Airport lounges, private medical care, £10k bonuses – no matter how bad it gets, corporate life has so many undeniable perks it can feel impossible to leave. Yet walking out of my corporate job in my 40s was hands down the best decision I ever made for myself.
In this blog, I’m telling the story of why I walked away from a successful corporate career to embark on a radically simpler life.
If you’re contemplating doing the same, read on for a realistic account and some honest advice.
How do you know when the time is right?
I ignored my instincts and gave it one last shot.
With my exit strategy planned out, I’d had enough and was all set to leave on a high after 20 years in finance, when I was offered an assignment in Spain.
“What harm could it do?” I thought to myself. One more for the road, why not?
Sadly, that assignment didn’t go the way I hoped, and a chain of events led to a toxic experience with one particular individual. I found myself in the midst of a mental breakdown which took me years to recover from.
Looking back, I wonder what made me take that final project. Fear over finances? A lifetime of people-pleasing? A tendency to hush my inner voice?
If there’s one piece of advice you take away from my story, let it be this: listen to that intuition and really work out what it’s telling you.
For most of my clients, things mount up over a period of time, chipping away at your personal peace, boundaries, and self-esteem as you keep showing up and losing more of yourself every day.
Yes, the idea of leaving is incredibly daunting: I vividly remember that feeling.
But leaving your corporate job when your body tells you it’s time could just be the thing to salvage your mental health and your feelings towards the company you work for.
Trust me when I say that when you take charge of your own destiny, there’s another life waiting for you that would never have seemed possible before you took the leap.
What does a simpler life look like for you?
Immediately after I quit my job, life started to look very different.
Gone was the Audi A4, and in its place a modest Ford Ka – and that’s just one example.
The thing is, corporate creates a cosseted life you become accustomed to, where everything is taken care of so you’re free to focus completely on your work.
I don’t know about you, but I even used to ask my assistant to look up flights for my personal holidays, and the business air miles would cover the upgrade, so even things like booking my own holiday were alien to me.
There are sacrifices to be made: there’s no getting around that.
But actually, I realised I didn’t need all of that. The huge salary, the medical care – when the stressful work environment was out of the equation, I was rarely ill anyway.
Very quickly, I could feel how those sacrifices were bringing me closer and closer to a better quality of life that was more in tune with me and my personal values of freedom, growth, and harmony (three things that were in very short supply as I jetted around in business class).
Suddenly, my life was richer in ways I never expected, which didn’t involve a £10k bonus: I couldn’t put a price on the freedom I felt driving around in my Ford Ka that first year after quitting my soul-sucking corporate career.
Leaving corporate: what next?
So what did I do with all of my newfound freedom?
My first step was transitioning to a new career path worlds away from my previous life. I trained in Pilates and started teaching classes locally, back in my rural Lancashire hometown – a far cry from my swanky Amsterdam apartment and endless string of five-star hotels.
But life as an entrepreneur suited me, and I decided to embark on a qualification to set up my own coaching business.
Working as a business coach appealed to me on a deep level because I just knew I could combine my training with my personal experiences to help other women quit their jobs for a simple life.
What would life after corporate look like for you? Starting your own business? Following your passion? Finding meaningful work in a brand new sector?
This is one of the main things I help women work out before or immediately after plotting their escape.
I bring a real and pragmatic perspective, helping you to organise your thoughts and understand your true priorities in life to come up with a new plan that aligns with who you really are, not who the corporate life told you you were.
What’s your definition of success?
It’s one of those questions you hear a lot and it’s overused, but in order to pursue a purposeful life, it’s a question worth asking.
Do you define success as a six-figure salary or luxury holidays?
Is it hustling your entire working life to save for retirement?
Or is it enjoying life right now on your own terms? Setting your schedule and leaving space to spend quality time with friends and family members or go on adventures?
Leaving the corporate world is more than an ending, it’s also a beginning.
Yes, you may make less money (although that’s not guaranteed).
But as long as your living expenses are taken care of, you can quit your job in favour of a much more fulfilling and authentic lifestyle right now, rather than waiting for retirement to relax and enjoy life.
You’ve given corporate your absolute best shot: now it’s time to add value to your life
I work with a lot of women who never really switch off. They’re checking emails at 10pm to get on top of things, and never truly feel present, whether they’re spending time with their loved ones or experiencing a beautiful part of the world on a dream holiday.
I used to be the same, and I realised I wasn’t really living.
After years operating at the highest level in my finance career, it took me a while to work out how much I needed something different to nurture my soul.
I craved simplicity, minimalism, and breathing space to feel completely happy.
I came to realise corporate life had given me a misplaced sense of enjoyment. I used to work myself into the ground to such an extent that I needed the expensive holidays and private healthcare to distract me and keep the physical and mental signs of stress at bay.
Getting rid of both the job and the luxury perks made me realise I found the purest peace and pleasure on a hike in the countryside or an impromptu dip in a chilly lake.
Over a decade after quitting my corporate career in my 40s, my life looks completely different, and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve learned more about myself in the last 10 years than I ever did in my office job, and carved out the time and flexibility to radically transform my mental wellbeing and relationships.
Your job may define you right now, but it’s more than likely that you have many good years left to work, travel, connect with others, and find your real purpose in life.
So start now.
Make a plan.
Define your values.
Talk to someone (maybe me, if this blog post has spoken to you and you need an independent sounding board).
Put the necessary steps in place.
Plan.
Dream.
Update your priorities in life.
Think seriously about what you actually enjoy.
Create a life that fills you with joy and possibility.
Shut down the voices telling you you can’t change careers in your 40s or 50s (you absolutely can).
If I can do all of that, I promise that you can as well.
Seek out support quitting your 9-5
Are you a woman in your 40s or 50s whose current job is causing you stress and discomfort? Maybe you can’t see a way out, feel stuck and can’t even admit it to yourself or anyone else yet.
There is always a way out, and speaking to someone outside your corporate bubble and immediate circle can be just the thing to navigate this daunting prospect.
I help you quit your corporate job and create an aligned life for yourself, whether you’re setting up your own business or finding a brand new path in life.
Your work environment has a monumental impact on your mental health and wellbeing, and can really determine the course your life takes.
You’ve done your time, so let’s take an honest look at where you are in life and what’s next, then come up with a plan together to move into the next phase of your life to discover the time, energy, and freedom you’ve been craving.
It all starts with a simple step: book your free, no-pressure chat with a compassionate coach who understands your world and has all the knowledge, empathy, and tools to help you move forward with purpose.
