Today I write about something not so philosophical or perhaps profound as I have done in the past. I write about the end of an era, the closing of a chapter in my life and, indeed, the beginning of a new one. After twelve years I have resigned from my current place of employment. The past twelve years have been a tremendous journey of opportunity and growth.
So why would I make this change now after such a long period of time, time that has been happy and joyful? Sometimes in life opportunity comes knocking at your door totally unexpectedly. Out the blue a potential new chapter in life presents itself.
Let’s take a step back here for a moment and look at some of the history behind this. I’ve been working with email and email systems since 1994. Essentially from the birth of email as a communication and collaboration tool in businesses. I’m passionate about email systems, fascinated by how they work. This passion of mine led to extensive participation in community forums – answering questions, assisting with resolving issues experienced by folk all over the globe. I’ve written technical articles, published [amateur] training videos all in my quest to share knowledge. Some call this my hobby, I call it my passion.
My contributions in this area appear to have been noticed. Suddenly I get a phone call from a global company asking me to come work for them doing just this, supporting and assisting email administrators globally. My hobby, my passion, has now turned into a new job! I will be in a position to continue sharing knowledge whilst remaining a lifelong learner.
I’ve spent some time reading my own previous posts and realise, yet again, just how much they apply to my life – how I have prepared for this day, how I’ve prepared for new opportunities, how I can approach this massive change by starting with that first single step.
So where to from here? We are relocating to Rotterdam, The Netherlands, in a few short weeks. A new country, a new job, new opportunities to learn and grow. I am excited and nervous simultaneously. This is a huge step, a massive change. But I remind myself of taking that first step and how I plan my journey in small stages. So here I am walking along an untrodden path and climbing a new mountain one step at a time.
Yours in lifelong learning,
Laura