Mike Lewis: "When to Jump: If the Job You Have Isn't the Life You Want" | Talks at Google
I. Wanted. To play a really quick video mostly, because it's. Been a long time in the making and I kind of feel like we, should put it to use it says 90 seconds, obviously. Hosted on YouTube so we're all good there. In. May of 2014 i sat in a Boston Airport with my life sitting next to me and a hulking baby blue roller bag in a one-way ticket to New Zealand in my head I had a dream to chase a jump, to make and someday, a book I wanted to write about how and when to go do it before, I boarded this flight I asked, a stranger to take this video as I spun my racket I was, off to play the professional, squash tour squash is a niche racket sport and, squash you spin the racket to start a match I was beginning to start my own match my. Plans were for a few months maybe three maybe six if I was lucky I figured, I could couch surf for the first few weeks stay with friends friends, of friends host families strangers, just so I could experience life for a little bit as they were living and then, something funny happened the, universe and hundreds, of strangers helped to make my dream come true a. Few. Months turned into nearly two years 200,000. Miles six, continents, in about 50 countries in that time I spent nearly every night with other people, bartenders, to fellow bus passengers, single, parents to Borneo's as, left alone farmlands and in skyscrapers, along, mountain tops and across villages. I stayed, with creators and makers and chefs and teachers, skydivers. Farmers activists, entrepreneurs. Now. Four. Years later my, next dream is coming true a book, of a story made possible by these strangers, a book about when to chase your dreams a book, about when you jump. To. The over 400 beautiful, humans who gave me a place to stay, memory. To treasure thank. You truly, thank, you I've. Got a couch with your name on it in San Francisco. I. Did. Not ever think and I truly believe this, and. I'd be standing here talking about this book and, I. First. Want to say thanks to to, Google for having me I also, want to say thanks to Google headquarters in San Francisco, my. Roommate, who, pushed, me to see, this book through works, at ways and it, was because of him that I was able to eat on Google's tab three to five days a week. Mm-hmm. Still, do so hopefully this, doesn't make its way probably will sorry, I am. NOT an employee just a fan the cafeteria. But. I figured, since we're in a smaller group and this is where the last events, will do on the UK, leg of the tour I'd. Love to tell just my story and and. A little bit of the, why and, what. Made me want to put these stories together and then, obviously would love to hear, about yours and answer, any questions that might might, come up. So. Backing up a bit five. Years ago I was. Sitting in my office and, I picked. Up a phone and called. A woman who had been reading about in, a, magazine on my desk and. The. Article, was about how this woman just competed in the 2012 Olympics, here in London and, at the very end of the article it talked about how she worked in a corporate job before, becoming a cyclist and, the. Rest of the article was about the Olympics and how it felt and all this stuff and all I cared about, was. Was, that transition of doing. Something that probably wasn't expected, or or, was a bit of a surprise to her and maybe even at risk and. She. Ended up picking up the phone which was pretty, weird looking back on it and. Her first question was. How'd, you get my number, and. I. Said you know I just I'd love to know what what, led you to take this jump. And. What she said over the next 45, minutes. It. Had nothing to do with being. Olympian or trying to train to become an athlete and. Everything. To do with that. Voice in her head and conversations. With her parents and. What, it felt like to think of failure and not, maybe having a job again if she couldn't succeed, it the next thing. And. It was funny because earlier that night I had googled when. To chase your dreams has anyone ever done that if you haven't, don't. I'll. Sum, it up for you you get two things one. Is a, lot of the inspiration and like the feel-good stories, and then on the other side you get, the. The, Instagram, photos the beautiful LinkedIn posts, the, Facebook newsfeed updates, which you kind of like really, don't want to read but in the end of reading and you're like my, life sucks, how. Did this person make it how. Did this happen so easily and. While. All that's great and and the inspiration certainly, there or we're at no lack of it on the internet what. Really struck. Me was that. There's. A whole middle section of doing, what you love and that.
Conversation, With these cyclists covered. What I call these 10,000, unsexy, steps that. Go with chasing a dream but no one talks about that you. See the beginning and then you see kind of the fairy tale ending but you don't talk about the, restarts, the failures, the insecurities. The hesitations, and. To. Me sitting in that desk at work it. Wasn't really about, do. I take this jump or not it was about are there other people who have done something risky whatever. That may be and. So, I. Thought. Back to ten years earlier I grew, up in Southern California and, who. You're play squash are there any squash players people one. Okay it's about average okay right do. You know what squash is okay. That's when. He many, more than where I grew up everyone, thought I was harvesting, vegetables in the winter so. There. Was one club within like 200, kilometers of where, I grew up and it, had the only courts in. Those 200 kilometers and, I. Found it when I was 14 years old and I thought someday, I'm gonna play at the highest level does. They know the Pro squash tour what. About you you're the squash player do you know of it yeah. Well you are in, the majority of people, who don't know much about the Pro squash tour it's like the pro tennis tour but the ugly stepchild, that no one ever talks about it's. Similar you play by yourself against, somebody else but. You don't make any money. And in, fact when you, have a tournament, that goes through towns like ours in Santa Barbara the. Families. That our, part of the community will host a player so, I signed up our family when I was 14 to host a traveling player and we. Had a conversation that would come back to me 10 years later in my office cubicle, after, speaking to that woman who was the cyclist. Because. The the guy sitting across the table for me as a 14, year old said you know you should do this if, you get good enough you can play on mountains in Brazil and in cities. And Asian, and go, to Europe I. Had. Never been out of the country and so to, me that was. Truly. Surreal to think there was a whole world out there that you could explore. And. So I sat with this story. From a woman 10 years later saying that you, can chase her dreams but it's gonna be pretty tough and. You're. Not alone in trying to do it and so. I sketched a cover page and this was five years ago and I, was with, my buddy at work named Corey and we're, the last two in the office do you guys remember the ice bucket challenge yeah. So, Corey actually started that for his friend from, Boston College named. Pete Freitas who has ALS Corey, was this larger-than-life, guy I said. Corey this should be a book but, this should be actually a community, where you can come together share what, you want to do have, good food beers, talk about things, that you might otherwise feel weird to mention maybe. It means totally, changing everything and. Then. Maybe it's just doing. Something different on the weekends, learning. A new language. Volunteering. I, had. Started to collect more of these stories and it just seemed like. Whether. It was a fellow, bus passenger, or a. Corey, next door or the, lady down at the bar or. The receptionist, at the front desk everyone they had this little voice in their head and so. I was sharing, this woman's story first, anecdotally. And then kind of writing it down and passing it around and. To. Be honest the reason I said I didn't think I'd ever be here is because I never really I mean, I guess I sketched a cover page but I didn't think it'd actually be a book I thought this would give me permission to, tell, my parents I'm not totally crazy for. Leaving a job that I really cared about I was. Working at a venture firm called. Bain Capital, they were here there in Boston I felt like I won the hurry to. Be in this role and I. Felt really, kind. Of selfish, to, think of doing anything, different. Then, what my parents wanted what. My five siblings wanted, for me I felt.
Like It'd be weird to bring up and yet. Here was this story. That. Was giving me permission. And. So. I ended. Up joining the Pro Tour part-time, I spent. Two years and. Saved. Up money I talked. To my friends at work and my supervisor, said I think I'm gonna do this and I. Was not a very good squash player growing up that's kind of a detail that the book leaves out. But. I wanted to give it a try and. Over. What I call these 10,000 unsexy, steps I've, listened to the voice and then making a plan and and saving. Up and playing tournaments I actually, got to play my first pro tournament while still at Bain took, a sick day I went. Down to Virginia I was, playing the world. Number ninety to. Give you perspective I was the world number 387. Which. May, or may not should, not sound impressive, especially. That, you know if you were, you. Know have an internet connection and pay, a hundred pounds you can be the world number 387 it is the last spot on the Pro Tour so, I had paid the money I was a pro player I'd go down I'd been training feeling, pretty good about myself and, I. Didn't score a point in the first match. Which. Is actually really hard to do to not score a point, but. I managed to do it my dad had come down we, kind of looked at each other like is this the thing you're about to quit your. Job to go do cuz doesn't. Might not add up. And. Then, after. A few more matches and a bunch more saving, I ended up leaving Bain I took. That video in the Boston, Airport and I moved to New Zealand and. I thought three months would be at most, the tour and I'd come back maybe go to grad school that seems like what you do and you don't really know what you want to do at. Least to me that was I was a safe landing maybe if they'd let me back go back to Maine. Three. Months turned into six months the. First month of tournaments. They were probably 20 guys there from 32. Different countries. And one, person passed me off to someone in Brazil and then Australia and, then someone who's someone in France in South, Pacific, six. Months turned into 12 months turned. Into two years and every. Night but one I was with other people and every time I sat down at a dinner table someone, would ask me about how I knew when to jump and. So I pull out this one story I had and. I said yeah I'm gonna make this a book someday just. Like you, know obviously wasn't really gonna happen in my mind I wasn't an author and.
Then. Sadly my buddy Korey passed. Away really early on in my trip, and. It, kind of hit me that you know we have this much time or, we, have this much time to go do what we want to do but. We definitely have this much time and. Part. Of Corey's legacy was taking an idea and making it something bigger and. So. While I was playing squash I started back on the project and, I. Got to all different, types of people. The. Second baseman for the Chicago Cubs, who left the Cubs to go to college, the. First female Bishop in the Anglican Church who was in PR. People. At tech companies like Google who had actually changed, offices. Moved continent, and stayed within the company but done something totally different it, really didn't matter what the jump was but it was it, was showing that there was people that were willing to take it and there, was a community to support that and. So. I came back two, years after leaving my. Parents were like you really need to get a job now. And. Would stay on my buddy's couch in. San Francisco what, I figured out was in, most, cities in the world you're unemployed if you're on your friend's couch, in. San Francisco you're an entrepreneur. So. I was sitting on my buddy's, couch and it's the end of the year there's a holiday party yet someone invites me to and. I say sure you know just come, along and I'd been working my stories started. To interview for jobs and. I. Bring my stories my backpack and I pull up a seat at this this. Holiday. Party and the. Woman next to me I was. Supposed to talk didn't, know that at the time she was the keynote speaker, when. She's like you know have you you. Know what's your story I. Said. Well and. I kind of two decisions either tell her the, real life thing like I need a job running money parents, expect me to get a job. Or. I could dig into my backpack and show her the stories that I've been working on. And. So I pull into my backpack and I grab these stories and I'd used like, literally, some. Of the last cash that I had saved up on the squash trip to, get a graphic designer to make a logo, I had a blog set up I've been rejected by every, editor I could ever reach out to and, what.
I Told her was this. Someday will be a book and we're. Gonna have these festivals, where people can have beers and talk, about what they want to do we, have a podcast we're, gonna have learning. Series, it's gonna be about doing, what you love in any. Way and, right. Now we're just starting with a blog but, it's gonna get there, and. She said well you should you should he'll these stories by video I was, like, lady. You know that's nice but I'm on my buddy's couch I, got. Like four weeks left in the bank and everyone's, told me I have to start with a blog. She. Said well you know if. It's helpful like I think we could really help you out we'd love my company does video stuff we could partner together just give me a shoot me an email if you like so, no that'd be great, so. She hands me a card and I looked down it says Arianna Huffington on it. And. I said yeah you'll be hearing from me yeah I will, reach out my, brand yeah, and, three. Weeks later I played my last squash tournament in New York City is my last pro event and two hours before that i sat. Across 15 executives, from Huffington Post and the first question was. Well is. This a brand or just a project I. Was. Wearing like the same thing I got off the tour wearing, I had my backpack and I look. Over I said. Obviously. It's a brand, we. Are a brand and. They. Said well we'd love to partner with you guys I said. Well we'll think about that and we'll let you know and. In. Getting the elevator and what do I do but I at Google before I get out of the elevator to leave the building how. Do you start a brand and. Three. Weeks later I'd met in a literary, agent, she. Looked at me she said I know. People have rejected this but, I think it. May not be a book but it should be a book and I'm. Willing to try, to take this on. And. When, we started to collect more stories I think it became apparent that, when. Dad jump wasn't about that big, fairy tale ending that you see and moving, to Bali and everything just works out it. Was about taking agency, over these, small and big decisions in your life and, there's. A lot of books out there on inspiration, and self-help. And do. These five things and it'll work out and I just think that's not how life works. It's. Funny. Probably. Three. Weeks after we launched our partnership, with HuffPost and our brand began I. Was invited to partner with Airbnb and. At. This point I was just getting off my buddy's couch I told, the Airbnb we'd be thrilled to partner with them and, they. Had a member. Festival that Ashton Kutcher and Gweneth Paltrow were, also, speaking at they said why don't we start our collaboration, with you you, know sharing, the stage I was. Like can. I get an autograph or is that weird like a huge. Cut your fan anyway I, said. Yeah yeah well we, have a platform we can come share that platform, with you and also, if you spend enough time in Silicon Valley you just throw a platform in any sentence, possible and. So. I go down to LA my parents came they're sitting in the first row and doors. Hadn't opened yet and they came because we, all figured it might just be them and that's. Totally cool I can, always tell people I got to partner with Airbnb, and. The. Talk was about how you can use Airbnb, to to make a jump it. Turns out that one in four hosts, use, Airbnb, to save up money to go do something different. So. The door is open and we ended up with 2,500, people in the audience. Now. I had already made a slide show then and, I. Had expect it to be you, know my parents and maybe a few friends and so. At the very end of the slide show I actually had an email address that went to me but was this, email. To our platform and, I. Said. To folks in the audience you know here's this email, send. Your, jump for next year. To. Our platform, and we. Will follow, along. In what you're doing because. We have a very you. Know throughout AI and, smart learning and big day like blah, blah and. We'll follow up with you. And. I remember looking down at my phone afterwards, and of course all these went to me so, I open my phone it went from one in the inbox to 700, and, that.
Weekend I looked over 700. Emails and the crazy thing was. Almost. All I think all but maybe 15. Had. Nothing, to do with with, changing your career, it. Was, the little things it. Was. Like I, want. To have a family, and also pursue, a career I don't. Have more time for my kids on the weekends. I've. Always wanted to go to France, so. People were using the. Hosting income to, make money and now they were thinking of this, concept of jumping is like I want, to control the time I have in my day, and. I. Know that sounds probably contrived. Or cliche, but to, me like. I truly, thought we'd never get to talk to companies because. You might read the book title and be like well won't, everybody leave and. Now. I can, tell you I mean we we reached three million people in our first video with HuffPost, we've. Been fortunate that the, the festival, concept has, grown and and we're, gonna actually bring it to London this year we. Reached millions of people through our, community and platform and hopefully this book and very. Few of the jumps are actually about changing. Everything your life you, know people say chase your passion I think that's really. Awkward and weird to have to like think. About at lunchtime. I'm. All about taking these little steps and, finding. That one or two things that kind of starts to change your day. And. So, today, like. I said the the platform is platform. Which. By the way I got a lot of feedback from Airbnb fortunately. Was positive we were with him yesterday. But. The most common, point. Of feedback was wow, you know people. Really felt like even though it was AI they. Were talking to a human on the other side of the screen I was. Like I yeah tough to tell our engineers great job meanwhile. I was like they didn't throw me thrown. Out emails and. So. Now we have a little bit more behind the platform now, we're on when to jump calm. We, started a podcast where. Every every, Tuesday, we have a 30-minute conversation with, with, anybody, it, could be someone who moved within a company it could be someone who moved, around the world. My. Favorite, conversations are. With people like this gentleman last, night in London. Who. Absolutely loves flowers and, his. Jump, is on the weekends he brings his skills. To events and he uses flowers. To bring, them to life, he's. Still project manager he works down the street from here but that's his passion and. So. We get enough of those kind of data points and we're now rolling out a directory. Where. If you're a project, manager turns flower, guy in London. Later. This year you'll be able to go and start typing like who else is a flower person and. If. You're traveling in Chicago. For work and you love baking you can look up people, who have jumped into baking and find, those people we're. Actually doing. A private kind of build up for that so, if you if you want to help me out on that you can come find me because it's, going to start small but. We think that someday. There'll. Be a festival, somewhere in the world like in London this fall there'll. Be more books like this there'll. Be companies, like Google that support, that idea I, think, it's it was an area 120, that you guys have where, people can actually take, the full risk of jumping and not actually have to sacrifice so much on paper, you. Know I wish I had that I wasn't, so lucky and where, I worked, I was lucky they supported, it but it was pretty much all or nothing you know, there are organizations, now that support, the idea of jumping because if, you do it right you, actually have a meaningful career and, you don't have to leave, we. We didn't have that at where. I worked but. I think that's the way the workforce is going and so.
We. Hope we're creating that community. Through. The podcast, through the book through, this directory. They're bringing people together. And. I think we're just getting started. So. With. That I want. To thank you guys for having me I'll stick, around for QA and. Be here afterwards to sign books, but. I hope this kind of touches on the real story, behind the book and I appreciate you guys letting me come and tell it thank. You. So. And we have about 15 minutes for Q&A so if anybody would like to ask a question and we, need to pass around this microphone, I'll. Start off by asking. For. People who aren't a hundred percent sure what their passion, is, but. They know they want to explore something whether, it be more creative more engineering, focused, maybe their own startup how. Do they discover, that passion, while. Also moving along this sort, of journey. Like. I said I think that I think, social, media and pop culture really, kind, of over, blows this like you. Know find your passion, follow it it's, not like finding, sugar at the grocery store you know it's like those, things take time. You, need to kind of first I think consider. What makes you curious and, and. There's. A story in the book from a fitness entrepreneur, and he. Has a great, kind. Of piece of advice it's actually about training and being in the gym and. He says you know a lot of people especially in the new year say I want to get fit and then he says show me how you spend your time and I'll show you what your priorities, are because. Most people say I'd love to get fit but then they don't go to the gym they. Don't workout and, I think it's the same about you. Know what do you like to do outside at work or if. You want to become an engineer are you are you spending time towards that thing and if, you don't know what it is I would just say okay take, a morning and look at what you did the day before and see, what what, got your attention where you start spending time what. You were googling on after, work and I, think from there you start to pull threads but, for, me you know this, was never this, was a hope that we could bring the message out but I think when, did jump came out of being like okay I just want to collect stories and then, from that other things started to evolve okay, it's, a second question before, I open up to the floor and there's a massive nervous, around nervousness, around that.
Moment, Why, you are deciding to jump right, through to actually, jumping can, you give any advice to everyone who's thinking. About a transition, right now ways. To approach a mindset, to take you know do, you just go for it or do you really consider it take, three months what's. Your advice. I don't. Know if this is weird to preface but I don't consider, myself a self-help, guru, or like you know qualified, to give everybody advice on their life think everyone lives a a life. That's very complicated and specific. To yours and I can. Only reflect on like the research we've done around the book and and being. Being. Lucky to spend time with people who have taken the steps that kind of think through their job for. Me it's it's. It's how the books are organized so. There's. Four kind of phases, that it seems like anyone goes through and they make a jump, in their life and. The, first is listening to that little voice the. Second one is making a plan which is I think the bulk of it these, like 10,000, unsexy steps. That. Includes kind of sewing a safety net in your current job especially, if you're looking to I think move internally, it seems like doing the job you're doing really well and getting. A lot of support around that building a good kind, of reputation. Is is, you, know could kind of foundation, to jump from and. Then. There's like letting yourself be lucky, so, once you've actually planned the jump and you've you've. Solved for all you can solve I don't, think there's ever a perfect time to go but. I think you've set yourself up to run into you. Know fortuitous. Opportunities, and I, think that's probably my favorite section in the book is hearing, about people who just trusted, your gut and that's by the way really hard but. I think you, know to your question if if you do the other things by. The time you actually jump there isn't as much of a downside okay, yeah, thank. You what do you would like to ask a question. It's. A very open question so. I never really I just it's. Like what, you I have, read many books and they're, mostly from Americans, and when you try to apply them in UK it sometimes. Doesn't mostly, doesn't work so. Since, you've been around, and, you've been in New Zealand etc, how do we localize, stuff. Like from your book or what, we read around yes the, book, has 44, stories, that, represent I, don't think the the, viewpoint. Of one nationality, there's, a really strong immigrant, thread through the book, from. Chinese Americans, to el Salvadorians. To Nigerians. We. Have several folks in the book from the United Kingdom and then, we have people in the book that I just met while I was traveling people, from from New Zealand through, Asia and and here, in this there they're in the States. What. I find really, interesting maybe, this isn't the answer to the question but I. Think. That there's something fundamental. To how you think about what. You do every day I think. We constantly. As humans you know it's, part of being human wondering. Like is this the way I'm supposed to be spending my time I think. That's the core of the book is not so much I'll jump because it's, a cultural, thing or, you're a millennial you. Know we have a woman who's 67, years old who's in the book we. Have a single mom in Boston, we have an Indian, woman in Guilford. The. The powerful, part to me is that given. All the disparities, there's just fundamental, truths. That come out of this this. Idea that we think about.
And. Maybe. It won't it's, actually I mean it's growing great in the states but we've, had an amazing reception, here I think because maybe, there isn't as much of a conversation, openly, about like going off the path we. Were at we did an event with Lululemon, and one of the panelists. Was this Indian, woman from Guilford who, is in, a career and worked. In fashion on the side and ended up going into a career in fashion and we. Spent most of the time talking about British culture and in kind of traditional, cultures where that's, not what your parents did that's not what your friends are doing what, that means if you're culturally not supposed to do that so, I think we, do a decent job of sharing. Those types of stories. We. Also have these. Festivals, where we try to go in two different areas London. Will be our first one this September. Abbey's. With me she's our Event Director she's, back there if you're interested in like. Being a part of it or if you think there's things we should know as we plan it I'd be thrilled because we're spending this week kind of getting going we, also want to do something special for everyone, at Google if they end, up wanting to come but. I think it's important I like go there and learn the stories and be there and I was, lucky that squash gave me that kind of excuse to sit, down have thousands. Of these conversations but I'm, sure their stuff we're missing and maybe that's that's for the next book I don't know. And. By the way as we pass it on my, email, if you just email info at when to jump calm, that. Goes to our platform which I can. Promise you will come to me almost. Immediately, and. Just say you want info on the London event and we'll make sure you're on the list. And, Abbey's. Emails it's, just a BBY that, went to jump calm but, like truly this is day two of thinking about what we'll do in September so welcome. All ideas and feedback I. Have. Two questions in one is it working yeah so. The name of the book is when to jump not if, to jump so it kind of implies a positive, outcome so, is it really always positive, and I'm assuming that the 44 stories in the book since they made it to the book are positive, so, what is the most blissful. Failure. You've seen and what do you actually define as a failure in this case. So. Your. Assumptions, actually incorrect, which is I think a good thing, the. Fourth phase of this jump curve is don't look back and that's, kind of code for being like the, stories that didn't really go the way they thought and, I. Think that's important, because it'd, be a little weird to just show you 44 stories where it just all was exactly as planned, we. Have both internal jumps, that kind of didn't go as planned as well as people who took. A big risk and it didn't work out. To. Me and again maybe this is just super optimistic, but. From from every conversation, I've had since five. Years ago talking that cyclists the. People who took the time to take that that. Middle ground of planning. And thinking and budgeting, all the stuff that's really like. Not that riveting, to talk about or share, on Facebook, all that stuff if you, went and did that the. Most people who's ended, up you. Know jumped, and it didn't really work out it. Led them to something else that might still not be working out but it's getting them closer to what they want to be doing so, no one that I've talked to who's, followed kind of this framework, if you will these phases has. Regretted, the decision and. In. Fact when, I was taking the jump I sought out people who's like, fell on their face jumped in like nothing worked and they. Were the biggest advocates, and the loudest cheerleaders, and, I would challenge. You to do the same if you're thinking, about if rather than when like. Talk to the people who I called, there's three types of people you should talk to one, a Switzerland. Who has like no you, know total, bias in one way or the other like not the person who's the, massive jumper and not your parents who really. Don't want you to do it but. Switzerland, and then. Find the the. Mist which. Is like the person who missed the opportunity and didn't jump because. That's another theme is if, you really want to go do what you're doing and you're worried about if you should do it talk to the people who missed. That chance because, that'll, probably get you going and then. Three would be a UPS, which is the. Person who's jumped and exactly go as planned and I. Would say that that would be a first, easy. Exercise, to just find, those types of people the three folks and see, what they have to say because they, could be surprised I think the, human psyche, is one where we go to the worst possible, place in our mind and that's.
Not Always very fair Thanks. Hey so. I think a, lot of people had, known different organizations, inside society, were encouraged. To focus on our strengths, and I, think it's easier to make a jump if you're going from like a strength to another strength but. In the case of like if you wanted to go from to. Something that you were weaker like I'm thinking when you said you were when. You jump to squat to squash like it's not something that you are, that. You were strong at just advice, between the two the two different jumps something, that you're strong and then something that you're weakest yeah. There's. A great there's a story in the book about a woman who was at LinkedIn and jumped, internally, from like a research role to sales and she, really was not a sales person had, studied, kind of hard core analytics, in school but. It always wanted to work with with, people on the external side and I. Think it's you, know it comes down again to being like who's, doing the thing that I want to be doing and will. They let, me have like. 30 minutes with them can I buy them a cup of coffee and just. Like going at that weakness until in, this sounds cliche but until that becomes the thing that you've you feel like you're no better than your current job and I, think the hard part at. Least it was for me at Bain may be for you guys at Google is once, you get in that spot where you feel really like, you know how, everything works it almost it's, like a, like. An all-or-nothing, thing it's like I can't leave this because then I won't know anything about the other thing and if. You can kind of always be on that edge of, your seat even, if you're doing like four eight hours a day the, thing you're supposed to do but at lunch you go take like a programming, course or you, talk to the person who's doing what you want like, that stuff I think if you if you feel like it gets into a routine and it's it's certain like there's, a circularity, to your day and your, job I think, that's like a signal, that you know you're coasting maybe it more than you you probably want to but. Maybe that's what you need to like there's, a spectrum of I think the jump curve is like a spectrum, if you've. Just. You, know had a third child or you've got student debts to pay back or, a mortgage, like I wouldn't say that you, need to jump just then but.
You Can be having those chats of what you want to do you can be planning, and then at some point there, will be an opportunity I think to do it it's just I mean no one in the book jumped the next day it, was like months, if not some people waited two years five years to do it so, I know that was exactly what you asked but no I think it's. Sweet. I. Think. They need that dough for them. Curious. To know, if well, first of all thanks thanks, for first checking your story very courageous, and very inspiring. I'm, curious to know whether, through. The 44, stories, that are in the book and perhaps, the. Other stories, that didn't make it did. You find any common. Trades, in in in, the personality. Of people would you say you know if. They, have a couple of things come on you know people, talk about the whole range no discipline. Visionary. Whatever. I wonder. If you if you picked on any commonality. Across, to. Be honest I think that my. Whole thesis. With the book and what I feel like drives me to do this is that, I think we we, tend to just find like these these buzz words and we, feel like we, have to only give them to some people and then we feel like the other people just weren't born with those traits and the, whole point of this book and the community, is that, we celebrate like. The person you walk by in the tube or going for coffee and their, jump and I, actually think there's nothing that the people have in common, except. For this, feeling that as you get a little bit more into thinking of what you want to do this. Equation, starts to go unbalanced, where it goes from well. It could be really bad if I did it and it's not worth doing it, to. Saying okay. There's a there's a worst-case scenario, of going, and that's, terrifying, but. Each of the people in the book would would show you and in their stories you'll see that. Idea of not trying. Altima. Lee is way more terrifying, and. So I don't think there's like a special like, you. Know superpower, I think, it's this realization, of if you peel back the layers at some, point you're gonna see this. Worst-case scenario isn't as bad especially if you're a place like Google and if. You end up jumping outside of Google don't blame me you can if you want but. I think that it goes for anything like if you want to change jobs within the company there's, so much more at stake for them to keep you and find, the right role for you, and maybe if it doesn't work find a different role than to go outside and, take, a chance on our stranger like, just if you if you think of human resources, and human capital like, you guys made it into the circle you. Should feel like you've got all the launching pad you have and, and. All the risk opportunity, to take because. You're already there. Thank. You oh and by the way I wish I had a key card because I would like, if you're enjoying the meals just keep going cuz I really, wish that I had that these days maybe.
A 401 K -, thank. You my question was quite similar to that one but with a bit of a twist so you've. Spoken quite a lot about you used the word risk quite a lot and, obviously. There's a lot of conversation, about gender. And men and women and the differences, and I think kind of almost probably over discussed but, something. That everyone's talking about Kuang on is that women are probably just less, sort, of and. Inclined. To take risk they're more risk averse and, it, doesn't sound like that played out but did he see anything like that in the research. So. The second story, in the book the first story is about a karate school manager who want to be a screenwriter and failed a bunch of times and then tried, one more time and he ended up writing Sleepless, in Seattle, and. Then the second story is of, a 44, year old woman and mother, single, mother who left her. Job as a nurse to. Become a doctor and, I. Think in her story it definitely reflects, the unique. Challenges. That that women face different, than men in taking. A jump she. Was told early on that she wasn't that a type of person that could go to college. She, then had a child and had to care for the child and couldn't do both as a single parent, so. I think there are and I'm not the expert I would say speak, to women. Who have jumped, but. Like. From the data it just seems like there. Are there are obstacles not insurmountable, ones but, obstacles you have to feel like okay. I know I know what I'm gonna have to overcome but. I don't think it's as again, it as, literal. And as tactically, challenging, as we may make it seem and there's. Women in the book who who, jumped with kids who, jumped going, through divorce who, jumped. Planning. To have a family like things that you think would be kind of, and I'll be all stopping. Jumps and. They were able to do it so. There's. A bunch more in the book of like how they went and did that but I would, say it's. Not as insurmountable, as it may seem and our audience, by the way community members are more, than more. Than half are women who have jumped so. I. Have a question yeah how did you get the Olympians, number, it's.
A Great question no one's asked well I noticed. No. No one's asked that ever. I. Have, a really funny side story to that too that I feel, like I should just tell so. She. Had went to university, and then I had a friend who knew a friend, of hers because they were she. Was five years ahead of me which, is another like the reason we're making this directory is it shouldn't be that difficult and, I was really lucky that I knew somebody, but. She's someone who would take anybody's, call no one had asked her about that when. I got to the second baseman for the Cubs you, can google it had just done a piece in The New Yorker he had just done a piece of New York Times and I. Was living, in Zimbabwe, at the time Facebook. Messaging, him and do, you guys know when you're not a facebook, friend where those messages go yeah, to like the weird box like no, one should respond like it's just not even I don't think a thing and I, think I emailed him like six, times to that inbox and finally. He was like I want. To be able to tell this story of when, you shouldn't jump because, he had jumped at the wrong time and he had to go back to baseball and all these things. To. To. Tell you the funny story. We. Like. Just, we started partnering with SoulCycle which I know is in the state's not here it's like the spinning whatever and when. I came back to the US and, we started working SoulCycle I tracked down the cyclist I was like can we could. We like you know hang out and. She. Was like yeah I was like I mentioned in passing that we started part of a soul cycle she's, like like I'd love to go I've never gone I was. Like this is like a sports center commercial like here's, a woman who's a two-time, Olympian she just finished in Rio and so. We go in and we. Had just done a talk with them at soul, cycle and, we. Go into this class, and I'm like next to the Olympian she's fastening, her shoes that she had in Rio and I'm like don't freak out like so, and the instructors, like is Mike Lewis here and she's, like is that you and I was like no no no don't worry about it like not, me and they're like no no we need to all give Mike Lewis a hand for, coming in here because when did jump is gonna change everyone's, life and everyone. Had to give me a round of applause and she's like are you kidding. Me. But she's become a friend yeah. First, of all thank you for Google to, put the song for you give a round of applause I don't appreciate their do this. If. I don't get to chat today if you want to learn more like I said, info. At when to jump comm will get to me we. Have the directory, and we have the festival Abbie's. Just a BBY, that, when to jump and. I really hope this is helpful hope is interesting, tell. Your friends and thanks so much for coming. You.
2018-03-10 01:06
