Well, I did it! I had a great run at Rapid7 and my work was done. On my first day of self-employment, I flew to see my family in Minneapolis and got to have quality time with my my brothers, sister and Mom. My mom couldn’t believe I quit my job as it wasn’t something she ever could do, raising four kids on her own on a nurse’s salary. I explained to her that she invested in teaching me how to learn and that enabled me to succeed in my career enough to be able to pursue my true passion. After Minneapolis, we then flew on to Tampa, Florida to hang out with Kerri’s family for the week in Siesta Key. It has been a great transition and offered an opportunity to celebrate with good friends and family. We played in the ocean every day, family volleyball until dusk, and played music until midnight every day. Waking up without work obligations is something I haven’t felt in 23 years since I left my job and travelled for a year. It is liberating, exciting and feels right.

A lot happened in the last few weeks. I wrapped a career, said goodbye to a team I love, and graduated from High Flow Coaching by the Flow Research Collective. Most importantly, though, I was able to see my kids play with their cousins, learning and growing quickly, taking risks, and flourishing. There is a lot to celebrate in all this, and, we did. Now it’s time to get back to it. Next week, I launch my coaching business, Be Well Mind, and will be publishing content, talking to potential clients, and building my business. I am really driven right now and my inner self is aligned to my external self. I am also wary of dopamine itchiness when I don’t have 8-10 hours of meetings and obligations in front of me for months on end. My empty calendar is already giving me some anxiety and I realize that seems strange to complain about!

When I look back, I started this journey over thirty years ago when I started researching super learning, meditation, yoga, and brain entrainment. This set me on a path of self-exploration and improvement that helped me be successful in highly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous situations (cybersecurity being all of those). It has been a challenging and rewarding journey and I am excited to share what I have learned with others to help them achieve more joy, meaning, and impact in their lives.

I reached out to one of my coaches to let them know of my transition and he gave me some great advice. Wait until next week for the corporate detox to start… You may miss the calls, the meetings, and people needing you. When it happens, recognize it, name it and move on with your purpose. Great advice.