I remember the moment I knew I was going to leave the IT industry.
In a remote Andes village in Peru a tiny old man explained the sad love story he had carved into the box made from a pumpkin I had just bought from him.
When he finished he looked at me with curiosity in his kind eyes and asked, “So what do you do?”
“Pues .. ” It wasn't a language problem.
“I work in a bank and develop software to streamline the approval process for risk assessment models .. ” It wouldn't make sense to him.
It didn't make sense to me anymore, up there in the Andes.
I craved simplicity.
I craved the sense of meaning that comes from helping someone get or achieve something that matters to them, in a clear and direct way.
I craved responsibility AND control over how things are done.
The year after (in 2002) I went to (and fell in love with) the south of Spain. Another two years later I quit my job, moved to Spain and started my own business.
Simple. Simple doesn't mean easy. It doesn't mean things don't change and evolve.
But when something feels complex and hard it's a signal for me to look at where I'm off track.
Where does your life look too complicated?
What does that tell you?
Let me know in the comments or get in touch.
