Financial and Emotional Strain

In Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill shared that “Unwavering courage is based upon knowledge of self, and of one’s occupation. No follower wishes to be dominated by a leader who lacks self-confidence and courage. No intelligent follower will be dominated by such a leader very long.” When Cindy left the security of her full time role, a role where she was earning more than our combined household income just a few years prior, we were leaning into every one Hill’s leadership attributes we were capable of. It definitely required courage for her to step away from an opportunity she had worked so hard to get (and even harder in it). We had been diligent about doing more than we were paid for well before this, so that wasn’t anything new. Definiteness of Plans, Definiteness of Decisions (to walk out those plans), and Willing to Assume Full Responsibility had each become part of our core. 

While we did indeed have a solid knowledge of ourselves at that point, we most certainly did not have an equally solid understanding of the occupation - at least not as it related to the business I had started just over a year earlier. Truth be told, purpose was one driver but frustration certainly added to it. We had a lot to learn in developing our knowledge of our new occupation, and we’ve been doing that ever since. However, that wasn’t the most challenging thing that came with making such a bold leap.

Dropping the largest part of our income was definitely something we had to navigate, but we had lived on so much less for so long and had made little changes in our overall lifestyle that it wasn't a huge deal. I was still in a full time role with a reasonable salary and moderate benefits, so we weren’t concerned about another near-foreclosure experience. We were completely out of debt at that point, aside from a small mortgage payment, which eliminated a tremendous amount of pressure. Developing clarity around what services we wanted to offer, who would provide them to, and how we would develop the pricing structure were all things we had to figure out; and we’re still working through that today. The most challenging part of Cindy’s transition was the emotional strain.

Cindy had worked in healthcare for more than twenty years at that point. In that time, she developed a passion for doing everything in her power to ensure the aging population received best-in-class care. She had absolutely mastered her craft and she found great fulfillment in the results she helped the teams she was part of achieve. The last full time role she held came with more responsibility than anything she had ever done professionally. She exceeded that responsibility in every way, and her total compensation package reflected her contributions. Stepping away from all that was more than giving up a salary, it meant starting over in an uncharted arena after reaching something of a pinnacle in the field she had invested so much of her professional life in. When I made the decision to leave my manufacturing career after nearly twenty years, being repeatedly undervalued pissed me off enough that I didn’t lose much sleep over it - and I moved into a role doing very similar work, albeit in a very different industry. My career change built on what I had been doing. Cindy’s leap left the foundation she had built and put her in a completely different environment, and that put more of an emotional strain on her than I ever intended.

Over the decade-plus since, we’ve found tremendous seeds that came directly from that specific adversity, and nurturing those seeds has yielded far greater opportunities. That said, it’s never been easy. Family shifts amplify uncertainty, especially when those shifts involve giving up an income and going into business with your spouse. Make no mistake, though, that’s also been one of the biggest blessings in my life. It has, however, forced us to accept complete responsibility - jointly - for the ripple effects in order to avoid resenting one another, and that has unlocked a kind of cooperative growth that few ever experience. Before I share how that new uncertainty helped us develop even more courage, I’ll challenge you to consider the effects you’ve experienced from a family or career shift. Honestly list your contribution to the process and identify which of Hill’s leadership attributes it helped you hone.