-spanning experiences

11:39 - Continued developments

13:59 - Shifting perspective

14:47 - A rewarding pursuit

16:31 - A life of choice

17:59 - Is it really important?

20:31 - The good of helping others

21:43 - It's up to you

23:08 - What can happen in a decade

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Transcription:

James Schramko here. Welcome back to SuperFastBusiness.com.

In today's episode, 593, it’s just me. I want to share with you a journey, a journey of a decade, and an important lesson that I've learned as a result of that journey.

If I think back to Sunday nights when I still had a job, they sucked. I mean, they were better than a few years before that when I was working seven days a week, but on these Sunday nights, I'd had the day off on the Sunday, and now it was time to polish my shoes, hang out my tie and my suit and grab a freshly-pressed shirt that I was getting from the laundromat so that I was ready to go in the morning.

In the morning, I dropped my kids off to school on the way to work. I remember my daughter actually rolling her eyes, saying, “Dad, this sucks.” And I said, “Yes, it does.” And I knew beyond the job there had to be an escape.

Why this episode?

The reason I'm doing this podcast episode is that it's been 10 years since I quit my job.

I remember that pressure cooker of a dealership. It was a Mercedes-Benz dealership. I had all these managers and staff - there were over 70 people in three different sites that I was responsible for. And I still had to report to the owner of the business and to head office, who were pretty picky with their numbers and their standards.

I needed to get out because I was worried I'd become one of those bitter old car people. You've probably met one of them in your time if you've ever been to a car dealership.

I remember driving into work on the last day and handing in my keys and saying, “Thank you very much, but I'm leaving.” And this is pretty much unheard of, to hand in your notice on a $300,000 a year circa package. I was a little bit scared. It was probably one of the most frightening moments of my entire life. And the now me can hardly fathom or comprehend how the then me had the balls to do it. It was crazy. And it was, even in hindsight, a little bit reckless, but I had managed to swing an equivalent income for myself from my own business. So I had some confidence in the ability for me to swing from one vine to another. But gee, it’s been a 10 years of unbelievable journey and growth and challenge and conquests. It's been an amazing ride, and I just want to share some of the things and see what lessons are revealed.

At that time, I had a couple of properties and a share portfolio. Now I had to hand in the company Mercedes-Benz and my wife's company Mercedes-Benz, and I borrowed a car from my mom and dad at the time to drive home, but it actually broke. So I remember walking into the used car manager's office and I put down my credit card and I bought a trade-in. It was a little Saab Griffin Turbo,