Setting the scene

Ever since I trained in NLP and hypnosis back around 2007, I have had a desire to make a living out of helping people get rid of their ‘stuff’ or, to put it another way, to help them get out of their own way and find the very best version of themselves. A still small voice at the back of my head that simply persisted.

The challenge was that I am a very logical person who thrives on security. I have done very well in my corporate career and have enjoyed the security of knowing that a salary will come in every month. I was letting one type of success, a traditional one, get in the way of potentially a bigger success.

Since 2016, I have been running training for channel swimmers and, whilst that was something that until this year (hopefully) had been subsidised, it is something that gave me a wonderful taste of what it is like to support people who want to do something extraordinary. The other challenge was that it is very time consuming and I couldn’t do that and work full time.

So, in 2019 I took what felt like a bold step and reduced to 4 days per week. I started to have a taste of what might be and the world kept spinning. The challenge was that there still wasn’t enough time, and I was still subsidising this side business.

I was privileged to be working for a fabulous company in a great job. However, the office was a 2.5 hour commute and whilst I didn’t do that every day, I still had an hour commute each day and the impact on my sleep was impacting my health. Something needed to change.

During 2019 I watched my Dad slowly fade away and he ultimately passed away. The day before he died I visited him. He was too weak to be able to hold down a conversation and so we sat and watched TV together and from time to time I’d speak. I told him that I was thinking of leaving corporate life and going it alone. My dad’s passing hit me pretty hard and I took some time out of work. During that time I concluded that life is too short and I didn’t want to get through my life with regrets.

Jumping out of the plane

I returned to work early in 2020 to a new, to me, boss. My first meeting with him was my resignation. I did explain that it was nothing to do with him and was something that I had wanted to do for a very long time, however I did indeed resign and it was a first for me - resigning from one job without a new job lined up. It was a massive leap of faith, a bit like jumping out of the plane.

I had three months notice to work.

Then along came COVID-19! I did momentarily think that it was a really daft time to leave a secure salary (remember I like financial security), but I came to the conclusion that, more than most times, people needed support at this time. A week before I was due to leave, with no replacement in sight, my boss asked me if I would consider staying on for a while. It’s fair to say in the three months since I had resigned that I had been super impressed by him as an inspirational leader and I was happy to provide a bit more support. I hadn’t expected ‘a little while longer’ to be another year, but once I got over that shock, I set to getting my mind back in gear and putting other plans on ice for a while.

A gentle parachute decent

I guess this extra time was a bit like pulling the cord on a parachute. The free fall ended and I enjoyed a gentle decent whilst enjoying watching the world go by.

My gosh what a year it was and I’m so glad that I was with AstraZeneca at this time. My boss continued be an inspirational leader and transformed our department.

COVID-19 meant no commute and only working from home. Whilst I did not miss the commute in the slightest, I did miss real human interaction. That was a learning experience.

I also saw how COVID-19 really exposed companies and individuals real values. I really liked what I saw with AstraZeneca. The written values are:

• We put patients first.

• We play to win.

• We do the right thing.

• We are entrepreneurial.

Not often do you get to see values like these really play out publicly. I saw how the company responded to the pandemic as an employer and how they really cared about the welfare of each and every employee. I also saw the science come to life in the quest for a vaccine in conjunction with Oxford University. Alongside other pharmaceutical companies, the race was on for a vaccine or cure. But this wasn’t some timely opportunity to make a lot of money, quite the opposite. I watched the company develop a vaccine and offer it to the world at no profit during the pandemic period - because it was the right thing to do. All the values demonstrated in reality.

I am so incredibly proud of working for AstraZeneca during this time.

Beautiful scenery for a gentle descent.

Then the ground rushes up

Wait - how did that year pass by so quickly? Gosh, after a beautiful and gentle descent, suddenly the ground is rushing up to meet me. My replacement has started and is doing a fantastic job. It is time for me to move on. I leave the job better than I found it and in safe hands for the next evolution.

However, this is the dangerous part of any parachute jump. The falling is easy, it’s the landing that carries risk.

Will I pick a nice soft field, or will a tree get in the way for a bumpy landing?

Quick safety checklist:

• Home office (log cabin) is almost complete ✅

• Additional training undertaken ✅

• Limited company launched ✅

• Endless pool business coming soon ✅

Whilst there is risk as I need to build a business from nothing to something that will support me, I currently feel excited about the future.

Watch this space!