Have a seat, girl. I have some news. Corporate World called. He knows about you and your Dream. He doesn’t think it’s going to work out.
You used to be his everything. You were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. You were all bullet-points and expense reports. Then the Dream came along and swept you off your feet, and now you know what the color red feels like.
Corporate knows. Don’t think for a second that he doesn’t see it, that he doesn’t smell it on you. He knows where you have been. He knows where your heart has been. Creating, he sneers, dreaming.
It’s his fault though, right? He doesn’t look at you the way he used to. He doesn’t applaud you the way you thought he would when you showed up at his door with that fancy piece of paper.
You know it scares Corporate that you think differently, “radically” as he would call it. Your end-goal doesn’t come in the form of a title like “Jane Doe, VP of Someone Else’s Dream.” Who is to blame that your thought processes no longer follow the vertical trajectory of the promotions and pay raises of the corporate world? Who is to be faulted for your desire to borrow Goapele’s words and move upward and onward and beyond?
Corporate’s seat in your future is getting smaller and smaller. He can’t satisfy you the way your big hulking dream does. Your dreams were something you and Corporate sat on together, and now you dare hold the face of your Dream against your palms. You dare dance with your Dream between the hours of 5 and 9, making jewelry, painting murals, writing songs, editing videos, coding websites, working on your book.
Corporate is waiting for the day when the sound of the word “promotion” no longer drowns out the scream of living your dream. He’s worried that you’ll turn off your monitor one day, push back the keyboard, and never return. You’ll make the move to New York, you’ll start your own business, you’ll go that audition and kill it, you’ll submit that piece and it’ll finally be your big break. He’s dreading the day when you stop flirting with your Dream and decide to run away together.
The time may come when Corporate asks you to choose between him and the dream. Know where you truly want to be. Should this come sooner than expected, remember that every step you take is a step in the right direction. If you’re going to stay with him, then stay. If, at any point, it becomes a possibility for you to leave, have your bags packed. Remember to be true to you. You alone pay shipping, handling, and any damages accrued to a soul sold to the wrong side.
It’s ironic that I stumbled across this post shortly after arriving to work. I’ve been dancing on a thin line between staying put in my corporate job and deciding to take a huge chance on following my dreams full time so seeing this gives me a much needed confirmation. Thank you for this.
Uh oh this sounds exciting! You are so very welcome!PLEASE keep me posted on this! Xoxo
Honey yasssss!!# I absolutely LOVE when I can come through your blog. Your words hit me everytime! Will be sharing this!!!
My stomach did a little flip flop at a very specific line in this post. 💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽
Ahh, DeeDee Look where you were in August!
I’m reading this at work. Dream always on my mind. Awesome words thanks
I absolutely LOVE this post!
I don’t know if you ever use Periscope, but there’s a black women there called Scoprah who just quit her 6k corporate job live on there a few weeks ago (it was amazing!) and she taught you how to build a place for you to go, then quitting…. Like… This whole movement of working for yourself, and all the beautiful help everyone is giving one-another is so empowering!
How ironic! I have been doing this dance in my mind, having this affair with my corporate day job and my evening/weekend job as a writer. It is like seeing someone on the side, you may want to leave but the options you have to weight…well.
Excellent Roco!
Yes yes yes! Exactly! Thank you for reading 🙂
You. Wrote. This. For. Me.
Yes, girl. I . Did. 🙂
Sentiments very creativity expressed! I’m sure many creatives can relate to this post. Thank you for sharing!
This was such the perfect post for me to stumble upon as I just last week gained the courage to quit my job in the corporate world to travel. You go girl!