Four years ago I declared my dreams were bigger than my fears

Scroll to the bottom to read the farewell letter I sent to my colleagues four years ago. It’s a reminder to leave roles with dignity and grace. Your co-workers will become your greatest supporters in the next chapter of your life.

Four years ago, I turned in my ID badge and laptop. I was departing a Fortune 100 financial services company after 12 years, which was the capstone to 20 years of working in large corporations and organizations. I left to pursue my entrepreneurial dreams.

Quitting my job in the early days of the pandemic - before quitting a job during the pandemic was the cool thing to do - might have seemed like a sudden and brave move to many. However, it was not an overnight decision. It was a many-years-in-the-making decision. It was a decision that was weighed, optimized, and prayed over. It was planned out and choreographed.?

The tipping point that led to my eventual resignation happened late at night during a writing session. I was overcome with emotion and wrote: My dreams are bigger than my fears.?

Fear is what holds most of us back.?

We fear:

• Failure
• Uncertainty?
• Loss of status
• Looking foolish

The peace I felt after declaring that my dreams were bigger than my fears meant that I could look failure and uncertainty in the eye and say “I see you. Bring it on if that is what is meant for me.”?

The past four years have been a rollercoaster.?

The highlight reel moments:

• I wrote and launched a bestselling book.?
• I’ve spoken to thousands of people around the world.?
• I've coached inspiring leaders who desired to make a greater difference in their organizations and in their lives.
• My family and I designed, built and moved into our dream home.?
• I supported my daughters navigate the return to “normal life” post-pandemic and post-move.
• I joined the team at a start-up mental fitness company and continue to help it evolve and grow in order to make a global impact.
• I’ve taken dream vacations and experienced magical business trips.?
• Most significantly, I had the space to spend time with my dad and support my mom in the final 18 months of his life. Even in his absence, he motivates the work I do everyday.?

...It hasn't been all dream homes and vacations. Some days, I face my humanness as much as anyone else and question why I’m doing what I’m doing.?

• All I want to do is lie on the couch and watch Netflix.?
• I scroll social media hoping for…honestly I have no idea what I might hope for in those scrolling sessions.?
• I incessantly check emails wondering if “it” is going to land in my inbox. Once again, I have no idea what “it” is, but I’ll know it when I see it!?

What’s most important is that each day, I take small steps on my quest to be of service and live my dreams, and with each day, I shed more of the heavy that holds me back from my next level of contribution.

One of my dear friends asked me today what my vision for the next four years is. Here is what I told her:?

I am ready to turn Let Her Out into a movement. People know what it means and have ways to activate HER through: book tours, main stage keynotes, workshops, retreats, group and private coaching. I give freely through my writing, inspiration and motivation.??        

By reading this, you are part of this movement. Thank you!?

I look forward to reading this message four years from now in order to reflect on where the journey has taken me during that time.?

Where were you four years ago? What's in your highlight reel? What's in your non-highlight reel?

Where do you aspire to be four years from now? What can you do TODAY to take one step closer to that dream??

A letter to my colleagues - June 2020

I’m writing today to let you know that after 12 years, I have decided to leave and follow my entrepreneurial dreams. To leave a job at a company that I have grown to love, with people I have grown to love more is scary, but I’ve finally decided to put my dreams in front of my fears.?

If you are receiving this message, it means that through our interaction - whether it have been a one-time meeting or a long-standing relationship - you have made a difference in my career.

As I prepare to close this chapter, there are three roles that have left a lasting imprint:

Serving as President of the All Women ARG from 2015-2017. The women who served with me on the board during this time are some of my greatest friends and serve as continual inspiration to keep pushing forward. We showed up not only for one another, but with the entire body of women at the company in mind. The thing I love most about associates who serve ARGs with their whole hearts is that they do this without the promise of promotion or greater job security. They are doing this to make the company better for each and every associate.?

Being a Director in Affinity Solutions. This was my first people leader role. I interviewed for the job on my first day back from maternity leave, unsure what it meant to step into a role that would require travel, evening and weekend work with a newborn. This role helped my husband and me define what it means to share parenting and household responsibilities. What I learned from the work, which involved managing relationships with over 400 member-based organizations across the country, is that a driving human need is to feel a sense of belonging. Whether that be through bowling, turkey hunting, bass fishing, or standing for equality, everyone wants to feel like they belong. It was great to be part of helping organizations figure out how to create this feeling and experience for their members.?

Leading the Sales Coaching Program. This is the best kept secret in the Fortune 100. The seven amazing professional coaches that I have had the honor to lead for the past 2 years have made - and continue to make - a significant difference in how our leaders show up for their teams, peers, friends and family. As I depart, my wish is that this program not only continues to drive performance within our business unit, but also informs how leaders step into shoes as coaches at an enterprise level. Coaching changed my life and I hope that it continues to change the lives of associates for years to come.?

I’m not sure that every company has a soul, but I know that this one does. That’s what attracted me to the company 12 years ago as a freshly minted MBA and what’s kept me here for over a decade. It is hard to leave the company during a global pandemic and the greatest period of social unrest that my generation will hopefully face. The response the company has had to COVID-19 has been outstanding. What the company has done most recently to make bold, unapologetic, and unified statements that Black Lives Matter is even more powerful.?

You work for an amazing company and I will forever be proud to be an alumna.?

I hope to stay connected to you as I venture out into the world. I look forward to sharing even more of my story later this year with the publication of my first book Let Her Out: Reclaim Who You Have Always Been.??

If we aren’t already, feel free to connect with me on any of the socials. LinkedIn if you want to keep up professionally. Facebook or Instagram if you want to see pictures of my girls growing up and the antics of our guinea pigs.??

From the bottom of my heart - thank you for being a part of my professional journey.? I might be turning in my laptop and badge on Friday, but I will forever be one of you.?

Take care and be well,

Natalie

Thank you for reading this article. I draw on my experiences as a coach, author and speaker, as well as my roles of wife, daughter, mother, sister and friend to create content on meaningful connections and living authentically. I recently documented my 6-month Quest to "Shed the Heavy" and invite you to subscribe and follow along as I continue my progress. Other work that might be of interest: 52 Weeks of Meaningful Connections and my bestselling book Let Her Out: Reclaim Who You Have Always Been .