I'm working for two more weeks, then it's adios to the company that has graciously employed me for the past six years. I have many individual clients with whom I interact in my current job, and naturally, some of them have become close friends and mentors to me. Interacting with people from all walks of life is an experience that I cannot put a price tag on. This fact has always been clear to me before, but when I started telling some of my clients this week about my imminent departure to the deep unknown, I couldn't help but to feel pangs of...remorse? Guilt? Even some melancholy as I realized that this really is it. And I'm not even talking about parting with coworkers yet!
I really do believe that I was very fortunate that my job allowed me to connect and network with people from all industries and all professions. From fearless entrepreneurs who put everything on the line to start their businesses to corporate climbers who fought tooth & nail to get their next promotion, I was able to have meaningful conversations with them to see how they got to where they are.
At the end of the day, you realize what matters most isn't necessarily the "hard" work experience you gain in the workplace--the calculations and valuations--but the "soft" human connections that you organically accumulate over time. And this isn't something that can be taught. So to everyone who's reading this still with a job, it's imperative to cherish each connection because it may prove to be very important down the line.
Because if there's one thing that's certain about life, it's that it's uncertain.
