The transitioning corporate refugee: I remember the repetitive days when I was in a job from Monday to Friday, from 8am till 6pm. When today felt like a carbon copy of yesterday and tomorrow will be similar, if not the same as today.
My days looked and felt something like this …
I’d wake up at 6:30 am to my buzzing alarm. The first thought was always, “Oh no that couldn’t be the alarm already!” I would often go into feelings of denial, wishing that perhaps I could just stay in my comfortable, warm bed and not move.
I would hug my pillow and just want everything in the external world to go away and leave me alone. I’d hit that snooze button and wish I could stretch time out for infinitely long periods.
After some inner dialogue such as “once I get going it’ll be okay,” and “I should be grateful for what I have,” I would slowly leave my bed like a dazed sloth moving ever so slowly.
When I realized that my attempt to stretch time out infinitely wasn’t working, I would bolt into hyper drive as I condensed my morning ritual into a 15 minute time window.
The fear of the consequences of being late for work would create panic as I gulped down my breakfast. I flew out of the front door with my iPod blaring in my ears as an attempt to keep the external world away from me.
3 years after my inner flame started to stir and I was questioning the purpose of my life, and questioning the point of life in general.
I hired my first coach to help me with my self-confidence and communication skills, however our lessons quickly turned into quantum physics and reality sessions.
What was even more bizarre was that the head trainer at my corporate job was saying the same things to me at the same time.
I’d never heard of statements such as “everything is energy” and “the external world is a projection of my inner world” and “what appears as real isn’t” and “everything is one, even though it appears separate.”
Perhaps you’ve come across some of these premises too?
As new ideas fused into my mind and I was open to receiving new perspectives on life, I started to feel like I was prostituting my time for money. I started to feel trapped and obligated to a system that started to make less and less sense.
What kept me where I was in the corporate world was the fear of not being able to pay my rent, buy food and the fear of judgment of those around me. The job provided a security blanket that felt predictable, warm and comfortable… just like my warm cozy bed.
The Universe gave me a wake up call to make a bold step.
Whenever I have resisted a new change in my life, I have received a wake up call to create the realization needed to move on. At this time I had an accident where I tore my ACL, damaged my meniscus and medial ligaments in my right knee.
I was on crutches and in plenty of pain. A week after the accident I was booked in for my Reiki Level 3 training, which couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. I felt excited that perhaps I could be supported in healing this rather serious injury.
All of the doctors had said I would have to get surgery if I was to ever play sport properly again. The Reiki group of 5 worked on my knee throughout the weekend and to my excitement, the crutches were OFF by the time Monday came.
Another little sign that perhaps I was a little bit more empowered than what I had previously believed.
The right knee represents moving forward into the future and so I knew in my heart that the time to make some big changes was now. 4 months after the accident I had left my corporate job and I was officially a corporate refugee.
What Is A Corporate Refugee?
A corporate refugee is a person in transit, moving from what they know and feel comfortable with and INTO a new field that reflects or aligns to their purpose/passion and inspiration.
At the time I wasn’t really clear on what I’d be focusing on. All I knew was that I felt excited and passionate about transformation, healing, human behavior and energy work.
So many of the pieces of the puzzle were missing for me. All I could do is speak to people about what I knew and ask plenty of questions which opened up doors.
The next massive opening that came for me was when I was at a retreat in the Blue Mountains and I was putting my intention out there that my next working opportunity would come to me.
3 months after the retreat I was working with the inspirational speaker who ran the retreat and who’s message was all about doing what I love, following my intuition and trusting life. I was able to use my corporate skills for the backend processes of the business.
This was a great win/win outcome and I felt that I was able to move closer to a life that reflected freedom, heart centered living and truth.
Over the next 2 years I was in a useful environment as I stabilised myself, learned new skills and at the same time deepened my training in coaching, energy work, transformation and inspirational speaking.
The next significant jump in the journey of a transitioning corporate refugee was the dissolving of all security blankets and the pillars of perceived safety.
Just like the accident with my right knee that had ushered me away from my corporate job, another such incident occurred to support me in leaving the job with the inspirational speaker and to stand on my own 2 feet.
The time to take the leap of faith and no longer receive a fixed income had come! This is what unfolded…
I had just returned from a trip to the US supporting the inspirational speaker with event management in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The day I got back something massive happened within me.
This time it wasn’t an external circumstance but an internal circumstance. I was sitting at my computer looking at my screen and I felt absolutely no energy to “do” anymore work.
The inspiration, passion, purpose or meaning of why I was working with the inspirational speaker was gone. It felt like all my energy had been drained and I was incapable of doing what I had done.
It became apparent that it was time to jump off the cliff. My ego felt scared and so I asked for a 3-week transition time.
To my surprise the business manifested 2 replacement roles within 3 days and before I knew it I had completed a full handover and the following week I was in completely different circumstances. I was now my own boss!
Working for yourself is a whole new ball game. I remember one of my main fears at the time was, if I don’t have to go to work and be working in a job, what happens if I wake up in the morning and don’t want to do anything?
The answer scared me because I realized that the level of responsibility had just ramped up significantly. The truth is… if I didn’t get out of bed in the morning then nothing would happen. I would be in my bed and spend the day in my bed.
The first 6 months of the transition was very intense. I didn’t have large financial reserves and so living on a shoestring budget as well as credit cards was my reality.
The biggest lesson I was learning during this process was to trust myself, trust the universe and know that I am supported, loved and cared for. The need for security in the past was my desire to feel safe, I wanted life to be predictable and comfortable.
Being an entrepreneur and running your own business requires the letting go of these ideas, desires and needs. The next significant realisation was to move from living in the perspective that my circumstances are happening to me and thus I am a victim of what unfolds in my life TO I am responsible on a level for everything that occurs in my life.
On one hand seeing this was challenging in the beginning. Unconsciously I was hoping that someone or something external to me would come in shining armour and take away all my problems and rescue me.
Small reflections that showed this to me were that I always felt scared to open my credit card statements and to look at my account balance. The fear of not having enough, the fear of being left destitute and alone was really real to me.
I preferred to be in denial and avoid looking at what was actually happening. I just wanted things to sort themselves out without having to really look at it.
What I discovered was that every time these fears emerged I had to go into the fears and go into a place of self-inquiry. As I embodied the knowingness that “I create my reality” and that “what I’m putting out energetically determines what I get back,” I started to be more curious and open to whatever was showing up in my life as an opportunity to heal and transform.
Moving from being attached to the outcome TO experiencing life as a journey with lessons, growth experiences and fun. The journey of the transitioning corporate refugee is an epic journey where you get to find yourself and experience yourself in ways that reflect true freedom, liberation, joy and excitement.
How I Work With Corporate Refugees.
If you are a corporate refugee and would love to experience a deeper level of clarity in your life, see what possibilities exist for you to take the next step AND align your life so you feel like that morning routine is broken into more excitement and passion then book yourself in for a free 30 minute consultation session where we will both get to see if you are ready for the next step.
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Nicolas Perrin – Inspirational Change Maker
