Why I Quit & Why You Should Too

I am NOT a quitter. 

When I commit to something I see it through with grit, determination, and tenacity. 

How about you? 

Now, I’m not talking about coming up with a million ideas and seeing them all through to fruition . . . we artists get ideas every day and part of our job is to decide which ones to follow and which ones to let go. 

But when you do commit to following through on an idea or a path, I bet it’s pretty hard to get you to quit or give up or “fail” . . . am I right? Especially if you’ve poured years of time and talent into something. 

Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s OK to quit. 

Sometimes goals change or life happens and quitting is actually the best possible choice we can make. Because when you eliminate one thing from your life it makes space for something else. 

In 2014, I quit grad school and it was one of the most painful decisions I’ve ever had to make. 

Not only had I invested a year of my life and over $15,000 of my hard earned cash (and I was BROKE at the time), but I had set out to do something big that ended with a masters degree. That’s a huge commitment and my actions for 12 whole months had been consistent with that commitment. 

I was taking 5 classes at night, sometimes my classes ended after 10pm and I had to commute home on the subway from Harlem to Brooklyn, which was over an hour some nights. I was set to graduate in just 2 years and pumped all my time and energy into my classwork . . . but it never felt right. I didn’t enjoy it at all. 

My wife’s family is full of teachers and summers off looked pretty nice, which I admit is one reason I signed up to learn how to be a drama teacher. But as I immersed myself more and more in the work and life of being a teacher, I realized that this was absolutely NOT the life or career I wanted. 

Yes, teachers get summers off, but they also have extremely strict schedules, they’re at the mercy of a massive bureaucracy, and there’s a definitive cap on how much you can earn as a teacher. They also work really friggin’ hard (kudos to all the teachers out there)!

But I kept on keeping on because I had made a decision, I was in debt, and I didn’t want anyone to think I was a quitter. 

Then my father passed away suddenly and it threw my life into chaos. 

The day after my father passed I was at my nanny job (yes, I had to work less than 24 hours after my father died because I couldn’t afford to take off) and I went to the bathroom because I could feel the tears welling in my eyes and I didn’t want to break into hysterics in front of the child. I tried to compose myself, but I was inconsolable in the bathroom . . . and I was like F*CK THIS. 

This is NOT the life I want. This is NOT the life I deserve. I should be able to grieve in peace for one day and not have to worry about paying my rent.

So, I quit. 

I called my advisor at school in the bathroom and dropped out. Then I started looking for internships in theatrical marketing because it’s something I’d always wanted to do and a week later I got an internship working for a Broadway Producer. 

I worked for him for six years until I left to start Big Leap Brands in January (he’s still my client). 

Quitting school opened up space for what became my biggest opportunity to date. Sometimes it takes a massive shift to force us to see that things aren’t right, but it doesn't have to. 

Is there something you’ve been holding onto for a long time that isn’t right for you anymore? 

Maybe it’s time to make a change. You never know what may come to fill the void.