The Way Up

CHAPTER 1Find Your Purpose and Your Passion: The Resignation Letter That Led Me Back to My Truth

Man. He sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.

—His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet

I've written three resignation letters in my 18-year career, and I've had the somewhat unusual experience of working at only two companies so far in my entire professional career. I left my first organization after close to 10 years, and then returned to it after about 6 years at a second company. Typing my third resignation letter was the result of one of the most difficult decisions I ever made. I remember my trembling hand when I was composing the letter in Microsoft Word. By this point, I had reached the pinnacle of my career. I was a Black executive in a C-Suite role; an anomaly. My social capital had instantly exploded. I was invited to speak on numerous panels to share my secrets of success. An investment bank asked me to join a panel of distinguished professionals to discuss the psychology of being Black in corporate America. I was even invited to a rooftop brunch one summer with Black celebrities to hang out, network, and mingle. This new world I was introduced to came about because of my new executive title. A new C-Suite title that had the benefit ...