THE FUSE

Not long ago, I faced what seemed like a defining career decision. Thirty-five years earlier, I had made a choice that changed the course of my professional life: I left a highly sought-after executive role at a large corporation to start my own business. At the time, a chorus of voices pushed back—many of them not my own. “Are you crazy? You’re walking away from the security, status, excitement, and financial rewards of being a senior vice president?” That was my mother’s voice, but other voices, including some within me, were just as loud and persuasive. Heck, I even had a corner office in a modern downtown skyscraper and a plant in the corner next to a huge window overlooking the city. In the end, I took the leap, and it became one of the best decisions of my life. But it was not an easy one.