Lessons from a Quitter

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: www.stevemccready.com steve@stevemccready.com www.limbicvisions.com   Follow along for more: www.lessonsfromaquitter.com Facebook Instagram Twitter

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: www.lessonsfromaquitter.com Facebook Instagram Twitter

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: www.lessonsfromaquitter.com Facebook Instagram Twitter

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: www.jennyedencoaching.com Facebook Group   Follow along for more: www.lessonsfromaquitter.com Facebook Instagram Twitter

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!  

We had such an interesting conversation with Melissa Wolak about how you can take all of the skills from your career and turn it into a business that you love. What is even more helpful is that Melissa shows us how to take baby steps from an employee to a side hustle to a full solopreneur business. For a lot of us, this journey is a lot more palatable than storming the island and burning the ships.   Melissa Wolak has a Master’s degree in Communication Disorders and spent 20 years working as a speech-language cognitive therapist in hospital settings. Throughout that time, Melissa became disillusioned with the lack of a holistic approach to treating patients, especially those with traumatic brain injuries. She began training in mindfulness techniques but was not allowed to use her new skills on existing patients. That restriction prompted her to begin seeing clients outside of her regular job. Slowly, her consulting career moved from just patients to helping action-oriented people achieve their goals. In 2016, she quit her job to pursue her private practice as a transformational and mindset coach and speaker full-time. Here is what we chat about in this episode: Why Melissa wanted to become a Speech and Language Cognitive Therapist How having her daughter changed her perspective How she started learning more about mindfulness and how that changed the way she approached her work   How she started her side hustle while still working at her job What happened since she moved on to her own business How she manages doing work as a Cognitive Therapist and a Mindfulness and Transformational Coach. How she grew her business to replace her old salary Resources mentioned in the episode: Gay Hendricks, The Big Leap Jen Sincero, You Are A Badass Simon Sinek, Start with Why Brene Brown Where to find Melissa: https://melissawolak.com/

We got the chance to talk to the inspiring Sarah Williams about her incredible journey and all the exciting things she is doing.   After working in finance for 8 years, Sarah quit her city job and spent 18 months travelling the world, climbing Kilimanjaro, backpacking around South America and doing a ski season. When she returned, she started Tough Girl Challenges- a blog, podcast and tribe dedicated to motivating and inspiring women and girls. Through her Tough Girl Podcast, Sarah interviews inspirational female explorers, adventurers, athletes and everyday women who have overcome great challenges. She also uses the website and community to chronicle a yearly Tough Girl Challenge of her own. In 2016, she completed the Marathon des Sables (156 mi) and, in 2017, she hiked the Appalachian Trail (2,190 miles) in 100 days! Her 2018 challenge will be to cycle the over 4,000 km of the Pacific Coast Highway from Vancouver to the Baja Divide starting this September!  As if that wasn’t enough, Sarah is also studying for her Masters in Women & Gender studies at Lancaster University.   What we chat about in the episode How she got into finance and why she kept climbing the corporate ladder How she realized that she was miserable and needed a change How she planned for quitting How she jumped without knowing what she wanted to do and how that affected her mindset How she traveled for 18 months without a plan and figured it out along the way How the idea of Tough Girl Challenges came about and how she started it What Tough Girl Challenges is all about and what her yearly challenges include Why she decided that she needed to have a Masters in Women & Gender Equality because of her platform How she monetizes her work through Tough Girl Challenges   Resources Mentioned in the episode: Patreon.com   How to reach out to Sarah: www.toughgirlchallenges.com

Erin received her law degree from UC Berkeley in 2008 and worked as a lawyer for one year before she was fired. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Erin decided to take a leap of faith and pour her life savings into creating a restaurant dedicated to the best food on earth: mac and cheese. Erin is the Founder and CEO of Homeroom. Homeroom has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today, Food Network, Travel Channel, Cooking Channel, and other national media outlets.   Homeroom now has over 100 employees and has also received numerous awards for its people-first business practices. Erin authored the best-selling “Mac and Cheese Cookbook,” and business articles for Conscious Company Magazine and the Washington Post.   Here is what we chat about in this episode: Why Erin went to law school even though she had wanted to open a cupcake shop What happened after Erin was fired from her firm How she used her entire life saving to open up a restaurant with virtually no experience in this field. How she found herself unhappy after 5 years in her dream job and what she did to fix it. What Homeroom is doing now to create more female partners in the restaurant industry and how they’re sharing their successful anti-harassment training policy. Resources Mentioned in the Podcast Clayton M. Christensen, “How Will You Measure Your Life” Erin Wade, I’m a female chef. Here’s how my restaurant dealt with harassment from customers. The Washington Post. Where to find Erin https://homeroom510.com/

Today, we get to talk to Steve Trang about how he made the (rather quick) jump from electrical engineer to real estate agent and how he’s grown in that role ever since. Steve started out his career earning a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering and working as an engineer for Intel for 3.5 years. In 2007, Steve quit his engineering career to become a real estate agent. Since then, Steve has gone on to create Stunning Home Realty, a real estate brokerage in Phoenix, Arizona that he has grown to 60 licensed agents, selling over 100 houses a year and creating some of the top producing teams in the valley. He’s also gone on to start his own Title company and develop a real estate app. Steve is not only committed to building his successful real estate empire but he also believes in helping others build their dreams too. He recently started a podcast called Real Estate Disruptors, where he interviews other real estate experts on how they’re disrupting their markets.   Here is what we chat about in this episode: How getting his Masters degree in Electrical Engineering is really taking the easy route because “someone else lays out the plan and you just follow it” How he always knew that he would eventually leave his engineering job but why it happened so much faster than he expected.   How his irrational confidence allowed him to meet a real estate broker and, within 2 ½ weeks of that meeting, get his real estate license and quit his engineering job. “Real confidence is knowing you’ll figure it out” - Brandon Burchard How the fall of the real estate market in 2007 almost sent him back to his engineering job and how he continued to push through. How he uses self-help to continue to grow his business. How he went from being a real estate agent to owning his own brokerage, title company, real estate app and podcast. Resources Mentioned in the Podcast Tony Hsieh, Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose. Micheal E. Gerber, The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It. Pat Flynn’s Smart Passive Income Darren Hardy’s Darren Daily Where to find Steve Realestatedispruptors.com Stevetrang.com

We got to sit down with Kaveh Mostafavi, the founder and CEO of EcoCare Supply, a wholesale distribution firm focused on sustainable products and systems. EcoCare is one of the nation’s fastest growing supply companies and helps customers increase their bottom line while reducing environmental impact. However, before starting Ecocare, Kaveh started out his career as an attorney in Arizona specializing in bankruptcy law. In addition to his law practice, Kaveh opened two Pancheros restaurants in Arizona as a franchisee. His experience as a restauranteur, specifically witnessing the amount of waste in his restaurants, led him to create EcoCare. In a couple of short years, Kaveh has grown EcoCare into a 7-figure company.   Here is what we chat about in this episode: Why Kaveh chose to become a lawyer and how he ended up working as a bankruptcy lawyer. How he opened up his own practice as well as two Pancheros restaurants. What his experience as a franchisee taught him. Why he sold his law practice and his franchise restaurant to go work for a supply company How he pushed past people thinking he was crazy for quitting law to start a company he didn’t know anything about. How he ended up working for both a murderer and a fraud and why that made him want to be his own boss. How he got his idea for EcoCare Supply and how he started it.   Resources mentioned in this episode: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey.   Where to find Kaveh:   Ecocaresupply.com Thecompostninja.com kaveh@ecocaresupply.com