Because I lacked motivation, purpose, passion, and inspiration, I sat at the desk of my downtown apartment in Charlotte, NC, wrestling with the decision of resigning from a job that would pay me $100,000 a year while working less than 40 hours per week.
Book Excerpt
"...I lay back down, but there was no REM in my future. I paced more, poured a glass of chocolate milk and sat at my desk, staring at the computer screen. An ominous silence shrouded my apartment. The only illumination in the room emanated from my laptop and the bright white of Microsoft Outlook. I locked my eyes on the screen, to the open email entitled, “Andrew Harrison: Resignation Letter.”
Grabbing a sheet of paper from the printer I scribbled down some of the questions I had been asking myself.
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"Is this how work is supposed to feel?"
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"Am I making a difference?"
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"Will I be like this for the next 30 years?"
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"Why am I here?"
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"I have hit my goals, why aren’t I happy?"
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"Everyone else wants what I have, why don’t I?"
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"What is wrong with me?"
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The one I circled was, "What is my purpose?"
I flipped the page over. I am no mathematician, but I started jotting down numbers. Eventually, a Work Equation jumped off the page. If I work from age 23 to age 65, that is 42 years on the job. I ball parked 40 hours per week of work and 50 weeks per year.
Work Equation:
42 years of work X 40 hours per week X 50 weeks per year = 84,000 Hours at Work
The numbers gave me a Mike Tyson punch to my milk-filled belly. My thoughts of not being accepted and the fear of losing all of the things I had accumulated whooshed out of me. I stared at the equation. The numbers shocked me. After a long trance, I told myself, “If I have to spend 84,000 hours of my life working, I’ve got to be passionate about it.”
I swiveled back to the computer and “84,000 Hours” was the only thing that pulsed in my head. The screen looked up at me. I re-read my resignation letter a few times. I got up and paced one more time. I then sat rigidly in my chair, close to the keyboard. Drawing a deep breath, I said, “Here we go.” I clicked the mouse. The email was sent. My decision was final. I had expected an immediate phone call or email. There was only silence.
I had just quit the job everyone but me wanted.
End Book Excerpt
My I am On the Road experiences of traveling the country and interviewing people who had the career and life satisfaction I lacked began a few weeks later. My personal quest for knowledge and clarity provided my answers and laid the foundation for what became this book.