Follow and trust your heart

I quit my job to run around the world chasing little yellow fluffy things!

Back in 1997 I was writing business software and enterprise databases. The software was controlling billions of $ in assets and everyday I was extracting data and creating reports to be used that day in government meetings and decisions. So it kinda had to work 

Anyway, one morning, driving my way to a Microsoft Database Architect training course in Brisbane City, I was listening to the U.S. Open Tennis final.

Pat Rafter had won the first 2 sets and was playing the 3rd on the drive in. I was hanging on to every point. From memory John Newcombe was commentating it.

It was a close set and as I pulled into the car park he lost the 3rd. I was early so I stayed in the car listening to the start of the 4th.

Now, I am not typically a 'sports fan', I am more a 'sports participant' but this was different.

I knew Pat, I knew most of his family too. We grew up at the same tournaments, I'd played exhibition matches against him at school, we played doubles together in Saturday fixtures, for a while we hit together when he was in town.

I was a 3rd generation tennis player. My grandfather coached for 50 years, players who needed up being world number 1's.

Deep into the 4th set I had to leave the car radio and go into a training room to look at a computer screen with a bunch of unhealthy indoor people. (No judgement, just a contrast)

In the break I ran to the car to turn on the radio and try and catch what the outcome was. (Really no internet back then??)

I was asking people if they knew the result. No one around me knew.  Pat took the hard path to the top. No handouts, pure hard work and support from friends, family, fellow players and coaches.

At lunchtime I found out the result! Pat won the U.S. Open! This made my day. I am pretty sure I did not listen to another word spoken in the training room that day. My heart was not there. I was somewhere else.

The drive home was amazing. They kept playing the last 2 points of commentary on the radio and I had head to toe chills every time I heard it! I kept changing the station to listen to it over and over.

My world was in contrast. Driving to the city to work in an office job OR driving to a tennis court to join my heart.

The following week I handed in my resignation letter to my boss. He asked what are you going to do? 'I said I am going to go play tennis'. I told him I was going to Europe to play the summer tennis circuit.

So that was the day I decided to back myself and jump into the unknown. Following my heart has always taken me on amazing adventures and I always have this excited, nervous feeling of not knowing, wanting to know and well, trusting it will all work out.

The entrepreneur life is a little like that  Follow and trust your heart!