A Personal Story By Suzanne Mulvehill, AuthorEmployee To EntrepreneurI Was So Intent On Staying In The Corporate World That I Went Back To School In 1993 To Get An MBA Degree. Two Years Later, I Received That Degree And Got A Job Making More Money Than Ever Before. I Thought I Had It All. The Problem Was That I Wasnt Fulfilled.While Trying To Convince Myself That I Really Was Happy With My Job, I Had A Disturbing Intuitive Message One Day That What I Was Doing Wasnt It. I Realized That I Had A Yearning To Be Or Do Something Else. I Just Had No Idea What. For Two Years, I Vacillated From Feeling Content With The Security Of My Job To Feeling Unfulfilled. Sometime Around The Third Year, I Gave In To This Yearning. I Began An Idea Journal Listing Ideas Of What Kind Of Business I Might Like To Start And Spent Time Thinking About Being My Own Boss.This Exploration Stage Came To An Abrupt Halt When I Had An Experience At Work That Left Me Feeling Betrayed. I Was Given A Job To Manage A Sales Team And It Was Taken Away Because I Didnt Pass A Test. I Worked With This Boss For 2.5 Years At Two Different Companies, And Knew He Knew Me Better Than The Answers To A Test. I Was So Angry That I Gave My Notice The Following Day. I Stood Up For Myself, For Maybe The First Time In My Professional Career.Once The Anger Wore Off, Fear Set In Immediately. I Was Petrified. I Realized That In Two Weeks I Was Not Going To Have A Paycheck Anymore. Paychecks Were Like Lifelines For Me. Here I Was Raising Two Kids Alone. The Thoughts And Feelings About Being Paycheckless And Becoming A Baglady Were Overwhelming. I Was So Scared That After Two Days Of Feeling Sick To My Stomach And Feeling More Fear Than I Thought I Could Handle, I Succumbed To My Fear And Accepted My Job Back. I Was Given A Sales Position At A New Location. I Was Relieved. Once The Relief Wore Off, However, The Yearning Persisted.I Realized I Was Right Back Where I Started. Stuck In A Job I Didnt Want. I Felt Trapped And Didnt Know How To Escape. I Thought That The Next Time I Quit Im Going To Be Prepared. So I Attended Business Start-up Seminars. I Learned Two Things From These Seminars - That I Need To Save Money And Write A Business Plan.I Was On A Mission Now. I Moonlighted Figuring Out What Business To Start And Writing A Business Plan While Working Full-time, Running A Household, Raising Two Kids And Saving Money. I Decided To Start A Magazine. I Worked In The Publishing Industry For Years And Liked The Industry.Five Months After The First Failed Attempt To Leave My Job, I Met My Boss And Gave My Notice A Second Time. I Left That Meeting Feeling Completely Deflated As He Shared That I Needed A Million Dollars In Capital To Start This Business And Said Without Words That I Was An Idiot For Even Considering Starting Such A Business. My Newly Hatched Idea Had Been Completely Crushed And I Again Didnt Leave My Job.I Was Depressed And My Emotions Whipsawed Me Around Hating My Job And Doing It Anyway Because I Couldnt Leave. That Time I Planned And Tried And Still Couldnt Leave. In A Moment Of Humility And Desperation, I Asked Myself, What Do I Need To Do? I Got An Answer. I Needed To Change And Grow. I Realized That Everything I Had Done To Prepare Myself For This Transition Was Outside Of Me. I Had Done Nothing To Address And Release My Fears, To Develop Confidence And Ultimately, To Face The Unknown.So This Time, I Got Busy On Me. I Started An Inner Journey. I Looked At My Fears And Developed What If Scenarios That I Could Live With. I Started Doing Something Different Every Day, To Get Used To Change. I Asked For Spiritual Direction And Meditated Daily. I Read Books Like, Deepak Chopras, The Seven Spiritual Laws Of Success. Slowly, I Began Changing From The Inside Out. My Business Plan This Time Was A Rough Draft Of Becoming A Consultant. I Was Truly Stepping Into The Unknown.Nine Months After My First Attempt To Leave My Job And Four Months After The Second Attempt, I Gave My Notice For The Third And Final Time. The Night Before I Gave This Final Notice, I Had A Dream That Indicated That I Was Free Now. This Was Reassuring Since I Wasnt Sure If I Would Even Make It Through The Two Week Time Frame And Take My Job Back Again.I Took An Entire Month Off Following My Exit From The Workforce. I Was Exhausted, Mentally, Physically And Emotionally. During My Meditation Time, I Began Visioning Myself Working As A Consultant And Starting A Project The Following Month. An Opportunity Literally Appeared Before I Even Had Business Cards Made. I Went To The Library To Learn How To Write A Contract, Got It Signed As Was On My Way.More Than Eight Years Have Passed Since I Left My Job And Began My Venture As An Entrepreneur.I Wouldnt Have Dared Dream Six Years Ago That Today I Would Be An Award-winning Author, Internationally Known Professional Speaker And Radio Talk Show Host. My Experience Has Taught Me That Anything Is Possible With Passion, Patience And Perseverance.
