#Quit my job today how to#

I think there’s a future for you in health care.”Īs he spoke, I heard a mix of anger, sadness, and disappointment in his voice. It’s hard to find a new person, especially someone good. “You’ve only been here eight months, Matt. He leaned back in his large leather chair and gave me a dissatisfied look. And I told him that whatever career that might end up being, it wouldn’t be in healthcare. I told him about meeting my new Canadian and Belgian friends and how I knew from talking with them that I had to travel around the world before I started my career. I told him about how ever since my Costa Rica trip I couldn’t stop thinking about traveling. And I owed it to him to give him plenty of time to find a replacement. I went into his office and told him we needed to talk.Ī bald, heavyset, affable guy with a love for cooking and wine, who always encouraged me to strive for more, I figured he would be the most understanding and encouraging. It was a few weeks after I had come back from Thailand, and I was getting more and more sure that I was going to do this trip. I have my father’s stubborn streak, and once I make a decision, I make it.įor a while, I don’t think they even believed me, and until the day I left, they tried to talk me out of it.īut what I do remember is going into my boss’s office. They always counter my impulsive decisions (of which there are many) with some nervous, “the world is a dangerous place and we worry” parental response. I don’t remember the exact conversation I had with my parents. It took a lot longer to find and was usually a bit dated.īut the real challenge would be telling people I was leaving and letting them know I meant it. Outside of a few websites, there just wasn’t as much information on the Internet back then. The list of questions seemed endless, and in the days before travel blogs, Twitter, and iPhone apps, the challenge of planning a trip was a lot more daunting than it is today. Would I finish my MBA? How much money would I need? When could I go? Where would I go? What would people say? How do I get an RTW ticket? What credit card should I use? Are hostels safe?

#Quit my job today how to#

However, once back home, I came to the realization that I had no idea how to make this happen. I knew everything about Southeast Asia by the time I touched down in Boston. I highlighted destinations, planned routes, and worked out my trip in my head. I read every page of the book on the flight home. How could I stretch my money for a whole year? How could I get by without speaking a word of the language? How could I avoid getting scammed? How could I make my travel as rewarding as I imagined it would be? How could I do it as effortlessly as the new friends I met in Thailand? All of those answers, it seemed to me, were in this book-or at least the clues to the answers were there. This book was like an ancient relic that contained hidden knowledge that I, a new initiate, had to decipher. The guide symbolized my trip, and for me, it represented what I had to do to make the mental leap. I had the guide there was no turning back now.

I didn’t know when my trip would be or for how long or what I wanted to see.īut buying that guide made the whole thing seem more real. I didn’t even know if I’d go there on my next trip. While on Ko Samui, I bought the Lonely Planet guide to Southeast Asia. I even started to prepare for it while in Thailand before I had any real idea of what I was going to do. Their world of no 401(k)s, vacations, and bosses seemed too good to be true and I wanted to be a part of it. We had just visited Chiang Mai, where I had met the five travelers who so inspired me to travel the world.

I’m going to quit and travel the world,” I said, turning my face back into the warm Thailand sun. “I’m going to quit my job when we get back,” I said, turning to my friend Scott.