I call them the "Flat Tire Crowd." They're the people who have a job that's taking them nowhere. They are holding on tight to what they have, like holding on to a bike with two flat tires. In a down economy, they want the security that comes with a steady paycheck and may think they have no place to go. However, if they are risk-takers, they could do what rising numbers of the employed are doing: they're quitting their job.
On Tuesday, the government released a report that shows that a rising number of people -- nearly 2 million in April -- are walking away from a secure job. As the economy improves, they're making a career change.
For those who choose to voluntarily quit, shifting gears in measured pace will enable them to disengage from fear of the unknown and welcome change with confidence.
For example, a friend who left a high stress, good paying job managing an exclusive club in the Rockies to organize walking tours with his wife in Lisbon, Portugal writes:
"After arriving in Lisbon 9 months ago I started a walking tour company to share my passion for art and history with others. I just started doing what I love, sharing art with people. Much to my surprise, LisbonExplorer.com has shot to the top of Internet travel forms. Now, I am listed as the #1 thing to do in Lisbon on most major travel forums. I spend my days walking the city with small groups of savvy travelers speaking about everything I love...the food, wine, culture, history and art of Lisbon."
This month, he's had to hire an assistant to help with the flood of emails and requests by travel writers. In less than a year, he's achieved financial security and what he calls "a feeling of satisfaction."
Like Paolo, where do top performers go when they leave a company? For many, the attraction to leave one job for a period of financial uncertainty is not about looking for a job with more money. It's about the personal transformation that takes place when they are forced to let go of the "known world" and reinvent themselves.
"Robert," the father of two young children, left his job at a software company to do fundraising for a nonprofit called the Last Ocean. Its mission is to raise public awareness about the melting ice in the Arctic and Antarctic.
With a small cash reserve from his previous job, he now volunteers his time to travel to the north and south poles to help with photographic and video recordings of the loss of glaciers. He uses the passion of his commitment to contact philanthropists and other potential funding sources.
Like Robert, Sebastian left a high-paying job in the retail sector for "time out" to reinvent himself. Single and in his early 30s, he now thinks he would like to set up a sustainable Eco-Lodge in one of the favorite places he visited.
"Every young person I've met while traveling," he told me, "is either traveling to get away from something, or to find themselves."
Finding oneself, of course, can take a lifetime, or happen "overnight." It happens more rapidly when we let go of the things that keep us from moving forward, and learn to trust ourselves. The cliché "grow or die" applies here too.
Have you quit a good job and then discovered your dream job? If you like, share it here.
Best-selling Parkinomics includes hands-on ways to reinvent yourself, and links to resources.
Alexia Parks offers online tele-seminars for people in transition to jobs in the New Economy. With 61% of people wanting to be their own boss, she shows how to tap into your skills and passion to create a DREAM job that offers you a life of meaning, prosperity and purpose.