Calling it Quits - When Leaving Your Job is the Right Thing to Do
   
CBS News Article on Leaving Your Job

I remember the day I knew it was time to leave my employer (at that time, in December of 1999). I was sitting in dreadfully dreary conference room, attending a weekly three-hour administrative meeting (with no break), with a leader who can be compared to any horrible female boss you have ever had!  

I looked out the window and said ‘what am I doing here?  I need to be out there (pointing to window), meeting and connecting people, instead of being in this dreary conference room where no one is appreciated and most are unhappy with their job’.  And the rest is history.

Was it easy!  Nope. I gave up a good paying job with full benefits, retirement — the whole thing — for the unknown. Thank goodness for SWIC, who let me teach more hours that semester so I could look for a job and still have some income while doing so.

In June of 2000, I accepted the job at the (then) Troy Chamber if Commerce. A 55% pay cut. Zero benefits. 30 hours a week at $9/hour. Oh and did I mention we quadrupled our house payment when we built our house so the first house payment was due the month I took my job. My entire month’s check could not cover the house payment. (That is the main reason I opened my speaking business.).

All of that being said — it was the absolute best decision I ever made. My gut was telling me something and I was finally listening. I had worked hard up until that day to prepare myself for a better job.

If you wake up every single morning dreading going to work, on behalf of your family, friends and Co-workers, find another job. Find something you are passionate about!  Life is way too short to spend eight or more hours a day in a job you really do not like and often times with people you do not like.

I love both of my jobs. They are both my passion. They both give me satisfaction in knowing I am helping to connect people and provide them resources. Also, hearing from last CS&B clients who can quote the training they heard in 2007 — WOW.

That stuff is in my genes!  My mom and dad both worked in the public their entire life. And of course now my mom (and sister) own Sues Corner and knows everyone!  

Now do I love both jobs every single minute of every day?  Well, no. Believe me, there are those moments. But overall, I am so grateful for the opportunities that have opened for me in my life.

Live your passion — at work and at home.

George K. Rafeedie
Terri Johnson Bast
De Anna Sue Johnson