Just Did It.

“Why would you leave such a great job?”

It’s often a question that either I’m asked or that I ask myself. Frankly, I’ve done it more than I’d have expected, hoped, or would have liked to. Yet here I find myself again.

Years removed from praying for the exact job I wanted, I found myself in it Alhamdulillah. Now, I’m choosing to leave. So…why?

First, let’s rewind. Years ago, Nike had just opened a role leading their Global Social Activation team, and I threw my hat in the ring, but ultimately did not land the role. Around the same time I was interested in roles with two other brands…

The first being Uninterrupted, the athlete empowerment brand founded by one of my favorite athletes. The second being the National Football League. Ultimately, I landed the role at Uninterrupted, and decided to leave my favorite sports team in the Minnesota Timberwolves to instead work for one of my favorite athletes.

As luck had it, my favorite sports brand (Nike) came calling while I was at Uninterrupted.

I knew that it came with some personal challenges, most prominently that my wife and I had just settled in Los Angeles a few months prior and the workplace was based in Beaverton, Oregon. So I did what I’ve always done…

Took the leap and bet on myself. I figured out a travel schedule that allowed me to leave Tuesday AM from Los Angeles, work in Oregon during the prescribed in-office days, and be back home by dinnertime Thursday. I calculated the personal costs I’d incur. I had it down to a tee.

Working for one of the biggest brands on the planet, let alone of my favorites? I know I’m wired a bit insanely when it comes to work, but regardless, as I consulted my inner circle and reflected internally, I knew no matter the time and cost, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that would be worth it.

And it absolutely was. Working on some of the biggest campaigns in sports, for the biggest sports brand, and leading one of the biggest social media accounts in the WORLD? Professional dream come true.

Personally, though, it of course came with an added layer of the challenges that we all often face in the sports world. For me, it’s been over a decade of prioritization of my work-life over my free time, my family time, and my personal time. In the sports world, that is hard to avoid, but the level can be tweaked based on other factors.

And as much as I’ve always believed in “the grind” and prided myself upon + prioritized my life based upon the aspirations I’ve had professionally, an offer came that seemed to not only afford me those same professional passions, but to more of a degree than ever before, the personal ones, too.

As God has often done Alhamdulillah, a past door that was closed, reopened. The NFL offered me a role based in Los Angeles that I’m thrilled about.

So with that, as the mantra of my favorite sports brand states, I decided to Just Do It. Again.

Let’s get it.