From Daydream to Leap: How I Finally Chose My Path

It was the same window I used to stare out of.

The same elevator ride.
The same park bench at lunchtime.

These ordinary spaces had become familiar stages for my daydreams. The what-ifs I quietly carried.

What if I finally took the leap to work for myself?

What if I stopped building everyone else’s dream and started honoring my own?

For over 15 years, I worked as a creative director and graphic designer, making my mark in the corporate world. I worked hard, was highly reliable, and always had a smile on my face. 

But behind that smile was a yearning I couldn’t shake. My entrepreneurial spark was lit back in college when I launched my first business. Still, I had left it on a simmer and focused instead on the responsibilities and external pressures to follow the path I thought I was supposed to take. 

There were moments over the years when entrepreneurship resurfaced. Sometimes out of necessity, like after a layoff, and other times as a steady background beat disguised as freelance work, but I never committed my full attention to going off on my own.

I kept telling myself it wasn’t the right time. I needed more experience, more money, and more certainty.  In truth, I was scared.  

Even when I tried shifting from corporate to the startup world, it still wasn’t my dream. I was getting closer in proximity but not in alignment. I was still building everyone else’s dreams and businesses instead of my own.

I was beginning to feel like a fraud in my career. Always smiling, always capable of supporting the next project, while silently unfulfilled and on the brink of burnout.

Then came the pause none of us expected: a global pandemic. With it, I found my silver lining: a healthy dose of clarity, courage, and confidence.

Clarity: With dedicated time to think, along with the help of my community, I was able to get clear about my plan of action, my financial runway, and a realistic “quit” date from corporate life. 

Courage: If not now, then when? The uncertainty of the times did not deter me. Instead, it catapulted me into action. Every little step I took made me more courageous and gave me the fuel to keep going. 

Confidence: After rigorous saving, planning, and praying, I knew I was ready. I had reached my target savings number, had my resignation letter ready, and was ready to leave my old life behind. There was nothing to do but make that final bold move.

I began to look at my life through a new lens. I became more self-aware and stopped allowing fear to stand in my way.  

In September 2020, I stepped out on faith and did the one thing I had always dreamed of but never dared to do.

I took the leap into full-time creative entrepreneurship!

Since then, everything has changed. 

I now fully embrace my innate power as a courageous creator and have discovered my true potential extends beyond producing clever color palettes and eye-catching designs. 

I have not only leveraged my design skills to lead major brand projects for startups and growing businesses, but I have also taught nearly 2,000 students online around the globe, begun work on my third book, and co-created The Quantum Leap Experience.

I’ve reclaimed the personal autonomy, creative freedom, and ownership that I had put on hold.

I never stopped dreaming, and now, that daydream I used to have on park benches and elevator rides is my reality. 

Some daydreams might seem out of reach, but many are closer than you think.

That small voice inside? That’s your intuition gently guiding you. Trust it. Believe in yourself. You are more capable than you know.