There comes a time when you have to realize that playing it safe will result in remaining stagnant and as we all know, movement is life. Evolution is the pathway between the life that we want to live and the life that we find ourselves in. However, sometimes the thing that we need to jump start our evolution is a massive change. For some, they leave their job or move into a new location. Others, it’s as simple as just a change in hobbies or friends. But it all comes down to the same core principle: You have to step out of your comfort zone. It’s only in doing that that you can truly put yourself on the path to reaching your full potential.
Or, the fast track to self-destruction. But hey, what’s life without a little risk?
I have lived in the same city for the better part of thirteen years. In that time, it would be remiss of me to say that I haven’t made steps towards becoming the perfect version of myself. However, the margins were too small. A person’s personal growth is a lot like the way that some fish grow. If left in a small tank, they’ll never be the size that they might grow if they are in an aquarium that’s twice the size. I love my time in Louisville, but there comes a point that you realize that to move forward, you have to sometimes just move.
With that being said, I have decided that it is time for a change. I can no longer advance my career in Louisville, in large part to the fact that I don’t have the roots there that a lot of other people do. Everywhere I look, people are talking about jobs that they got because of friends from high school, classmates from college or the massive amount of other little things that make Louisville a fantastic city when you know people and a lonely place when you don’t. After all, it’s been said a million times in the past; it’s not what you know, but who you know that can give you the biggest advantage. Louisville’s not the only place that’s like that, be not confused. But, in a certain fields, not having an inside man (or woman) can make a competitive and difficult industry to enter even more impossible.
Or rather, maybe it’s all just how I justified my decision. Oh, yeah: I haven’t gotten to that yet, have I?
I've decided that the change that I need requires a change in scenery. So, I’m moving away from Louisville for a while. I need to go to a place where I can give myself the space and opportunity to become better. There is also the possibility that I could take this plunge and find that things are no different than they were in Louisville, in which case I’ll be back. After all, despite it being a lonely place professionally, its home for me now and the friends and family there are truly irreplaceable in my life. I know that some of you will worry. Some won’t understand and others will wish me well in this endeavor. The one thing that will remain constant is this: everyone who knows me knows that I fully believe that I can become better, stronger, and smarter but to do that, I need room to run. And for me, the room I need to run is found on the West Coast. I'm moving to Seattle, WA to begin my search for the next step in my personal evolution. In addition to being a completely new place for me, it’s also the home of many large companies as well as a virtual wellspring of technology and creative opportunities that I can’t really find anywhere else.
After all, it’s a brave new world out there. And the possibilities are truly… limitless.