BIG tiny World Travel

The first major step has been taken on the path towards traveling the world. I just put in notice to leave my job on April 15th. The experience was quite nerve-wracking, but I did it. The reaction from my bosses was not quite what I expected.

Giving Notice

After being at my current company for nearly eight years, it was a difficult move to put in my notice. Not only emotionally, since I’ve worked with this group of people for so long, but also knowing when best to do it. Everyone will have different circumstances, but in my case I am a one-person department who isn’t easy to replace. Because of that, I wanted to give at least three months’ notice. That should give them enough time to get a replacement and start training.

First Impressions

The first person to whom I spilled the beans was someone I’ve worked with at two companies for about 10 years, and she was a part of why I moved to this company in the first place. She was happy for me, but also very sad to see me go. Giving my notice was a little awkward at first. I explained the whole April Fool’s Day joke inspiration, and where we are going. The conversation was good and ended with her asking how much of a going away party I wanted. I wasn’t really sure, but I might as well go all out as I usually do when it comes to office fun. It may be another excuse to wear a dinosaur suit. Overall, it wasn’t easy to put in my notice, but it made the next stop easier. MY BOSS.

I walked into my boss’s office with more confidence, closed the door, and laid out my plans for leaving. He was almost giddy about the trip and very excited for me. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting for sure. I showed him the route map and explained some of the logic behind the order of destinations. It was a very positive experience to say the least. He didn’t seem to have a worry in the world even though my eight years with the company will be hard to replace.

The Great Reveal

At first I didn’t want to tell anyone else about it, but then I thought, “why not”? So after my boss asked permission, he revealed my plans during a senior management meeting. After the meeting, word spread somewhat quickly, but only the people at the top of the company. After that I started telling key people I was leaving and I would get the initial reaction of  “oh no,” or “no way!”  Once they found out why I was leaving, it was instant smiles from everyone. As I told more people, I would got sudden visits from others saying things like:

• “I’ve heard a rumor that your leaving to travel the world.”
• “What is this about you traveling the world? I wont allow it.”
• “I’ve never heard anyone say that to me in my life, wow.”

Or I just got a random smile from someone in the hallway because they know. This has been a lot of fun and my great reveal will happen each day as more people find out.

Final Thoughts

It was difficult for me to do this as it isn’t every day you put in notice on such a long term job. However, such positive feedback and so many people excited to follow us in our travels on this blog as a result has been awesome. Leaving the company is hard but I’ll be back. I may not necessarily work there again depending on their needs when I return, but I’m sure I’ll stop by to let them know how it went. Cheers!

Have you ever quit your job to travel long-term? How did it go?

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