Why I Left My Dream Job

It was just over a year ago that I left what at one point was a dream job for me with the Dallas Cowboys. I was a one of twelve Senior Sales Consultants directly responsible for selling new season ticket and suite packages at AT&T Stadium. I had been in the role for just over three years and the position and lifestyle checked all of my important boxes. Great pay, business + professional work experience, an opportunity to learn from a highly respected management team, extremely well buttoned up and progressive thinking colleagues, the bevy of perks that come with working in professional sports (free tickets), and last but not least, working for Americas Team! Love them or hate them (statistics say you probably love them), the brand and notoriety of the iconic blue stared franchise speaks for itself. I not only felt honored to be a member of the organization, but I also felt a great sense of gratitude for attracting the opportunity to be able to do so.

I grew up a Cowboys fan and remember often pushing my mom to rush home from Sunday morning church service so I wouldn’t miss opening kickoff. The Cowboys were the Cowboys. Meaning no matter what their record was, or how other Texas sports teams were doing, everyone knew “America’s Team” was the most talked about and held the primary torch for the collective heartbeat of the state. Coming off a win you could literally feel the positive aura of energy throughout the atmosphere. After a loss there was staleness. A blandness very much akin to a cloudy overcast. One that pierced the skies for the following two to three days.  There’s a reason why the Cowboys have consistently been regarded by many renowned publications as the #1 professional sports brand in the world (shout out to Jerry). Loved by most, hated by many, but emotionally pulling to all. There was no in between as you either were a diehard fan or strong adversary. 

So with all this being said, why on earth would a man very well aware of the power and notoriety this brings, walk away from it? One in which he was doing exactly what he had visually dreamed of and craved for years at a subconscious level. One that provided him a lucrative six figure income and opportunity to not have to relive the financial stress and worries that watching his mother be evicted numerous times had burnt into his psyche. One where he didn’t have to live paycheck-to-paycheck like the vast majority of his closest friends and family. And last but not least, one that offered him a representation of self-respect and the appearance as a success in the eyes of society.

Sigh…. just typing all of that brings back some powerful memories of the mental and emotional tug of war battle I unwilling took part in. All internal and for what at the time felt like ages.

However, the answer to the question is actually more simple than one might imagine.  That answer being that I genuinely wasn’t happy. At the time of this feelings peak, I internally blamed all of my angst and discontentment on any and everything outside of myself; with the organization being crowned at the top of the list. Why do I work so much? Why is everyone so damn competitive here (I literally felt like some of my colleagues would offer up their entire families for the right size sale)? What am I doing with my life and is this really sharing my story and gifts with the world? This was basically where my daily mental state was for almost two full years prior to plunging into the abyss of blind faith that entrepreneurial endeavors bring.

Excuses, excuses, and more excuses. What a sad state I had succumbed to.

 I grew up using other people’s excuses as my main motivational fuel, yet here I was endorsing them for myself.

Ultimately it wasn’t until I changed my own mentality, that things started to become clearer for me.

That clarity started with firstly taking full responsibility for where I presently was and consciously putting more attention towards what I really wanted for myself.

Hmm, but what did I want? I honestly had no clue at the time. That can be incredibly tiring as well as unsettling for a self-prescribed perfectionist. All I did know is that I wanted to create a life for myself where I felt happy and in alignment with who I truly was.

At this point I began the reprogramming of my brain and started using more energy to come up with ideas on what would bring me the most happiness; the polar opposite of how I had been using my time beforehand.

After a couple weeks of intentional focus one of my thoughts kept repeatedly coming back to me. I jotted down “Food Counseling and Positive Psychology” on my “career ideas notepad.” I glanced at this often for days on end. Something about it just felt completely right to me.

I had read that in order to begin the process of finding your passion, one must visualize what they could see themselves doing happily everyday, for free, and the rest of their lives.

Nutrition, health, psychology, and coaching were the hot buttons for me.

I had grown throughout the years to become not only passionate about putting good quality food in my body, but also learning as much as I could about the nutritional sciences that came with said foods as well. I also loved speaking life into people. Whether it was friends, family, or even complete strangers; I loved connecting and hearing others' visions. I’d often unconsciously crave these interactions and would seldom push others forward in whatever it was they were interested in aiming towards. I felt obsessed with seeing others grow.

Two weeks after this realization I synchronistically came across The Institute for the Psychology of Eating, which was an online nutritional psychology program based out of Boulder, Colorado. A few months later I was enrolled and began to embark on the next development phase on my journey. 

Isn’t it amazing how the universe works sometimes? 

At this point I began to fully accept the position I was in. It had been just over seven years since my initial job in sports (right after finishing undergrad) and I now began looking at all the positive experiences I had embarked on, developed, and overcame during my tenure.

The work opportunity in itself was instrumental in helping me build my confidence and ability to communicate with affluent business leaders (which growing up I wasn’t exposed to). It also developed and broadened my ability to think in terms of what may be of the greatest value to new potential clients and how to effectively create solutions to help solve their problems. Plus I had a front row behind-the-scenes view in seeing how one of the most globally successful organizations in the world was ran. I could name much more but these are the three that ring the truest for me.

I then began to scan the past trajectory of my own life and soon after came to the realization that I was currently in the exact position I needed to be in. My past thought patterns, visuals, and actions had attracted exactly what was in front of me. This awareness gave me the power to start to remap my focus and use my past experiences as a catalyst to help me grow in the next phase of my existence.

Fast forward to now and I’m in the ongoing process of living out the manifestation of the new thought forms I set into motion. I flipped my negative excuse riddled mentality, replacing it with one on the vibrational level of positive creation.  

Currently, I’m a Health & Wellness Coach who gets the beautiful opportunity to help others in the journey of improving their overall health and well-being. I’m also a Registered Yoga Instructor who gets to model, share, and teach the vast benefits I’ve received from the practice with others who are open to receive it.

All in all I’m in a happy and authentic place.

Am I making as much money as I was before? Nope, not even close (yet). Am I looked at by society as successful? I genuinely don’t know and really could not care less to be honest (which has definitely not always been the case). Am I living in alignment with the greatest expression of me? I definitely feel like it. I’m also very excited to continually watch my personal development, perceived obstacles, and ongoing growth from a courtside seat.

I write all of this to say that each and every one of us are here for a reason and it's never too late to make a change towards it. Whether we'd like to admit or not, we all come to this understanding at some point or another in our lives. There are those who latch on to this with laser like precision from an early age. These are the ones who keep their train running on the same straight lined track until they reach the final destination. Then there are those (I'm apart of this bunch) who take a couple (or many lol) pit stops along the way to check out mountainous terrains unfamiliar to them.   Regardless of which, we all have an inner passion to be happy and live a life in balance to our highest selves (or expression). How this looks is different for each and every one of us.

For those of you who are experiencing similar emotions surrounding your purpose, just know that it’s never too late to reroute your destination map. It starts with the thought, then is felt by the emotions, and is connected to the physical body through our actions.

While I know I don't have all the answers, I can however speak to diving in the murky waters of the unknown.  It is in these times when ones inner compass is put to the test, and you truly begin to reach and surpass levels of strength that even your best words cannot fully express.

The only moment guaranteed to us is that of the present. You hold the keys and have the power to construct the divine plan of your physical existence here on earth. The light of your candle is meant to shine bright and with great vigor. Please don’t allow your spark to fully burnout before ever truly being lit.