💡 To be clear, I'm still here

Published 1 day ago • 1 min read

Note to self: don't make April Fools jokes too believable

If you read my email yesterday, but perhaps not all the way to the bottom, you may be harboring feelings of betrayal, abandonment or grief that I announced I’m leaving my solo business for a corporate gig.

Fear not - it was all a joke.

But thank you for the many thoughtful and well-meaning congratulations - even from members of my own family (hi, Uncle Eddie!)

After I let those who were misled know that it was a ruse, it sparked some interesting conversations about what it would take to return to the corporate grid.

I often say it would have to be an insane alignment of the stars — and not gonna lie, the LinkedIn story I made up might actually prompt some deep consideration.

But I think I’d almost immediately feel the return to ‘the machine’ take its toll on the creative activation I’ve felt every day since setting out solo 3 years ago.

Here’s an excerpt from one of the closing chapters of my upcoming book, The Expert’s Privilege, on 'going back':

So, no, there’s no guarantee that this works out the way you hope.

And yes, you can always go back if you must. The option (a reverse rip-cord?) sits in the back of my own mind constantly, and most other soloists will tell you the same, if they’re being honest.

But even with that boomerang option available as a last resort, I’ve found that for myself and many other brave soloists who’ve taken the leap, the fear of ‘having to go back’ serves as a spectacular motivation to set daring goals, try new things, pivot business models, evolve service offerings, pretty much try anything you can to preserve the autonomy and self-direction you quickly come to value more than anything else.

I’m still here with you. Figuring it out.

Solo, but together. 🙂

💡

-Wes

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💡 The Lightbulb

💡 To be clear, I'm still here

💡 The Lightbulb