Where I Saw My Career Going In The Next Ten Years…

This week would have marked my five-year work anniversary had I not stepped away from my corporate role in March.

This time last year I had a sudden realization that I was ready for a big change.

I had just celebrated my fourth year at the company. It wasn’t a milestone anniversary and I wasn’t expecting it to bring up big feelings, but it did.

Four years at that company and almost ten years in the tech industry passed by in the blink of an eye. And it made me reflect on where I saw my career going in the next ten years.

Here’s what I saw:

• I’d be 40 years old

• I’d be a VP of Sales for a big tech company

• I’d have a growing team reporting to me

• I’d be making over $250k

• I’d be well regarded in my industry and opportunities for growth would be abundant

This big role would come with a lot of pressure and high stakes. But that wasn’t what scared me.

What scared me was that I was about to follow a path that didn’t align with what I truly wanted for my career. I wasn’t going to be internally fulfilled by the role despite it being externally validating.

Deep down, I knew I wanted to create a business of my own. I wanted to be my own boss and have complete control over the creation of my brand. I wanted to build a career for myself that fully aligned with my core values.

It has now been six months of fulltime entrepreneurship and I can’t help but express gratitude to my past self for all the work and big decisions that had to happen to make the pivot I knew I needed to make.

Earlier this week, I went to my first networking event that my name tag read, “Sylvana Gatto – BEE WELLNESS.” It was a proud moment.

The lesson I want to share with this story is the value in continuously checking in with yourself in the name of alignment. I’m not encouraging people to leave their job like I did; I‘m encouraging people to do the work to uncover their core values. These values become our compass.

chat soon!

Sylvana