jumping off a cliff

Last Friday I ended my job as the art director of Body+Soul, a Martha Stewart publication. I left this amazing position to pursue my ceramics. I could not have picked a worse time to enter the world of retail, the economy is crappy. Where did I get the courage to leave a full time job with good benefits to start my own business? From my parents, of course.

My first inspiration are my mom and my step father, Mark. They left well-established lives in Russia to bring me, my older brother, and my not yet born younger brother to the United States. They were not twenty-somethings right out of college, mom was almost 40 and Mark 50. They spoke a minimum amount of English. They came to a country where they knew almost no one. Talk about jumping off a cliff.

My second inspiration are my father and my step mom. Again, they both had good jobs in Russia, which they left for a very unknown future in the US. My step mom decided to change her career when she came here. Her job in Russia involved HVAC systems, when she arrived in Boston, she began to study physical therapy, her passion. With minimal language skills she finished college with honors and now runs her own business.

Having seen my parents achieve the seemingly impossible gives me courage and inspiration to pursue my dream. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.