As the airplane is about to take off, I look by the window at a landscape I likely won’t ever see again, and thoughts rush through my mind.
“When did I ever decided to leave everything behind and leave?”
As a French citizen, I have renounced my rights to stay, live and work in the US. Something I had done for the past 4 years.
Today, May 8th 2017, a day of peace, a day after a new president was elected in France, I took a train to the airport so I could fly to my destinations.
Though the desire was always in my mind, and I had already went through a first try 10 years ago, a settled life in the US and a decent job should have kept me away from transforming this thought into a tangible dream.
Yet, in September 2016 something happened. A discussion with my boss made me realize I did not wanted to be here anymore, I did not wanted to pursue that career any longer.
But I’m not a man that makes decision based on raw and rough emotions, so I set the thought aside to see if it would come back.
And it did.
The final dagger stroke in November 2016, when it was clear to me that I was on a different mind path for the future of the company than the board of directors’ one. I’d spent 3 years 1/2 putting in my absolute best efforts to go above and beyond my tasks and responsibilities and make that company successful; but it was time for me step down.
As a dedicated professional, as a man of word and honor, I went above the 1 week notice required by my contract and gave a long 3 months notice to my employer on January 31st 2017. I had to make sure they would have enough time to see my departure coming, find a replacement and/or organize the structure accordingly.
I took a step out of the office looking back at everything I had achieved there, at everything I had failed to achieve, at the employees I had hired and that were now fully operational, and I closed the door with a sad but satisfied smile on my face. The steps to the new life started here.
I was embarking on an 18 months journey around the world.
