I recently took some time to look back on my life and my decisions – back in October I turned 40 – and found that I didn’t take the time to seek my inner voice and listen to it. I spent the past 15 years as an executive building businesses for other people. All of my waking time was spent thinking about how I could make their business better – leaving little time for me to think about what I was doing, whether it made sense for me in the long run, or the effect my decisions would have on my family.

Turning 40 woke me up to the fact that what I thought was security – having someone else cover my health insurance and pay my wage – was actually giving my life away cheap. So I decided to leave my cushy corporate gig and start a business that I could build for me and my family. Something that would pay me back in greater ways than any employer would – and I’m talking way beyond money to deeper relationships with my family and friends and more freedom to explore and invest my time in those things are truly exciting to me.

The journey here has been eased by the fact that my wife is my partner in this new business. By being involved from day one she has been able to allay her insecurities and be truly supportive. That insecurity comes up occasisonally but it short lived as we both see the invoices getting paid and the money going into the bank. The time we get to spend together now has brought our relationship to a new level.

- Mark