Quitting is just an opportunity to start again

The framework I used for intention setting, imagining the future, and moving forward

The Quitting Corp project began in the spring of 2024 as an unintended consequence of an executive leadership program. It has two parts: the Quitting Corp newsletter for designing a work life you love; and the hard act of leaving Google, where I spent 12 years in the best and longest professional ride of my life.

I had attended several leadership programs before, all designed to raise the bar on impact. I arrived ready to prove that Google was right to keep investing in my growth—I still had so much to accomplish.

But this time, instead of focusing on how to lead better or deliver more, we were told to turn inward and be "in service of ourselves" by reflecting on our "what," "how," and, especially, our "why."

By the end of the second day, something shifted. As I thought, processed, and scribbled in my notebook, I started to see signs pointing somewhere new.

Three exercises stood out: redefining my intention, imagining my desired future, say, five years from now, and envisioning concrete actions I could take now to get there. (I am attaching a PDF with the framework at the end of this post.)

Let’s walk through each of them.

Intention Setting

The intention-setting exercise followed a talk with a senior executive. "You don't unlock your full potential until you have unlocked yourself, and it is impossible to do that unless you clearly know your intention," he said.

It's an equation, you see? Reverse the sentence construct and start from the end: define what you want, slay the obstacles you have set for yourself (e.g., fear of failure), and use all your energy to work through the real ones (e.g., financial and time constraints, the work to learn and be good at something you love to do). What’s left is potential.

I made sure no one was looking over my shoulder and put pen to paper: I want to be my own boss and use all my strengths to build something I own. I want to have the discipline I have had at jobs for which someone else has hired me; I want to monetize my own ideas and what I’ve learned.

Imagined Future

Scribbles from my notebook: Imagined Future

The Imagined Future exercise started with a simple prompt: It's five years into the future. Jot down some lines that describe what you are doing.

I wrote: "I wake up each day with a purpose. I am at a place where I am connecting with people. I look forward to the end of that day with Renard (my husband). We are no longer in SF. I am a person of note; I exist to a circle of people to whom I add value. I hit publish on my blog post."

It came out so fast that it hit me how fully baked an idea it was. When I paired with a colleague to discuss it, I saw how his project—developing a totally new digital identity system that would revolutionize payment systems yet again—was made for Google. Mine was not.

Closing the Gap

The third and final exercise was particularly effective. We had to "remember" the steps we took to bridge the gap between now and our envisioned future. It was both an excellent way to build a meaningful to-do list and a good reminder of something we all know but often forget: getting from here to there starts—and ends—with you.

A lot of what I envisioned I would have to do, I’ve started:

• In April, I created a Substack called "Quitting Corp" and started drafting posts I would publish only when I was ready.

• I focused on the daily practice of writing and re-read my favorite books on the craft (Ann Patchett’s The Getaway Car; Steven King's On Writing). Signed up for a Writer Studio workshop.

• After spending 15+ years living where work took us, Renard and I started to plan our return to where we started, Washington, DC.

The work of moving forward

None of it is easy: that’s why it’s called work.

Transitioning away from Google has been hard. I have loved it there from day one, for the friends I made and for the work we did together. Each of the many daily walks I take in San Francisco, by far the most stunning place I have ever lived, fills me with the anticipated nostalgia I know will hit me when we go East. Yet, the “hate to leave” feeling has slowly shifted to “can’t wait for what’s to come.” Each day feels a bit more like my favorite season, spring. I have so many ideas sprouting across newly created Google Docs.

People leave jobs they could have stayed at forever for many reasons: company layoffs, stalled growth, the pull of an even better opportunity, or simply knowing when it’s time to move on.

The proportion of adults aged 65 or over will grow to 16% by 2050 and 24% by 2100. I am one of them. What a force we will become as we reimagine ourselves and continue to add all the untapped value we still have.

It's also spring from a tech perspective. There is an explosion of AI tools and ways to use them to enhance how we learn, connect, and generate new ideas. Instead of doing less, we can supercharge ourselves and be more productive than ever.

It's a wave I am so excited to catch.

Let’s dive in. Below is a PDF that walks you through the "Intention, Imagined Future, and Closing the Gap" framework—download it to take your first step forward.

From Intention To Action (1)

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