Chapter 1: What's Brewing?

"If I'm Still Here When They Pass Out Those Gold Watches, Please Shoot Me."

When I did it, I got some different reactions. My boss gave me an eloquent, corporate "Huh?" My mother cried. I got a lot of blank stares. And, in the midst of it all, the chorus of "I could never do what you're doing, but I think it's great."

So what did I do? Bungee-jump without the cord? Skydive without the parachute? Swan-dive off the Empire State Building?

No, not exactly. At the ripe age of twenty-six, I left a cushy, lucrative, corporate benefit-lined advertising job for the chaotic, adventurous world of self-employment. I kissed off corporate America. Four years later, I don't regret my decision and wouldn't go back for all the gold watches in the IBM vault.

In the next eight chapters, you're going to hear my tale, as well as stories shared by many young professionals who have chosen to leave the corporate life for more meaningful, independent entrepreneurial lives. The sources of these stories vary from people who, maybe like yourself, are just starting to think about all this, to people who are self-employed and financially supporting themselves.

There are people who have known for a while in the back of their mind that the corporate scene isn't for them, but they've been avoiding the "what to do with my life" analysis.

You'll hear from people who are newbies on the self-employment journey. What does it feel like to make your first move into entrepreneurdom? What are some of the lessons they've learned along the way? And you'll also meet some seasoned folks who have created their personal life-style off the corporate track. How did they transform their life from cubicle confinement to one of self-employed freedom, independence and creativity?

My decision to leave corporate America crept up on me slowly. It wasn't some lightning bolt of revelation that vividly popped into my brain one morning. Looking back, there were lots of subtle signs along the way: I started to see myself in the eyes of those older than I at the ad agency where I worked. I saw too many people at the office who had settled, who now had the 2.5 kids and stifling suburban mortgage, who had accepted the golden handcuffs the corporation had placed on them. I saw my future in them. Their dreams, their true selves, had been lost somewhere between the car loan and cellular phone. I didn't like what I was seeing in my crystal ball . . .