When to Jump is a curated community featuring the ideas and stories of people who have made the decision to leave something comfortable and chase a passion.
I was sitting at my desk in Boston, 24 years old and thinking about my longtime dream: take a break from corporate America and play the professional squash tour around the world. I wanted someone to tell me when to go, but no one was gonna say, "Mike, it's now July 1, time to go chase your dream, remember?" I could feel it slipping away.
Technically, this was the start of When to Jump. Only I didn't know it then. What I did know was that I was at a crossroads.
Before letting fear totally take over, I realized I couldn't be the first and only person to be in this position. It boiled down to a simple question: what have others done, when faced with staying the course in something comfortable, or taking a risk to chase their passion?
So I asked. I tracked down anyone who left something safe, whatever that was: a job in consulting or social work, in teaching or engineering. Through these conversations I began collecting stories, the common thread being that each person left something comfortable to pursue a passion. I stumbled into people from all over: ex-consultants, electricians, journalists -- people from all walks of life who left the safe inertia of their own circumstances to try and do what they really wanted to be doing.
After a while it became clear that this was interesting stuff. I was compelled to share. I began passing these stories along to friends and family, bus passengers and bartenders -- others who were at their own crossroads. The stories caught on. They were helpful, and inspiring. I thought of a better way to get them out.
It started with a basic website: www.whentojump.com is now up and running. You can sign up for our favorite stories in your inbox here. You can read long-form narratives on our Medium publication, view photos/quotes on our Instagram account (@whentojump), and get quick updates from our Facebook page and Twitter handle (@whentojump).
And now, in partnership with The Huffington Post, I'll be able to share more stories with more people, and use video to help tell them.
This project is about jumping -- sharing the amazing stories and ideas of those who have jumped into an unknown. Without them I wouldn't have been encouraged to jump. These stories enriched my life and I hope they enrich yours too.
Hope you enjoy the site, and if you have any questions or ideas for me, please reach out.
Mike
This project is dedicated to my friend and former coworker, Corey Griffin, who inspired my journey and this project. For more information on Corey and his legacy, please visit the Corey C. Griffin Foundation's website.
When to Jump is a curated community featuring the ideas and stories of people who have made the decision to leave something comfortable and chase a passion. You can follow When to Jump on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and learn more about the Jump Curve framework here. For more stories like this one, sign up for the When to Jump newsletter here. (Note: The When to Jump newsletter is not managed by The Huffington Post.)