Lessons from a Quitter

Latest Episodes:

Ep.15: How Lauretta Ihonor quit numerous careers, including as a doctor and journalist, to finally find her true passion Oct 09, 2018

Show notes

So many of the people that I talk to that feel stuck and want to quit have the same fear: What if I quit this stable career and the next thing I try doesn't work out? Or, even if it does work out, what if I don't like that career either? It seems like staying in what you know, even if you are unhappy, is a better decision.

Well, that is why I'm so excited to have the inspiring Lauretta Ihonor on the show today. Lauretta didn't quit one, or two, careers. She has quit 5 different careers in order to find her true passion and lead a life she loves.

Lauretta started her professional life as a medical doctor after graduating from University College London in 2008. After working as a junior doctor at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London for a year, she left medicine to find a career that felt better suited to her. This turned into an almost decade-long journey, that involved four degrees, five career changes and six careers (including working as a fashion stylist for Net a Porter, and as a TV journalist/producer for the BBC and CNN International). After noticing the lack of support for career changers in the UK, she founded The Ambition Plan - a digital career change platform for ambitious women who are eager to do fulfilling work, but unsure of what they truly want to do with their lives - in May 2018. The Ambition Plan now provides career clarity coaching, masterclasses and online expert-led resources to help women across the globe get clear about what they want to do with their lives and create a plan for doing so.

Lauretta's journey is a testament to the fact that you don't have to have it all figured out. Once you take that first jump, you gain the courage and confidence to know that you'll figure it out. And you also realize that you never have to settle, no matter how many jumps it takes.

Here is what we chat about in this episode:

How Lauretta walked away from being a doctor, even when her supervisors thought she needed a psychological evaluation for deciding to leave.
How she went on a decade long journey, including working in fashion, journalism, and nutritional consulting, to find her true passion.
Why Lauretta feels that she is luckier than most people.
How a career coach was pivotal in helping her gain the clarity she needed to find her calling
Why she developed The Ambition Plan and where she hopes to take it.
Why you should never make a decision from a place of fear

Resources mentioned in this episode:

The 4 Hour Work Week, Tim Ferriss
Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
Mind Valley, Christie Marie Sheldon.

Where to find Lauretta:

Website: theambitionplan.com
Instagram: instagram.com/theambitionplan
Twitter: twitter.com/theambitionplan
Facebook: facebook.com/theambitionplan
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/theambitionplan

Follow along for more:

Ep. 14: How David Lat went from lawyer to editor and founder of Above the Law Oct 02, 2018

Show notes

I cannot tell you guys how excited I am to have David Lat on the show! My lawyer friends will understand but to give my non-lawyer friends a bit more background, David is the editor at large and founder of Above the Law, an award-winning website about the legal profession that reaches more than 1 million unique visitors a month.

But that doesn't really grasp the magnitude of what David has helped to create. Above the Law is THE website for anyone that works within the legal field. They cover everything from the Supreme Court decisions to what bonuses will be each year at various law firms. They have an undeniable influence on many things that happen in the legal field simply by shining a light on it.

But in order to start Above the Law, David had to leave behind his practice as an attorney. Before entering the media world, David worked as a federal prosecutor in Newark, New Jersey; a litigation associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, in New York; and a law clerk to Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. David graduated from Harvard College and Yale Law School, where he served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal.

Prior to Above the Law, he launched Underneath Their Robes, a blog about federal judges.

David's writing has also appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post, among other publications.

David first book, Supreme Ambitions: A Novel, was published in 2014.

Here is what we chat about in this episode:

Why David started his first blog, Underneath Their Robes, anonymously.
What happened after David's identity as the blogger behind Underneath Their Robes was discovered.
Why he walked away from a prestigious legal career to pursue blogging.
How he came up with the idea for Above the Law and how he got it off the ground
How Above the Law has grown over the last 12 years
Why David stepped down as managing editor of Above the Law and what he is up to now.

Where to find David:

Follow along for more:

Ep. 13: How to grow any business through Instagram with Tyler J. McCall Sep 25, 2018

Show notes

Ep. 13: How to grow any business on Instagram with Tyler J. McCall

I want this podcast to not just be inspirational stories about how people made the big leap (though I do love those episodes) but also practical resources to help you make the big leap too. And there is no resource that can help you to build and grow a business, side hustle, passion project more than social media - specifically, Instagram.

Enter the guru himself, Mr. Tyler J. McCall. Tyler J. McCall is an Instagram and social media marketer, strategist, and coach for creatives and online business owners. He teaches his students how to use Instagram with intention to grow their community online and grow their business. Tyler focuses on using Instagram and social media to tell stories, build relationships, and convert followers to fans, drawing from his 10 years of experience in non-profit marketing and management and community organizing. He's taught thousands of entrepreneurs and managed dozens of Instagram accounts since getting into the online marketing game in 2015.

This episode is full of great insight and action steps for how to grow your business on Instagram.

Here is what we chat about in this episode:

How you can use Instagram for your traditional business (think law practice, dental office, etc)
How to use Instagram to start a side hustle and literally sell anything
How to get over your uncomfortable thoughts about putting yourself out there on Instagram.
Best practices for your Instagram page
And much more!

Where to find Tyler:

Instagram | www.instagram.com/tylerjmccall
Facebook | www.facebook.com/tylerjmccall
Facebook Group | www.tylerjmccall.com/group
Follower to Fan Society | www.followertofansociety.com
Tyler J. McCall | www.tylerjmccall.com

Follow along for more:

Website | www.lessonsfromaquitter.com
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/lessonsfromaquitter
Instagram| https://www.instagram.com/lessonsfromaquitter/
Twitter | https://twitter.com/quitterpodcast

Ep. 12: How Nick J. Murphy never lets fear or failure get in his way Sep 18, 2018

Show notes

Today we had our first professional athlete! Nick J. Murphy started out his career as a punter in the NFL until 2005. After leaving the NFL and finding a void in the job application process, Nick jumped into entrepreneurship by creating workblast.com, a startup focused on bringing video resumes to the job site world. After 4 grueling years, Nick and his partner closed down the company and Nick found himself back to square one.

He ultimately went into the corporate world and ended up successfully climbing the ladder at 3 of the world's largest job sites: CareerBuilder, Monder, and Indeed. And while he found stability and a large paycheck, Nick was unfulfilled in his role. He quit in order to give entrepreneurship another shot. He is currently the Founder and CEO of Mid-America Careers, a career website focused on the Midwest.

Nick is also a Transformation Strategist, host of the Job Lab Podcast, speaker, frequent media contributor, and father of five. His insights have been featured in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Inc. Inc.com, Yahoo!, Business Insider and many more

Today we got to talk to Nick about how he was able to let go of the identity that was wrapped up with being an NFL player, how he came back from bankruptcy, and why staying at a high-paying job that you are not fulfilled in is just not worth it.

Here is what we chat about in this episode:

How Nick dealt with the difficulty of leaving the NFL
How he got the idea and funding for his first startup
How he dealt the failure of that startup
His journey climbing the corporate ladder
Why he decided to risk it all to start another company
Why he thinks 85% of people are unhappy in their jobs
And why you should just go for it...

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Tim Ferriss's Fear Setting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=5J6jAC6XxAI
Gary Keller, The One Thing
Greg, McKeown, Essentialism
W. Chan Kim, Blue Ocean Strategy

Where to find Nick:

Follow along for more:

Ep. 11: How Pleasance Silicki navigated multiple career changes by staying true to herself. Sep 11, 2018

Show notes

Pleasance Silicki has had 2 major career transitions. But as you'll see from the interview today, each career she's had has put her on the path to the next thing. So what was her journey? Well, Pleasance received her Masters in Education from the University of Pennsylvania and worked as a teacher, and then a principal, of urban elementary schools. After already feeling burned out from the job, a school shooting prompted Pleasance to leave her position.

She went on to follow her passion for yoga and opened up numerous yoga studios around the DC area. After running those studios successfully for a number of years, circumstances outside of her control led her to close them down.

Pleasance is now an author, teacher, speaker, podcaster, mentor, creator, and magic-maker.

She is the founder of Thrive, an online self-care class and community. She also facilitates Stress Management and Self-Care workshops and retreats to a variety of groups and does one-on-one private mentorships based on Ayurvedic, Buddhist, and positive psychology teachings. Pleasance is also the author of Delight: 8 Principles for Living with Joy And Ease and the host of the Soulful SelfCare Sessions Podcast.

I got to talk to Pleasance about how each stage in her life and each step on her journey led her to the next thing, the lessons she's learned from pivoting numerous times, and how she approaches her career today.

Here is what we chat about in this episode:

Why she wanted to become a elementary school teacher
How she became a principal at a Charter School
How a school shooting changed the course of her career
How she got a dream job at Lululemon
Why it is so important to take baby steps and not worry about the end goal
How she ended up opening numerous yoga studios around DC
The lessons she learned from having to close down those studios
How she has evolved her career into consulting, mentorship, and teaching the spiritual practices founded on Ayurveda, Buddhism, yoga, and positive psychology.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Body of Work, by Pamela Slim
Delight: 8 Principles for Living with Joy And Ease, Pleasance Silicki
Book Recommendations

Where to find Pleasance:

Follow along for more:

Ep.10: How Steve McCready made the jump from IT to therapist by pushing past his own false narratives Sep 04, 2018

Show notes

Today we got to talk to Steve about how he made the jump from systems engineer in IT to being a therapist.

Steve McCready got his BA from Brown University in American Studies. After graduating and not knowing what he wanted to do, Steve focused on his interest in computers and forged a career in IT. He climbed the corporate ladder as a systems engineer but became frustrated that he wasn't actually helping his customers. After his own personal experience in therapy, Steve realized that his passion truly lied in helping people on a one-on-one basis through counseling. He returned to school at the University of San Francisco to get his master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. And now, for over 15 years, Steve McCready has been working as a therapist, focusing his practice on helping people who are 'too nice' get the clarity, courage, and confidence they need to stand up for themselves and live happy, successful, and fulfilling lives.

Today we talked to Steve about how he figured out what he would do next when he wanted to leave his career in IT, how he pushed back the false narratives he created about himself, and how we can get better at literally anything that interests us.

Here is what we chat about in this episode:

Why Steve felt unfulfilled in his role as a systems engineer even though he is interested in computers and electronics
How he moved past the negative internal voices that told him he couldn't do anything else
How therapy helped him personally and also exposed him to a new career path
How changing a career when you're a little older can be a huge benefit
How to get over the stories we have created about ourselves
What the difference between therapy and coaching is
How we can get better at any endeavor if we just work at it.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Dead Poets Society

Where to find Steve:

Follow along for more:

Ep. 9: How Laurie Rowen disrupted the legal profession to create the career she wanted Aug 28, 2018

Show notes

Laurie Rowen received her law degree from USD Law in 2004 and went on to have a successful career as a litigator at the prestigious firm of Snell & Wilmer. After having her first daughter, Laurie quit her job to work as a freelance attorney on her own schedule. Her decision coincided with the market crash of 2008 and Laurie realized that there was a huge opportunity to make freelance legal work more accessible. With her business partner, Laurie co-founded Montage Legal Group, a nationwide network of experienced freelance lawyers who work remotely on a project basis for law firms that need help with overflow and specialty areas of law. Montage Legal Group has been featured in numerous publications including ABA Journal and Forbes.com and Laurie has received numerous awards National Association of Women Business Owner's Entrepreneur to Watch and OC metro magazine's 40 under 40.

Today we talked to Laurie about how she disrupted a profession that is resistant to change, how she scaled a business with no experience and how to start looking for your next jump before quitting your career.

Here is what we chat about in this episode:

Why Laurie quit her career as a litigator in a big law firm to do freelance work
How her own freelance career led her to see a much bigger opportunity
How she started a nationwide network for freelance attorneys with zero business experience
Her advice on whether you should find a partner when starting a business
How to figure out what your next step should be

Resources mentioned in this episode:

21 Days of Resilience, by Dr. Zelana Montminy

Where to find Jenny:

www.montagelegal.com
laurie@montagelegal.com

Follow along for more:

Ep. 08: How Maria Granovsky made the jump from Ph.D. to J.D. to Entrepreneur Aug 21, 2018

Show notes

Maria Granovsky knows exactly what it takes to quit and start something new because she quit her profession not once but twice! Maria got her Ph.D. in medical and molecular genetics from the University of Toronto. During her post-doc training, she decided not to go down the path as a scientist but rather pursue her lifelong interest in the law. She received her law degree from Georgetown University and went on to work as a patent litigator for over 10 years.

During that time, Maria took some time away from the law to write and sell a novel. Ultimately, though, she decided to return to law for a couple more years. Maria delved into marketing courses in order to help with business development of her own law practice. She quickly began helping other lawyer friends with business development for their law practices as well. She realized that she had a knack for marketing and really enjoyed this aspect of the business. About a year and half ago, Maria quit her legal practice in order to start her own business helping other lawyers with marketing and business development.

Today we talk to Maria about how she navigated these various career pivots and what she has learned from them.

Here is what we chat about in this episode:

How graduate school can be the path of least resistance
Why Maria took time away from law to write a novel and ultimately decided to go back to law
How her experience with business development in her own legal practice led her to start her marketing and coaching business.
How she moved past having her identity tied up with being a lawyer
Why it makes sense to start a new business that is tangentially related to your career
Why everyone has to learn marketing and business development regardless of their field
Why networking is like a negotiation and how you can make it work for you

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Pivot, by Jenny Blake

Where to find Maria:

www.mariagranovsky.com
Linkedin: @mariagranovsky
Twitter: @mgranovsky

Follow along for more:

Ep. 07: How to create a business on your own terms with Jenny Eden Berk Aug 14, 2018

Show notes

Jenny Berk received her Master's degree in Psychology and Education and is a Certified Eating Psychology Coach, Body Image Mentor, International Speaker, and best selling author of the new release The Body Image Blueprint. Prior to starting her coaching program, Jenny worked for over 13 years as a health educator for a weight management company. While she loved helping people with their issues surrounding food and body image, Jenny was against the company's aggressive tactics. Wanting to utilize her background in Psychology in order to heal people's relationships with food rather than focus on weight loss, Jenny went on to get certificates from the Institute for the Psychology of Eating and Mindfulness-based Eatingness Awareness training. In 2015, she quit her job in order to start her own coaching program where she specializes in unique binge eating cessation techniques and mindful eating practices.

Today we get to talk to Jenny about how to create a career on your own terms, how to overcome imposter syndrome and how small steps make all the difference.

Here is what we chat about in this episode:

How Jenny started working for a weight management company
Why her own issues with dieting made her feel like an imposter
How she started noticing the problems with the tactics being used by her employer
How she had her awakening that she needed to leave
How she got her gentle push to leave her company
How she created her coaching business to fit her life

Where to find Jenny:

Follow along for more:

Ep. 06: Why you don't need passion to scale a successful creative business with Pye Jirsa Aug 07, 2018

Show notes

I love this conversation with Pye! It was such a raw and in-depth conversation about the illusion of stability, the origin of most people's fears, and the importance of developing a learning mindset.

What is so fascinating about Pye's journey is not just that he jumped from being a CPA to becoming a founder of an award-winning, multi-million dollar photography studio, it's that he did that without having a passion for or knowing the first thing about photography.

Like most of us, Pye started going down the traditional path. He became a CPA and worked for Ernst & Young before realizing that he did not like what he was doing. He quit, along with his two best friends Justin and Chris, in order to start a tech startup. When the funding for their startup fell through, the friends took on web development clients. One of their clients needed photographs taken and Pye assured them that they had a photography department that could take care of it!

What I love about his story is that most people would not only shirk at taking on a task that they don't know how to do but also avoid a "creative" profession that they are not skilled in. Pye, realizing that photography was a skill that could be acquired, looked at entering the wedding photography industry as a business and not a passion.

That eye towards business has led Pye, and his partners, to create Lin and Jirsa Photography, a boutique Southern California wedding and portrait photography studio composed of an incredible creative team of 50 people that shoots over 300 weddings each year, with nearly 1,000 yearly client commissions. He is also a founder and partner in SLR Lounge, a premium educational community geared towards providing photographers with real-world shoot education with nearly a million monthly readers.

What You'll Learn in this Episode:

My experience with launching this podcast! Specifically, how taking a risk in my own life led me to realize the opportunity in doing so.
The breaking point that led Pye to quit his job and take a risk on himself
How failed attempts at funding projects and business ventures became opportunities for exploration, self-discovery, and ultimately, success
How he created a multi-million dollar business in photography with a positive "learning mindset"
Why Pye has a "passionate dislike" of the word "stable" and the illusion it creates
Where Pye believes most fear comes from and why it limits your opportunities and potential
How developing a "Learning Mindset" allowed Pye to turn quitting and "failing" into growth, opportunity, and success

Resources from the Show:

Visit Lin and Jirsa Photography and explore his phenomenal photo blog.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King, ebook
Listen to more inspiring quitters on my webpage!

Where to find Pye Jirsa:

Instagram: @pyejirsa

Photography Instagram: @linandjirsa

SLR Lounge Instagram: @slrlounge

If you were inspired by this episode of "Lessons from a Quitter" with Pye Jirsa, I know you will find inspiration in other lessons from quitters on my website. Enjoy listening!

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected