From the outside, leaving looked risky. I walked away from a career that paid well, included stock options, offered security and predictability, and gave me the ability to provide anything my family wants.<\/p>\n
What surprised me was that I wasn’t worried about status or titles. I was worried about being a provider.<\/p>\n
Would I still be able to give my family the life I wanted for them? The house, the holidays, the opportunities, and the feeling that they would never have to worry about anything financially.<\/p>\n
Looking back, that fear says more about me than it does about my family.<\/p>\n
When I told them about the transition, their reaction was almost comical. They largely shrugged. As long as I was happy, they were happy.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, I was carrying concerns they hadn’t even asked me to carry. I suspect many parents and caregivers will recognize that feeling. It\u2019s important to not just carry that load but open a discussion with the ones you are carrying it for, include them and feel a tighter connection and maybe even relief of that load.<\/p>\n
I was fortunate enough that the financial side of the transition was manageable. The difficult part was something else entirely.<\/p>\n
The difficult part was becoming a beginner again.<\/p>\n
There is something deeply humbling about starting over. People often romanticize craftsmanship, but what they don’t talk about is the constant confrontation with your own limitations.<\/p>\n
Every day you discover something you don’t know. Every week you find a gap in your knowledge. Every month you realize there are even more gaps you haven’t discovered yet.<\/p>\n
Watchmaking has a way of exposing reality.<\/p>\n
A watch doesn’t care about your confidence, your mood, your r\u00e9sum\u00e9, or the title you used to have. The watch either runs properly or it doesn’t.<\/p>\n
And strangely enough, I love that. Because it’s honest.<\/p>\n
What life actually looks like now.
\n<\/b>
\nI also realize how fortunate I am to be in the position I\u2019m in today. Not fortunate in the sense that it happened by accident, but fortunate that years of decisions, hard work, and planning created options.<\/p>\n
Most mornings I bring my children to school and then drive home. That still feels strange sometimes. For years, mornings meant driving toward an office, a calendar full of meetings, and a day filled with problems I hadn\u2019t seen coming yet.<\/p>\n
Today I drive toward a workshop.<\/p>\n
Some mornings I sit down at the bench immediately. Other mornings I go for a walk first. Sometimes I spend an hour in the gym before starting my day. The watches will still be there when I return.<\/p>\n
The freedom isn\u2019t about working less. In many ways I\u2019m working harder than ever. The difference is that I have far more control over where I invest my time and energy.<\/p>\n
That freedom didn\u2019t appear overnight. When I started this journey, I deliberately planned for the business to grow slowly. The first years were never about maximizing income. They were about investing in tools, skills, experience, and relationships. Growth comes later. First comes learning.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know exactly where that path will lead, but I know I\u2019m grateful to be walking it.<\/p>\n
People often ask why watchmaking. The honest answer is that I don’t think watchmaking is my life’s calling.<\/p>\n
I’ve enjoyed many things over the years. Building barbecue smokers. Welding. Coaching baseball. Technology. Leadership. Watches.<\/p>\n
Watchmaking wasn’t some magical revelation. It was simply something I had enjoyed for years, something I believed I could become good at, and something that offered an outlet for my ambition, creativity, and desire to keep learning.<\/p>\n
I think we put too much pressure on ourselves to find one true calling. I don’t believe there is only one thing you could ever enjoy doing. What matters is not finding the perfect thing. What matters is finding something that fits who you are today.<\/p>\n
Go to Part 1 of 3<\/a> or Go to Part 3 of 3<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From the outside, leaving looked risky. I walked away from a career that paid well, included stock options, offered security and predictability, and gave me the ability to provide anything my family wants. What surprised me was that I wasn’t worried about status or titles. I was worried about being a provider. Would I still […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-zonder-categorie-nl"],"yoast_head":"\n