Mid-Year Check-In: What Changed After I Left My Job

Last year, around this time, I wrote a blog post called What If the Shift Is the Plan? I remember feeling frustrated because the year wasn't unfolding the way I had imagined.

I had goals I wanted to accomplish, timelines I wanted to meet, and a picture in my mind of what progress should look like. Instead, I found myself facing detours, delays, and unexpected changes that made me question whether I was moving in the right direction at all.

Looking back now, I can't help but smile at that version of myself.

Because a year later, I can see what she couldn't. The shift really was the plan.

If you had told me last June that within a year I would leave a job I had spent 11 years building, return to school, start a consultancy, publish my first audiobook, and spend most of my days working from home with my children nearby, I probably would have laughed.

Not because I didn't want those things.

Because they felt so far away.

And yet, here I am.

My Life Looks Completely Different

At the beginning of this year, I was still employed. Every weekday followed a familiar rhythm, and while I knew I wanted something different, I wasn't entirely sure what that would look like.

Today, I'm almost four months into entrepreneurship. I left my job after 11 years in the call center industry and stepped into a season that has been equal parts exciting, challenging, rewarding, and humbling. Some days I feel incredibly grateful for the freedom I've gained. Other days, I miss the predictability of a paycheck and the structure that came with employment.

But if there's one thing I've learned over the past few months, it's that growth rarely happens in the places where we feel most comfortable.

I Became a Student Again

One thing I definitely didn't have on my bingo card was going back to school.

Yet somehow, in the middle of building businesses and creating content, I also started pursuing my master's degree.

There are days when that feels slightly ridiculous. I'll be working on a client project, helping my children with something, trying to record content, and then remembering I have coursework to complete.

It's a lot.

But I'm grateful for the opportunity to continue learning, especially during a season when I'm already being stretched in so many other ways.

I Started Another Business

This year, I launched MOTIVE Sales Consultancy, something that grew out of the skills and experience I developed over more than a decade in sales and leadership.

What's interesting is that when I left my job, I thought I was leaving one role behind. What actually happened is that I became responsible for ten new ones.

• Consultant

• Coach

• Marketer

• Content creator

• Business owner

• Student

The list seems to grow every week.

Some days I feel like I know exactly what I'm doing, and other days I feel like I'm figuring it out as I go.

Maybe that's just entrepreneurship.

I Have More Time at Home Than I Ever Imagined

Out of everything that's changed this year, this is probably the thing I'm most grateful for.

I wanted more time with my children.

Not just weekends.

Not just after work when everyone was tired.

Actual time.

Time to help my daughter get ready for school. Time to be there when she gets home. Time to attend school events without feeling like I have to squeeze life into the spaces around work.

Ironically, working from home hasn't been nearly as peaceful as I imagined. Most days, I'm working in the same spaces where kids are playing, people are talking, and life is happening all around me. Staying focused can be difficult, and there are moments when I wonder how much more productive I would be with a quiet office and fewer distractions.

But then I remember that this was part of the goal. I didn't leave my job because I wanted a perfectly optimized work environment. I left because I wanted a life that allowed me to be more present.

And despite the challenges, I have that.

Financially, Things Look Different Too

If I'm being completely honest, I'm not earning what I was earning at the beginning of the year. There are moments when that's uncomfortable to admit.

When you leave a stable career to build something of your own, there is a period where faith has to bridge the gap between where you are and where you hope to be. I'm living in that gap right now.

But while my income isn't where I want it to be yet, my hope hasn't changed.

I'm learning new skills, I'm working with clients, I'm building systems, and I'm creating opportunities that didn't exist six months ago.

Progress may not always look the way I expected, but that doesn't mean it isn't happening.

One of My Favorite Wins This Year

One thing I'm especially excited about is that my first audiobook is officially available. For years, writing has been one of my favorite ways to share what I'm learning, and now one of my books can be listened to as well as read.

As a busy mom who often consumes content while doing something else, I know how valuable audio can be, so seeing this project come to life feels incredibly special.

If you'd like to listen, you can find it on Odiyo.

So, Where Am I Now?

Honestly? I'm still in transition.

I'm still building, still learning, still adjusting, and still growing.

There are things I hoped would happen by now that haven't happened yet. Some things have happened that I never would have planned for myself.

That's life, I suppose.

What I know for sure is that when I wrote last year's mid-year check-in, I was standing at the edge of a shift and wondering whether I should embrace it.

This year, I'm living inside that shift.

It's imperfect.

It's sometimes messy.

It's occasionally overwhelming.

But it's also teaching me more about myself, my faith, and what truly matters than I could have learned by staying exactly where I was.

As we head into the second half of the year, I'm choosing to stop measuring my life only by what I've accomplished and start paying more attention to who I'm becoming. Because maybe that's what this season has really been about all along.

Not arriving. Becoming.