Free Falling Into Simplicity

It probably isn't surprising to anyone who's been following my blog during my sabbatical that I quit my job today. It certainly wasn't surprising to my (former) boss, since he'd also been following my blog while I was out. Gotta love the power of Google.

I've been silent these last few weeks as I really settled into the rhythm of being away from the daily grind, worked on my book, and sat quietly on sunny afternoons in the backyard contemplating my next move.

I've never left a job without having the even higher paying 2.0 version already lined up. But in those quiet moments I became sure it was the right thing to do for a variety of reasons. Taking a risk right now feels like the path to a greater reward – and not a monetary one for a change (although I would like to continue to live in San Francisco, one of the most expensive cities on the planet, so I'll hopefully eke out SOME cash along the way).

So, as of tomorrow I'm going to be joining a friend as a partner in the marketing business she started a few months ago. Working for myself for the first time, my goals are simple: have passion for my work, focus on the areas of marketing I really care about, and help build a fledgling business with a worthy mission.

At the same time I want to have a level of flexibility in my life and not lose the natural rhythms I've discovered in the last few weeks. Again, simple things such as continuing to work on my book, driving less and consuming less fuel, practicing yoga and meditation to enhance my spiritual life, and spending time with my quickly ageing canine best friend.

Maybe this is my own personal version of having it all.

If not now, when?

Is Turning 39 More Daunting Than Turning 40?

I recently turned 39, and it has set off a flurry of both mental and physical activity. Suddenly there is a backlog of things to be accomplished before I hit the big 4-0:

• Finish the novel I've been working on for 8 years
• Get in amazing physical shape before all my body parts start to head south
• Figure out my next big career milestone or...
• Decide to quit my job altogether and see where that leads
• Have more and better sex...ahem...

I'm not dreading turning 40. I look and feel fabulous, I'm successful professionally, and am pretty happy overall. But still, I feel frenzied to finish these and other items on my list before the big day, like a report card is about to be issued for my life and I'm going to have to pull several all-nighters to get a passing grade.

I felt similar when I turned 29. I was renting a studio apartment in the Marina neighborhood of San Francisco, and suddenly after that birthday, I became frantic that I DID NOT want to turn 30 living in a studio apartment. As I recall, my pre-30 checklist looked like this:

• Buy a house
• Get a dog
• Get promoted to Director
• Have more and better sex...

Turning 30 was about entering the adult sphere more fully. Taking on more responsibility, and leaving behind the transitory existence of renting to put down roots and focus on an advancing career.

Now with almost a decade of adult-living behind me, I dream of quitting my job to work for myself and throwing financial caution to the wind, doing bikram yoga every day, getting my novel published and discussing it on Oprah, and seeing if I can get my body fat down below 20%.

Obviously the stakes get higher as each decade of life passes, and even though I will probably not abandon my hard-earned career, it feels like for me the 40's need to be about exploring alternative opportunities.

I have several women friends who are also taking a hard look at what an alternate life would look like for them. Some birthday inspired, others just restless, all of us wanting some unnamed, intangible "more."

I believe that you have to make things happen in your life, so that is what I'm about to do. Yesterday I had a random thought that if I bought www.publishingpaige.com, it could serve as a public inspiration and repository for the actions I'm taking to achieve this new life. Today, the web site is live, and my inspiration feels more directed.

Can I get there? What does it look like? I have no idea, but that is the inspiration for this blog, so stay tuned.