I’m not much of a gambler, so it’s quite unlikely that you’ll find me in a casino or even buying a lottery ticket as the odds are stacked against me and I’m not one to bet on good luck.
But here I am, doubling down. I’m betting my salary for the remainder of the year and foreseeable future cash flows and yet, my hands aren’t shaking and there isn’t a bead of sweat on my forehead - that is because in this moment, I am certain the odds are in my favour – I am betting on myself!
How I got to the point of Doubling Down
It all began with the little voice in my head. That voice got me on my journey of questioning what I want to do next in my career, what I want out of life, and what am I truly passionate about? As these thoughts began to crystallize, I realized that I was at a point where I wanted to shift gears in my career while leveraging my skills and what I had learnt so far in order to make a positive impact in the world.
I thought back to my days at the University of Waterloo where I learnt so much. The University of Waterloo not only instills a top of the line education in its students, but also provides hands on experience through the co-op program. Most importantly, it instills the importance of innovation, out of the box thinking and enables students to really make a difference! The foundation of hard and soft skills I gained through the University of Waterloo played a big role in giving me the courage to take this next leap in my career. I continue to be impressed and inspired by my fellow University of Waterloo alumni and the impact they are making in the world.
After a lot of talking to trusted people in my network, I decided to willingly resign from my job I am very comfortable at, without knowing exactly when and where my next paycheque would come from. And here’s the thing, I like the organization I work for, have met some remarkable people, AND on top of it all, I am compensated well.
Being the geek that I am, I made a Venn diagram of what I want out of my career, my portfolio of skills, and industries and roles of interest to me. This helped me confirm what I was already thinking and brought me to my "Aha" moment of what I want to do next.
So what IS it that I want to do next?
Leverage my learnings from UWaterloo as well as 10+ years of professional experience and be part of a small and innovative organization in order to make a positive impact and enhance the lives of people in the world through healthcare within the software/technology space.
What I’d like to leave you with…
- Take time to know who you are at this moment in time and what you’re looking for next
- Pay attention to the little voice in your head
- Evaluate risk vs. reward and be comfortable with worse case scenario
- Remember your learnings from UWaterloo and the value of a UWaterloo degree
- Have the courage to Double Down when it makes sense for you