I walked away from a $450,000/year Vice President job. Why? In this must-read blog, I reveal the five shocking truths that made me ditch the corner office and the six-figure salary. Was it a burnout? A toxic workplace? A better offer? Nope. The reasons were far more profound and life-changing. If you're feeling stuck, unfulfilled, or questioning your career path, this story is for you. Get ready to have your mind blown and your perspective on success completely transformed. Discover the shocking truth behind why I walked away from my high-paying Vice President job that brought in $450,000 a year.

Introduction

This month marks exactly five years since I quit my corporate job as a Vice President for a company headquartered in New York, where I earned a compensation package of $450,000 a year. This was after working 9-5 jobs for close to 25 years, mostly at the Vice President level. I remember being scared as I submitted my resignation but excited, as I had been preparing for this since I was 25. When I got promoted to VP, I promised myself that I would be financially independent by age 45 and be in a position to retire if I wanted to. But I sent this resignation three years earlier at age 42. So, there was anxiety even after doing my pros and cons list at least three times and praying about my decision to resign every day for three months.

I felt anxious because, despite having many side hustles along with my job as far back as I can remember, there was always the assurance of a paycheck. I also loved my job, which made the decision even harder. I had an amazing career, being promoted to a manager in my very early 20s and shortly after a VP in a US Fortune 500 company at age 25, earning a six-figure compensation package at that young age. I was the youngest to have done so at the time, especially for someone who started at the bottom of that organization. But that was only the beginning.

As my responsibilities increased, covering operations in Ghana, Mexico, Santo Domingo, Jamaica, India, and several states in the US, my career propelled, and so did my income. And for that, I am grateful. Let me make it clear: there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a 9-5 job. It teaches critical character traits such as commitment, discipline, and patience. My 9-5 job also gave me financial independence at a very young age and taught me that all things were indeed possible with the right level of commitment and creativity. Regardless of my age, race, sex, or humble beginnings, with hard work, I could succeed in a corporate environment.

However, I was walking away from a company that I launched in my home country to start my own company, expand on my side hustles, and live off my investments, which were enough to guarantee financial independence. Despite that, I was still anxious about the decision. This led me to have a conversation with a friend who asked why I would give up certain uncertainty. Her perception of certainty was the 9-5 job I was about to leave. I realized then that her perception was very different from mine.

First Realization: The Illusion of Job Security

The first realization that led me to quit my $450K a year job was the understanding that my friend's perception of job and earnings certainty was an illusion. Many people view a regular paycheck as certain and see a job as safe. They believe that as long as they show up for work and give of themselves, they will get a paycheck. However, I did not own the company, nor did I have any shares in it; I was merely a hired hand. There is no such thing as job security and indispensability regardless of how valuable I might have been to the company. My employer would ask me to leave at any time in the same way they would replace me if I died.

A company founded and operated on my terms, however, was the very definition of certainty. I could not be asked to leave, and my earnings would be contingent on my effort. Why would I want to trade the latter for the former? At that moment, I realized that most people choose the former, the job, because they fear being uncomfortable. They fear stepping outside of their comfort zone. I, on the other hand, get excited about the uncomfortable. That is when I perform at my best. I am also well aware of the dangers of remaining in my comfort zone, and so, I decided to step out boldly.

Making a significant change in life is always frightening, but do you know what is even more terrifying? REGRET. As I wrote in my book, one of the scariest things for me is complacency. Whenever I find myself operating in my comfort zone for too long, I get anxious. Words like "contentment" scare me, as they are usually the refuge of the boring and uninspiring among us. I believe complacency is death; period! Part of us dies when we get comfortable. Think about it—all the amazing things that have happened in our lives occurred when we were outside of our comfort zone. That is when we are most innovative and creative. If you want to take your life to the next level, you must abandon your comfort zone; that place is where dreams die. By getting comfortable with the uncomfortable, you force yourself to think outside of the box and explore your potential. Creating next-level results will demand a new level of thinking and a next-level mindset.

Second Realization: Money Buys Freedom

Earlier, I mentioned that I resigned and retired from working a 9-5 job three years before my 45th birthday, which was the initial goal. Although I was in a much better place financially than I thought I would be at age 42, making an early resignation and retirement possible, the real reason was that I was hurting emotionally based on what was happening with my son at the time. I needed to spend every waking moment with him to help him heal, and that's as much as I will say as what happened to him is his story to tell, not mine. I hope one day he will tell me, as I know it will save lives.

This was the second realization that resulted in me quitting my job. I realized that, in the end, it was not about the money I was making but about the freedom that it gave me—the freedom to be at the hospital with my son every single day, which would eventually become an issue at my 9-5 job as his health was my priority. I needed to be with him while he was healing and to be able to afford the best care. I was reminded that money is JUST a tool that buys freedom and that I would never be truly free until I quit my job. I had to let someone know every time I left work to spend time with him. I realized then that if I was operating my own company, I would not need to get permission to be with my son.

Third Realization: Companies Don't Owe Us Loyalty

In the weeks leading up to my resignation, I was asked to let go of an employee for budgetary reasons. But at the same time, a request came in from a C-level executive to hire an employee for whom we didn't even have a role. I realized later that it was a favor to a politician to hire his relative. I responded by identifying the money in our budget to keep the employee I was being asked to terminate, who was critical to our operations. I even offered to take a pay cut to keep the hard-working employee. My proposal was rejected, and I was given a directive to hire the new employee and find a job for her while firing the dedicated employee who had been with the company since nearly day one.

This led to another realization: the company did not owe any of us anything beyond our paychecks. They don't owe us loyalty, and they can take that paycheck away at any moment. I was reminded why I wanted control over my financial future. It's hard to achieve financial freedom when someone else controls your time.

Fourth Realization: Misalignment of Values

In trying to protect this employee from being let go, I realized that I could not do it forever. I delayed her termination by stating that if they fired her, I would resign. But I couldn't do that for everyone, nor could I do it every time. Over time, the initial excitement of working in corporate faded, and a sense of misalignment grew as I found that my values and principles differed from those of the company.

This was reconfirmed when the security company we had used from day one was fired and replaced with a more expensive one because of a friendship between a C-level executive and the owner of the new security company, whose service was below par. These decisions started to negatively impact my mental health. After sharing this with my coach and mentor, I was inspired to pursue my passion—to start a company where my values and principles were reflected, not those that demonstrated favoritism and unethical practices.

Fifth Realization: Finding My WHY

When everything was unfolding in the last two years of my employment, through introspection, I found my WHY at that time in my life. As I shared in my book, my WHY changes depending on the stages of life I'm in. As an adolescent, it was to get out of poverty. As a teenage mother, it was to care for my son, who was born before I was ready. As a young adult, it was to take care of my family. In my last two years of employment, I realized I had no desire to work just for large paychecks. My true passion was to inspire and motivate others to take control of their lives, their finances, and their mindset. This realization fueled my business and many of my side hustles, including YouTube.

The bonus from this realization was that when I earned $450K a year, which is $37,500 a month, at my previous job, my take-home pay was about $24,375 after paying over $13,000 in taxes taken out by the government before I even saw a dollar. When compared to operating a business with revenue of the same $37,500 and having the advantage of deducting my expenses before paying taxes, my net profit or take-home amount was $28,125 and could be more based on expenses.

Conclusion: Creating Multiple Streams of Income

In summary, what I recommend is not that you leave your job but give yourself options by creating multiple streams of income. Today, I am happier than ever. I get paid to do what I love. By focusing on my passion, pushing myself out of my comfort zone, and taking a risk, I found a fulfilling path that aligns with my values. If you're feeling stuck, unfulfilled, or questioning your career path, remember that the journey to true freedom and fulfillment often begins with stepping outside of your comfort zone.