“In the end we only regret the chances we didn’t take”
If you’ve been following along, you know that I went from climbing the corporate ladder to being called a “tent person” & cleaning up someone else’s poo. (Ummmm….what? If you missed the last 3 posts, start here and get caught up.) Finally, I’d had enough. I said “I quit.”
Not the dream; my job.
Since 2016, my life has been all about living small. We were doing this crazy sailboat thing. We dreamed up the plan, set the date and then worked backward to achieve it. We had the boat. We had our “zombie apocalypse” land base. Now things were about to get real. It was time to sell our house.
Assuming we would have about 18 months between start to sale, we began renovations. New kitchen, painting, new bathrooms, the works. Guess what? 5 months into the chaos, we sold the house on Facebook (that’s a story for another day) and found ourselves homeless.
Ya- so awesome! Oh shit, now what?
So there we were, both still working our corporate jobs with 2 short months to finish painting, de-stash our stuff, pack-up what was left and find a new place to live. As luck would have it, we ended up moving into a friend’s tiny 3-room apartment above their garage. (I will be forever grateful to John & Lisa who welcomed us into their life and gave us a home for 2 years.) It was overwhelming, exhilarating and very, very REAL.
Ok, so now what? Well, for as long as I can remember, I have held on to two beliefs. I always wanted to have my own business and I wanted to stop working for someone else when I was 50 years old.
People called me crazy!
In 2015, SS Magpie set sail. Today, I sell jewelry I create with my hands, and inspire others to follow their dreams with my words. It’s all I could hope for and more.
What about the other goal you ask? Well, on October 1, 2018 I woke up for the first time in 29 years without my corporate safety net. I took a (very) deep breath, put on my big girl panties and walked into my new life.
It’s been over a year now since I quit what some call the “American dream.” I won’t lie- there have been moments of panic and some well earned wine time. Ever so slowly though, I’ve settled into my new normal where there is no ‘routine’ in my job or life. Every day has new challenges. Sometimes I’m making jewelry, some days I’m working on boats. It’s hard. It’s terrifying. It’s soul enriching.
You know what it’s not? Crazy.
Then again, I haven’t crossed an ocean on a 38’ sailboat……Yet.
(If you missed the other 3 parts, you can start reading the story here. If you enjoyed this post and want to have future stories delivered right to your in-box click here )
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