Zihuatanejo
A Place with No Memory
Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.
Red (Morgan Freeman)
Staring straight into your dreams, it’s easy to convince yourself that captivity isn’t so bad after all. Why trade what you know for what you don’t? And why assume unnecessary risks? Many people never leave their day jobs for reasons such as these.
Besides, don’t be surprised if you feel a little torn about leaving your day job. It’s quite normal. Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational, explains why: “Closing a door on an option is experienced as a loss, and people are willing to pay a price to avoid the emotion of a loss.”[1]
When I left my day job of more than eleven years (nearly one-third of my life at the time), I left much more than a paycheck. I gave up many important things such as:
Friendships
Safety
Titles
Routine
Familiarity
Control
Predictability
Resources
Feeling a sense of loss just means you made an impact—that you mattered and others mattered to you—that you loved people and other people loved you. Cherish those relationships and memories.
Your day job was probably a good thing. It’s just no longer the best thing. It reflected the person you were, not the person you are or the one you’re becoming.
Your day job served a purpose and hopefully you served it—with integrity. But to advance, you must let go.
When Is the Right Time to Leave Your Day Job?
Months before I left my day job, I remember chatting with one of my mentors, John Maxwell. I asked him how to know if it’s the right time to leave your day job.[2] From our conversation, I drew the following conclusions:
The Right Time to Leave—A Good Type of Restlessness
The Wrong Time to Leave—A Bad Type of Restlessness
John concluded his thoughts that day by saying something that ripped right through me. He said, “Remember, don’t move anywhere else until you’ve done the best where you are.”
Ouch!
Because I had done my best at my day job, I realized my departure was inevitable. Even though I knew this, my organization didn’t. Preparing to make this announcement felt incredibly difficult.
Because I had a visible role within my day job, I needed to communicate my departure to all one thousand members at once.
You can imagine the fear I felt. Forget slipping out the back door! I had to announce my escape from a stage—literally. During the week of my announcement many thoughts went through my head. When I thought about disappointing people, I felt panic. Yet when I thought about pleasing God, I felt peace.
The day of the announcement went better than expected. My wife, Kelly, stood by my side in support. To our surprise, at the conclusion of the news, the entire organization cheered and gave us a standing ovation.
Funny, huh? The only standing ovation I ever received in my life came the moment I announced I was leaving. But all joking aside, their genuine appreciation strengthened my confidence in a very emotional moment.
Your Plan Leads to Zihuatanejo
Andy eventually escaped Shawshank Prison. By developing his plan and envisioning his payoff, he ran toward his future and escaped his present.
Obviously he didn’t want Shawshank—no one would. But toward the end of the movie we find out what he actually wanted—a life in Zihuatanejo.
Andy told his friend Red about this little Mexican town right on the Pacific. He chose the Pacific because the Mexicans say the ocean has no memory. Plagued with a heavy past, Andy wanted to create a new life. He informed Red about his dream to open a little hotel right on the beach. He’d buy a worthless old boat and fix it up like new to take guests out charter fishing.
Unable to formulate his own dream, Red was invited by Andy into his. Able to see beyond their current captivity, Andy painted a picture that played to Red’s strengths. “You know, a place like that, I’d need a man who can get things.”[3]
Institutionalized by now, Red simply shrugged off the dream. He couldn’t imagine life beyond bars.
Thankfully Andy did. His plan enabled him to dream bigger. DJs are funny like that. They inspire the rest of us. They force us to face our own fear. Their action demands us to make our own decision.
Red responded to Andy’s courage by finding his own. The Shawshank Redemption concludes much like this book. Red escaped his day job, broke parole, and boarded a bus to find Andy in Zihuatanejo. On his way to pursuing his own dream job he sat on the bus and reflected:
I find I am so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it is the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain.[4]
In a way, your conclusion is uncertain too. It rests squarely upon your shoulders.
So let me make it simple. Like Red, you really only have one of two choices.
Get busy living or get busy dying.
Which one is it?