I have a job I mostly like in a hybrid between nonprofit and corporate (higher education). I am paid well enough and I believe in our mission but am not fulfilled creatively, so I make sure to read delicious novels, take pictures of the glowing-yellow Ginkgo trees on our campus in the fall and write poetry occasionally...you know, what all of us corporate gals do to survive. But lately the novels and poetry feel like another to-do to squeeze in among the other have tos. There're simply not enough hours in the day and then even the leisure time feels rushed and unfulfilling.
I have never really considered leaving the corporate life, but have been saving for early retirement. I just want my time to be MY OWN. This essay is making me consider other possibilities though — a gift women need to be giving each other always and forever, so thank you. Also, having dabbled in The Artist's Way, I see the fingerprints of its influence all over the place in this essay. It really is all about listening to our inner knowing, isn't it?!
Yeah, "time freedom" is what I put on my list of goals for several years in a row. It could take so many different forms! But I've definitely been down the early retirement path (FIRE has me in a chokehold) and I've loved the flexibility it's given me. And then The Artist's Way actually gave me the self-trust and confidence to take the leap. Excited to see what you do next, keep me posted!
I’m so excited to continue following your journey!! It’s hard to breakaway from corporate America, but so liberating when you finally get the courage and trust to do so. Would also love to hear about your writing residency program and how you found it etc.
Thank you so much! Yep, "liberated" is the right word.
I found the writing residency through a friend's recommendation, but recently stumbled upon an Instagram account that compiles a ton of opportunities: https://www.instagram.com/artistcommunitiesorg/
I think that's going to be my new source of truth for finding the next residencies.
Great that you're doing this! Had to think of two things when reading:
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNuOmTQdFjA - Stefan Sagmeister's approach to sabbaticals. Especially like his visual of spreading out retirement across your working life instead of saving it all till the end of life.
2. This quote, which is a cliché when it's on an office wall, but it does totally make sense when you're doing what you're doing: "One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time." (or the more popular translation: "Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.") Commonly attributed to André Gide, the French author and Nobel Prize winner.
In planning my own sabbatical, I too found that once the idea was articulated to friends, it started a momentum that built and built. I also resonate with worrying I would be judged for being ungrateful - like I am saying that all this stuff that most of my peers value is not good enough for me.
The "I felt existentially afraid..." paragraph - yes, yes, yes! I feel this in my bones! Thanks for sharing your experience! Sending well wishes on your journey to continue reaching for that warmth!
Thank you, Brittany! Love to know I'm not alone in that feeling. Sometimes I was like, am I taking this too seriously? But it is serious! It's my one and only life! Warm wishes right back at you. ❤️
I'm considering rebranding my recent layoff as a sabbatical! The urge to just throw myself full-time into job searching is strong, but I'm trying to resist! I'm keeping an eye on opportunities, but mostly trying to use this time to pursue all my creative projects. Happy to exchange notes of encouragement any time!
Lane, your piece is really inspiring, as I'm about to do the same as your title says. 🤩
I went down the rabbit hole and ended up reading your Longreads essay 'Creation of Woman: Evangelical and Transgender in the Bible Belt' and, boy (girl?), is it brilliant! Loved the style, the introspection, the story thread... such good writing! I wanted to share that with you, hoping it puts a smile on your face. :)
Thank you for teaching me a new quote, loved reading this 😊 “I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.”
Have you ever read Kafka's diary? There's a section in there where he talks about this specifically, where he felt like he could never fully "inhabit" the role of a writer because of his day job as a lawyer, and that prevented him from being great. Of course the big irony being that Kafka is now enshrined in the literary-artistic canon as one of the greats.
I think there's at least an argument that having limited free time to do art places creative constraints on you that actually CAN be beneficial for your work. Saying more with less, etc. Too much freedom can sometimes be harmful. I'd like to know more about people who take these kinds of sabbaticals and what they think they got from it.
With that said, I know what it's like to work a corporate gig you hate, and a sabbatical sounds like a nice extended vacation at worst, so enjoy it.
I love this so much! I left my full-time job last month to move abroad and work freelance. I've just got to Paris and have a little bit of work on, but it's still all a bit up in the air. I blame 'The Artist's Way' too for giving me the courage to actually do what I had been planning and dreaming about for years! I wrote about being delusional and taking the risk on my Substack recently too. You can read it here if you'd like to take a look https://starburned.substack.com/p/kill-your-scarcity-mindset-be-delusional <3
lane!!! this is nothing short of inspiring. it’s such a great exploration on the backstory of the raw courage and audacity you have in your approach to life - which as you share here, hasn’t always been as undeniable and unyielding. it took a lot of self-trust for you to get there. it wasn’t an overnight decision… until it became one, the culmination of all your stresses and hopes. it is genuinely so so awesome and makes me want to strike my own life with the same yeehaw (but perhaps not quite blow it up just yet). super duper subscribed - I think I’ve got a lot to learn from your rodeo :))
Soooo many sentences stopped me in my tracks with their resonant beauty and truth!!! But this one (okay, technically 2) might just be my favorite, “That’s how I felt about staying at my job: A perfectly nice place, lovely people, a wonderful team. I just couldn’t do it anymore and remain whole.” WOOF!!!!
Good lord does this hit home: "Leaving a corporate job is not unlike leaving religion."
I am exactly in this same predicament right now and I just want to say thank you for writing this. And so proud of you for making the leap.
signed, someone who is also left their religion, loves Russian lit, George Saunders, and needs to leave their corporate job
We have so much in common. Quit your job and let's add one more thing. 😈 (You can always count on me to vote in favor of taking that big leap.)
I have a job I mostly like in a hybrid between nonprofit and corporate (higher education). I am paid well enough and I believe in our mission but am not fulfilled creatively, so I make sure to read delicious novels, take pictures of the glowing-yellow Ginkgo trees on our campus in the fall and write poetry occasionally...you know, what all of us corporate gals do to survive. But lately the novels and poetry feel like another to-do to squeeze in among the other have tos. There're simply not enough hours in the day and then even the leisure time feels rushed and unfulfilling.
I have never really considered leaving the corporate life, but have been saving for early retirement. I just want my time to be MY OWN. This essay is making me consider other possibilities though — a gift women need to be giving each other always and forever, so thank you. Also, having dabbled in The Artist's Way, I see the fingerprints of its influence all over the place in this essay. It really is all about listening to our inner knowing, isn't it?!
Yeah, "time freedom" is what I put on my list of goals for several years in a row. It could take so many different forms! But I've definitely been down the early retirement path (FIRE has me in a chokehold) and I've loved the flexibility it's given me. And then The Artist's Way actually gave me the self-trust and confidence to take the leap. Excited to see what you do next, keep me posted!
I’m so excited to continue following your journey!! It’s hard to breakaway from corporate America, but so liberating when you finally get the courage and trust to do so. Would also love to hear about your writing residency program and how you found it etc.
Thank you so much! Yep, "liberated" is the right word.
I found the writing residency through a friend's recommendation, but recently stumbled upon an Instagram account that compiles a ton of opportunities: https://www.instagram.com/artistcommunitiesorg/
I think that's going to be my new source of truth for finding the next residencies.
Great that you're doing this! Had to think of two things when reading:
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNuOmTQdFjA - Stefan Sagmeister's approach to sabbaticals. Especially like his visual of spreading out retirement across your working life instead of saving it all till the end of life.
2. This quote, which is a cliché when it's on an office wall, but it does totally make sense when you're doing what you're doing: "One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time." (or the more popular translation: "Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.") Commonly attributed to André Gide, the French author and Nobel Prize winner.
I love both of these so much. Thank you for sharing!
Adored so many parts of this.
In planning my own sabbatical, I too found that once the idea was articulated to friends, it started a momentum that built and built. I also resonate with worrying I would be judged for being ungrateful - like I am saying that all this stuff that most of my peers value is not good enough for me.
Also saving that Diane Akerman quote <3
One of my first posts was also sabbatical related, it's a subject close to my heart! https://lilarwrites.substack.com/p/my-fairly-cynical-thoughts-on-how
The "I felt existentially afraid..." paragraph - yes, yes, yes! I feel this in my bones! Thanks for sharing your experience! Sending well wishes on your journey to continue reaching for that warmth!
Thank you, Brittany! Love to know I'm not alone in that feeling. Sometimes I was like, am I taking this too seriously? But it is serious! It's my one and only life! Warm wishes right back at you. ❤️
I'm considering rebranding my recent layoff as a sabbatical! The urge to just throw myself full-time into job searching is strong, but I'm trying to resist! I'm keeping an eye on opportunities, but mostly trying to use this time to pursue all my creative projects. Happy to exchange notes of encouragement any time!
I feel like this is a post we will look back on in ten years and realize this was the start of something remarkable. So happy for you Lane!
Lane, your piece is really inspiring, as I'm about to do the same as your title says. 🤩
I went down the rabbit hole and ended up reading your Longreads essay 'Creation of Woman: Evangelical and Transgender in the Bible Belt' and, boy (girl?), is it brilliant! Loved the style, the introspection, the story thread... such good writing! I wanted to share that with you, hoping it puts a smile on your face. :)
Thank you for teaching me a new quote, loved reading this 😊 “I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.”
Have you ever read Kafka's diary? There's a section in there where he talks about this specifically, where he felt like he could never fully "inhabit" the role of a writer because of his day job as a lawyer, and that prevented him from being great. Of course the big irony being that Kafka is now enshrined in the literary-artistic canon as one of the greats.
I think there's at least an argument that having limited free time to do art places creative constraints on you that actually CAN be beneficial for your work. Saying more with less, etc. Too much freedom can sometimes be harmful. I'd like to know more about people who take these kinds of sabbaticals and what they think they got from it.
With that said, I know what it's like to work a corporate gig you hate, and a sabbatical sounds like a nice extended vacation at worst, so enjoy it.
I love this so much! I left my full-time job last month to move abroad and work freelance. I've just got to Paris and have a little bit of work on, but it's still all a bit up in the air. I blame 'The Artist's Way' too for giving me the courage to actually do what I had been planning and dreaming about for years! I wrote about being delusional and taking the risk on my Substack recently too. You can read it here if you'd like to take a look https://starburned.substack.com/p/kill-your-scarcity-mindset-be-delusional <3
lane!!! this is nothing short of inspiring. it’s such a great exploration on the backstory of the raw courage and audacity you have in your approach to life - which as you share here, hasn’t always been as undeniable and unyielding. it took a lot of self-trust for you to get there. it wasn’t an overnight decision… until it became one, the culmination of all your stresses and hopes. it is genuinely so so awesome and makes me want to strike my own life with the same yeehaw (but perhaps not quite blow it up just yet). super duper subscribed - I think I’ve got a lot to learn from your rodeo :))
Love this! You inspire me!
Soooo many sentences stopped me in my tracks with their resonant beauty and truth!!! But this one (okay, technically 2) might just be my favorite, “That’s how I felt about staying at my job: A perfectly nice place, lovely people, a wonderful team. I just couldn’t do it anymore and remain whole.” WOOF!!!!
❤️