7 Things I Did Before Quitting My Corporate Job

Read time: 5 minutes

I’ve been building my business and pursuing a more meaningful career (full-time) for the last two weeks.

If you missed the big announcement where I shared that I quit my corporate job, you can read that article here.

Working in Corporate America for the last eight years has ingrained certain habits within me. Many have translated well to help me build and run my business. However, others are on the chopping block as I work to redevelop them.

(I’ll share more details on how that’s going as we go forward on this journey.)

But in today’s issue of the Clarity Club, I want to go back in time and share a checklist of things I completed before quitting my corporate job to pursue something more meaningful.

Now, I am not implying that this list is a requirement for you to complete.

Instead, I ask that you use this checklist as a sounding board to help you gauge where you are on your journey and what you may want to consider, especially if you’re standing at the edge of the cliff questioning if you’re ready to take that leap of faith and bet on yourself (or step into that next opportunity).

So, if you’re ready, let’s dive in.

4 Parts to This Checklist

This checklist is divided into four sections.

• Home
• Finances
• Mindset
• Emotions
  
  

Section 1: Home

The only line item on my checklist underneath this section is decluttering.

Dating back to 2016, when I started my decluttering journey, I had no idea what I was doing or the best place to start.

But I buckled down and figured it out because I had a solid objective and a clear vision for the life I wanted to create for myself (and my future family).

• I created an action plan
• I conquered the fears I had surrounding the idea of letting go
• I identified goals that made the process more manageable
• I learned how to play defense against clutter

My progress was slow initially, but it wasn’t long before I started reaping the benefits of my efforts.

Tackling my clutter first helped me realize what I valued above anything else.

This vital step moved me closer to quitting my job and pursuing a more meaningful career because affording a lifestyle filled with fewer things is more manageable than a lifestyle overflowing with everything.

If you’re curious about my decluttering process, follow my step-by-step workflow and how-to guide inside The Decluttering Starter Kit.

Section 2: Finances

There are several things on my checklist that I worked through one by one and completed before taking the leap into building and running my business full-time.

Here are a few of them.

1. Debt Payoff

In 2019, I committed to paying off my $23,000 student loan debt.

As I mentioned, I had a vision for my life, and I knew that carrying this financial weight would make it harder to bring that vision to fruition. 

So, once again, I buckled down and figured out how to get it done. 

The results?

I paid off all $23,000 in 12 months, using solely my income from my corporate job plus some savings.

Side note: I wasn’t making any money from YouTube or business at this time.

This wasn’t easy by any means, but in hindsight, I’m thankful I pushed through it.

Eliminating this financial obligation made the possibility of leaving my corporate job feasible because I didn’t owe anyone anything.

Fun fact: My wife (who I was dating in 2019) paid off a $19,000 car in 14 months. She’s still driving that same car today.

2. Income Plan

Quitting my job meant I needed to find another source (or sources) of income. In January 2020, I started monetizing my YouTube channel and building the various facets of my business beyond creating videos.

Devising a business and action plan to produce an income while maintaining my integrity was a crucial step for me before going all in.

3. Savings Plan

Leaving my job meant I was also giving up the company contributions to my 401K and other benefits I had.

So, educating myself early on helped me implement a savings plan in addition to what my job provided so that my wife and I would already have this in place long before my decision to quit became a reality.

Section 3: Mindset

This section consisted of two key components.

1. Self-doubt

There were countless moments when I questioned if I could do this. If being a full-time creator and building a business was possible.

So, for me, learning how to overcome my self-doubt was the biggest hurdle I’ve had to overcome thus far on this journey.

Here’s how I did it to cross this off my checklist.

I stopped trying to conquer self-doubt.

I realized that self-doubt is part of being human, and I believe it’s ok to be human.

So, rather than stressing myself out and Googling mindset hacks, I shifted my perspective.

I now focus primarily on two things:

1. Skill acquisition: Am I learning the skills necessary to improve?
2. Unshakable faith: Do I believe my effort and learnings are moving the needle?

2. Ignoring Outside Opinions

I checked this off relatively quickly because I didn’t talk to anyone other than my wife about my decision to leave my job.

This allowed us to have private conversations that navigated my fears, timing, and the goals we set for our family.

More so, it prevented the opportunity for others to project their fears and limitations onto me.

Section 4: Emotions

The final line item on my checklist was to ensure that I was emotionally at peace with my decision to quit my job before officially giving my notice of resignation.

This was important to me because I didn’t want to start this next chapter of being self-employed from a place of stress, anxiety, or desperation.

I wanted to be filled with peace, excitement, and confidence, and that’s exactly what I have.

You often hear motivational advice saying, “Take the leap before you’re ready.”

I can’t entirely agree with this.

Here’s why.

When you’re standing on a cliff, peeking over the edge to get a sense of how far down success is.

Notice your heartbeat.

Jump only when your faith outweighs your fear of falling.

⇨ This Week’s Action Step: Spend a few minutes considering the checklist I’ve just shared with you and the steps you may want to take or prioritize next on your journey, especially if you’re contemplating a life-changing decision (like quitting your job).

Whenever you’re ready, here’s how I can help you:

If you’re looking for clarity and traction on your journey, I’d recommend starting with an affordable course:

⇨ The Decluttering Starter Kit: Skip the overwhelm and jumpstart your decluttering journey. This comprehensive course will teach and guide you through the system I used to transform my life from clutter to clarity. Get access here.