Dreaming of Leaving Corporate World

Hey Bella,

Welcome to my first episode, Dreaming of Leaving Corporate World. Five years ago, this was exactly me. I wanted to start my own business, be more independent, run my own hours and work for something I was extremely passionate about. In this episode, I share with you 4 tips of how you can build a life beyond the corporate world.

Before I get started I want to share with you how it all began and the soul searching I did. In 2014, my hubby and I were given the opportunity to move to wine country, Napa Valley. We had been on a search for about two years for a place that we would both would be happy with our career path. At that time, I was working at Coca-Cola as the Regional Sales Manager for Hispanic Markets and my hubby was a traveling Endodontist in South Florida. Working at Coca-Cola was fun but it required a lot of my time, which meant many late nights and weekends. I remember when Friday came around I was so exhausted. I stopped doing the activities that I loved, like going to the gym, spending time with my loved ones, doing fun stuff after work, Netflix and chill nights or just hang out with my girlies. My days would start at 6am and nonstop until 7PM. I would get home to have dinner then back on the computer. It was definitely not what I had dreamed of.

One weekend I did an exercise with my hubby (who was my boyfriend back then). This was an exercise I had learned during acting class. My best friend is an actress, so one day she dragged me to her acting classes. Taking acting classes was an impactful experience. It’s super therapeutic. We would start with a warm up exercise that I practice till this day when I am stuck in big decision making, this was the “I want”, “I love” and “I need” exercise. I don’t know if that is the name but it goes something like this—

For two minutes you must say out loud what YOU want, what YOU love and what YOU need. I must warn you that the first time you may feel extremely odd. I felt super silly and super awkward but the more I did the exercise the more it helped me understand what I want, love and need. It’s like giving yourself an amazing therapy session.

This was an exercise I would do on my own when I felt I needed a change.  Somewhere in between going up the corporate ladder and being too busy I just stop doing it… until that weekend, when I did the I want, I love and I need exercise with my hubby.

We then made our list of what we want, what we love and what we need. The one thing that was repetitive in our list was— quality of life, outdoor activities, own our business, travel, live in a small town close to family, pay my hubby’s student loans, invest and enjoy life more. As the type A personality that I am, I reacted to this quickly.

I decided to hunt for places for us to move the next day. I had been living in South Florida since I was ten (24 years to be exact) and it was time for a change. We first explore Maryland where my hubby is from, then Denver because we love the outdoors (ojo: I won’t camp but I will glamp LOL) and then we thought to explore west coast of Florida. But nothing came up. Until…

December 2013, we decided to spend Christmas holidays with my brother-in-law in Napa Valley. It was his first year living in Napa and so we decided to all spend the holidays there. While wine tasting, my hubby checks-in on Facebook at Ma(i)sonry, currently the RH wine vault in Yountville. Minutes after, one of his buddies from University of Pacific, let him know that if he is in Napa there is an office looking for a full-time endodontist. My hubby looks at the message and shows it to me.

Two months later and 2 U-Haul trucks we were on our way to start our new adventure in wine country, Napa Valley. This was a hard decision at first because we didn’t want to be so far from our parents and also because it was the first time I moved from my hometown, Miami. But what helped us with the decision-making was going back to our list of what we: want, love and need.

The more we kept going to our list the clearer it was that we needed a change. We then worked on our personal mission in life and a SWOT analysis. This is when being in corporate for so long pays off. I will share more of how to build a mission and a SWOT analysis in other episodes. ¡Vale!

How crazy is it that the day we made a decision to move to the West Coast, we both receive an offer to stay in South Florida. Ryan received an offer to work as an endodontist in West Palm Beach and I to work from YUM brands out of Palm Beach. We had been on a job search mode for over a year and just when we are about to make a move we get an offer. Has this happened to you?

I call it fate. If you ask the universe when you are ready for a change the universe will deliver and you will start to find options you didn’t have before.  Then you can determine which is the best one for you.

We choose Napa. Again, the I want, I love, I need exercise made the decision easier. In addition to the amazing wine and delicious food we will have 24/7 and not to mention outdoor activities.

So Bella, if you are in the midst of making that change I strongly suggest you do this exercise. I have provided a quick one pager for you to write it down and keep it at your fingertips as a reminder to ask the Universe.

These 4 Tips on How you can build a life beyond the corporate world. Whether you’ve been dreaming of leaving corporate world or if you just need a change I hope these tips will help you achieve what you most desire.

I’ve done a lot of self-searching. Every year I would create and update my dream board. You may have heard of a dream board or a vision board like our dear Oprah calls it.

• Remember what 6-year-old you want and write I down.
• Rehearse daily what you love, want and need.
• Build your Vision Board or Dream Board.

“If you can Dream it, you can do it”

Turn the volume up to your inner voice. If you are feeling down at work or on your day to day then we must make a change to switch off that mood and turn on your passion vibes!

• Journal all the reasons why you need a change or to let go of corporate life and start your new passion. It can be a different career or the start of your new business.
• Be comfortable with the fear of letting go and starting something new.
• Go back to your Dream Board and Manifest it. Let your loved ones know that you are working on a change and say it to the Universe.

We need to find you again. This is by far my favorite exercise. Make a list of—

• What drives you?
• What motivates you?
• What keeps you up at night?

I started with learning more about wine since I was moving to wine country and I had always had a passion for helping our Latina community grow. And boom this is when NapaVale.com was born; creating a fun place to learn about wine while showcasing compelling stories of wine country and what makes Napa Valley unique.

On upcoming episodes on The Napa Vale Show, you will learn more about branding from Founder and Owner of BACCA wines, Jennifer Brown. I had the honor to interview Jennifer. She shares with us her journey on releasing her wine and on branding. Stay tune.

This is probably the hardest step to do but the most crucial and the one that has to be a habit. It all starts with motivation and passion, but what drives us is setting up the expectations and aligning the plan with your goals. Keep on moving forward, Bella. This will be hard since as an entrepreneur there are happy days and gray days. As long as you make it a habit to work on your passion is what will keep you going. Be sure to have your mentors, cheerleaders and surround yourself with people who want to see you grow and succeed. Asi que. Ni un paso atras, ni para tomar impulso.

Let’s do this! I believe in you and I believe that life is just way too short. So let’s live our passions, let’s live what keeps us up at night.

Want to get more of the details on how to do this? I invite you to press play and replay on the episode above. I share with you all the tips and advice I’ve received and what has helped me moving forward.

Recuerda. Descubre, saborea y brinda. Porque la vida es demasiado corta. ¡Vale!

Cheers to new you,

P.S.   See you in my next episode and my very first podcast interview. On episode #2, I interview Irma Robinson, owner and founder of SMOKE Open Fire Cooking and Southside community-centered coffee bar in Napa Valley. She shares with us her journey into entrepreneurship.

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Wendy Barba