Why I Quit My Dream Job to Chase Alignment (and You Can Too)

Hey there,

In this solo episode of The Adventure Reignition Podcast, I’m taking you behind the scenes of one of the biggest decisions I’ve made this year in 2024—leaving what many would call a “dream job” to follow my gut and pursue my passions as a content creator and purpose coach.

I dive deep into:

• The burnout that made me hit pause and re-evaluate everything.
• How slowing down helped me reconnect with my intuition and realign with my core values.
• The practical steps I took to plan this bold move responsibly—financially and emotionally.
• What it really means to live adventurously and why it’s worth taking risks for a life that excites you.

This episode is for anyone who’s feeling stuck or misaligned in their career or life and needs a reminder that bold moves are possible when you listen to your intuition, get clear on your values, and take action toward what truly lights you up.

Episode Breakdown:
In this episode, I’m sharing my personal journey of transitioning out of a corporate content creation role to dive fully into my passions. I talk about:

• Why I Left: The burnout that signaled it was time for a change and the realization that I wasn’t creating in alignment with my values.
• The Turning Point: Two weeks of slowing down and reflecting helped me reconnect with my intuition and reignite my sense of purpose.
• Planning the Leap: I didn’t just wake up one day and quit. I planned it carefully—sorting out my finances and doing the introspective work I now teach in my coaching program.
• Living Adventurously: How I applied the lessons I’ve learned from my past adventures—like cycling across Switzerland or traveling the world—to this career shift.

Key Moments:

• [00:01:21] My story: why I decided to leave a job I loved.
• [00:06:58] The warning signs of burnout and how they showed up for me.
• [00:12:49] Why slowing down is the first step toward reconnecting with yourself.
• [00:14:58] How adventure inspired my career transition.
• [00:20:04] The financial and mindset prep that made this move possible.

Favorite Quote:
“Slowing down allows your intuition to speak louder than your distractions.”

What I Learned:

• Burnout isn’t just about working too hard—it’s about working out of alignment.
• Your gut instinct is one of your most powerful tools, but you can’t hear it if your life is too noisy.
• Bold moves aren’t impulsive—they’re intentional and rooted in clarity about what matters most.

How You Can Get Involved:
If you’re feeling stuck or misaligned and want to explore creating a life and career you love, let’s chat! DM me the word “Podcast” on Instagram or LinkedIn, and we’ll start the conversation about how I can help you find your path.

Subscribe & Review:
If this episode resonated with you, I’d love it if you subscribed and left a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps me share this message with more adventure seekers like you.

Final Thought:
This year, I’ve embraced the mindset that life is too short to ignore your intuition. I’m learning, creating, and growing every day—and my hope is that you’ll feel inspired to do the same. Let’s plan your next big adventure—2025 could be the year everything changes.

Thank you for listening.

Where to find your host online :

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blaisedepallens/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blaisedepallens/
Website: blaisedepallens.com

Transcript

00:00:57:08 - 00:01:05:19
Inconnu
Hey, everybody! Welcome to the Adventure Ignition podcast. My name is Daisy Palance. I am the host of the show

00:01:05:19 - 00:01:16:02
Inconnu
Thanks for listening. I am grateful and honored to have you here on the show with me. Fasten your seat belts and say yes to your life's next adventure.

00:01:21:11 - 00:01:58:20
Inconnu
Welcome back to the adventure re ignition podcast. Today is going to be a solo episode about my journey to quit my job, my dream job, and how I was able to pivot and shift so quickly, listening to my intuition and just following my guts. And I will explain the process, the context and my thinking, and also how I was able to do the switch towards what I'm doing now and focusing on this content creation and purpose coaching journey I'm on.

00:01:58:20 - 00:02:28:06
Inconnu
And I will be on for 2025. So fasten your seatbelt and let's dive into this new episode. I have a few notes to be sure. Respecting exactly what I wanted to say with you, I want to do more of those podcasts on this, but free flow going in the future and, yeah, let's start with that first episode about my journey quitting my dream job this year.

00:02:28:08 - 00:02:58:01
Inconnu
To give a bit of context, I was working as a content creator for another company here in Switzerland, a company that I still love a lot, that had a big vision about public transportation that I was still, aligned with and differently. One of the best and probably the best company culture I have ever experienced in my life.

00:02:58:03 - 00:03:30:12
Inconnu
So it wasn't an easy decision to leave. And I was working on a lot of different creative projects, especially videos. There. And, at the beginning of 2024, I took the decision also on the side to pursue content creation on the side. So that's why I started to share and publish a lot more content on social media, especially on Instagram and also LinkedIn.

00:03:30:12 - 00:04:03:06
Inconnu
If you saw some of my posts. Yeah. I was on a journey to to start creating again for me and for myself, because in 2023, I decided to take a break from content creation on social media because I just needed a step back and I wanted to get back into that creative mode more and more. But I needed to, take a break for the podcast as well, because I was posting once a week between 2021 and 2022.

00:04:03:08 - 00:04:32:12
Inconnu
And, it was hard to be honest. It was a lot of work. And the context was at the beginning of 2024, I wanted to get into that game of creating video, telling my stories, sharing my values, my vision and everything I wanted to create moving forward while being creative at the same time. So I was doing that on the side of my, normal job as a content creator for that company.

00:04:32:14 - 00:05:08:20
Inconnu
And it started pretty well. I was really excited about the year coming in. I knew that one day I will probably do the shift, but I wasn't sure when. I was more think about 2025 or maybe 2026. And during the spring I started to feel a lot of work coming in on my job, a lot of requests from my colleagues and my boss, but also the whole context of the company to get help of, to create more videos for the company.

00:05:08:24 - 00:05:18:00
Inconnu
And at this point, it was videos that.

00:05:18:02 - 00:05:46:02
Inconnu
Were not really creative. It was more, moments, a season of the company where it was more work, production kind of work. So I was constantly feeling on the move to to jump projects after projects and deliver all the edits, all the videos without putting enough and much energy on the creative side that I wanted to bring on.

00:05:46:04 - 00:06:20:08
Inconnu
So I started to slowly move from being proud of the project I was creating and creating, kind of like for myself, but also for the company from like fulfilling others people's expectations. My colleagues needed to help, my boss wanted to have some projects done and also other colleagues in the company wanted me to have some help on on on video production, production, translation or any kind of like demand.

00:06:20:08 - 00:06:58:20
Inconnu
So I was like shifting slowly without noticing from wearing things, products to more like production modes, creating a lot of things, but not creatively, but just like to produce the piece of content and slowly fulfilling other people, demands. And I started to find myself, during the month of June this year, where I had two weeks of holidays, and just before I was like, rushing to finish all my projects before to go on holidays.

00:06:58:22 - 00:07:38:21
Inconnu
And I did, I did deliver them. And after two weeks of holidays, I came back. I thought that those two weeks would be good enough to recharge and feel refreshed, to move forward with some projects, and the opposite happens. I started to get back in front of my computer, trying to create content and work on concept ideas and actually the the work I was craving the most, which was the creative side.

00:07:38:23 - 00:08:10:17
Inconnu
And that's the type of work that I wasn't able to produce anymore. And I was stuck literally in front of my computer, not being able to create the piece of content I wanted to create for the company. And for at least two weeks, I felt burnt out and I couldn't do my job as a content creator. So I was doing more like producing, producing like type of content.

00:08:10:17 - 00:08:59:04
Inconnu
Again. And it was a very weird time, like being a creator, not being able to create, feeling burnt out, not enough headspace. And I felt like all the. Intensity of the weeks previous that one. Well, I falling off my head at this moment. At the beginning of summer and I couldn't trade. And on the side I was working already on my self-reflective introspection and adventure coaching program.

00:08:59:06 - 00:09:33:20
Inconnu
And part of my curriculum is the reflective work that I want to help my clients do. But as I was creating the curriculum of the course of the program, I was doing it myself, for myself at the time, and I was actually experiencing some of the symptoms that my clients are experiencing in their life and career at the moments.

00:09:33:22 - 00:10:05:24
Inconnu
I don't know if it was, a, Some gift in disguise that I experienced that. But as I was creating the curriculum, the content, experiencing that burnout phase, from myself and my creative, work, whether it was for my job or for my own content creation.

00:10:06:01 - 00:10:17:13
Inconnu
I lost the drive and the energy and the the love for.

00:10:17:15 - 00:10:53:14
Inconnu
What I wanted to create, which is content, telling stories, creating quality content. And from there, I remember there was one video that I recorded when I was when I was cycling, it was a bit like a motivational kind of video that I love to do once in a while, but I was on the bike and I was literally saying, if you have a dream or a dream project or something you want to pursue, go after it.

00:10:53:16 - 00:11:38:17
Inconnu
Do it. And I have I have never published that video to this day because I had these very exact moments. I felt the misalignment between what I was creating and sharing as a content and telling to others, and what I was experiencing myself in my current situation, in my current professional and personal situation. And I never published this piece of content because I realized that I needed to realign myself first before to share those kind of content.

00:11:38:19 - 00:12:04:03
Inconnu
And it was kind of like a wake up call for me to say, okay, pursue your own thing. So as I was doing the curriculum, I realigned myself. I did the exercises. I also had two more weeks on the holidays and the end of August, and I could feel the burnout in my in my head, like, just like growing.

00:12:04:03 - 00:12:49:10
Inconnu
And also I was supposed to to do a lot of different projects. That was really challenging for me to, to do. And I took those two weeks of holidays at the end of August 2024 to slow down, to apply what I teach, which is slowing down for one reason, so that you can hear your intuition again, because when you're in constant move, you are constantly working, working, doing things, moving, distracting yourself and you don't let the mind having enough space to think.

00:12:49:12 - 00:13:31:01
Inconnu
Process the information and just wander. And that's something I loved when I was traveling the world, because I had those bus rides that would that would be ten, 14, sometimes 20 hours of bus rides where I'll just let my mind wander. And those moments are critical. And I realized that this summer, for my own creativity. So those holidays back in Spain to my, girlfriend's grandmother place was a moment to really let go of everything.

00:13:31:03 - 00:13:59:13
Inconnu
Just enjoying the see the waves, nature and time leaving slow. And I know by experience because I did it many times with my travels, with my adventures that that's exactly those moments. That I got start to hear my intuition talk to me again.

00:13:59:15 - 00:14:58:08
Inconnu
And my intuition. With the combination of the introspection and the exercises I did for myself from my coaching program. Help me realign to what I wanted to do live Adventurously. In alignment. And also, with that sense of creativity I'm craving. So those three values that's been, part of me for 2024, I felt I was away from them and reconnected to them, listening to my intuition and thinking how I can quit my job to to escape from that situation.

00:14:58:10 - 00:15:34:23
Inconnu
Was possible due to that moment where I was slowing down and reflecting on what I wanted to do next and what would be my next move. So after the end of my two weeks of holidays, came back home, and for me it was clear and I felt the same way almost nine years ago when I was finishing my studies and decided to quit my job, pack my stuff and go travel the world for a year long.

00:15:35:00 - 00:16:09:01
Inconnu
I was a bit scared, but I was excited because I knew it was my guts talking to me. And that's what I did. And I will never regret that. And was the same last year when I decided to go for that three weeks trip around Switzerland with my bike, visiting 26 regions of Switzerland. Fed care. Not sure if was the right move, but I said to commit and was amazing.

00:16:09:03 - 00:16:48:12
Inconnu
And that specific moment of my life was a moment where it was similar to previous adventures I had lived in the past, and I wanted to apply those adventures framework to my career. Right now. And despite having the dream job, being able to work remotely when I'm not filming, having a very good company culture, great team, great colleagues, and also like great company, I really believe in any company still to this day.

00:16:48:14 - 00:17:29:03
Inconnu
But I needed and I knew that I needed to make a shift and move for myself. That was the most important thing to do and after two weeks came back and I thought, okay. Maybe it's the right time. Maybe now is the right time to quit my job, to pursue content creation and purpose coaching. For myself, first, because I don't have a I don't have kids for the moments yet, so I felt like the stars were aligned to do that move.

00:17:29:03 - 00:18:04:19
Inconnu
Now, money wise, I knew I could, in Switzerland, use my retirement plan to finance that at least a bit until the end of 2025. So it would be it would give me basically 14 months ish to to make the transition. And I sorted out financially. Also, it's very important, to know exactly how much money your lifestyle cost.

00:18:04:19 - 00:18:57:12
Inconnu
So I figured out, even if I knew roughly already, because I'm really, precise with those things. Maybe I should do a podcast about money management. Also. So I, I sorted out my finances knowing that I roughly need between, I don't know, 25 to 3500 CHF a month to make a living. And I knew that I would have, with all my savings and all the retirement plan I had, that it would roughly give me a bit more than a year to make it work.

00:18:57:14 - 00:19:31:20
Inconnu
And I know deep inside that first, that's not an easy move to do. First, before you get more precise into this, I don't think you should quit your job on emotions. You really should do the introspection to slow down and to figure out your finances first before you do any move. I don't have kids, so I don't have too much responsibilities at the moment, and I can easily do to move.

00:19:31:22 - 00:20:04:03
Inconnu
If I would have kids, I would think twice before to do this. If I had a very expensive lifestyle, I would figure things out. My expenses. So. I did it responsibly, not impulsively, and I was able to do it quickly because I know the drill. I know the introspection, the self-discovery part of the things. And that's exactly what I teach to you and my clients.

00:20:04:05 - 00:20:27:22
Inconnu
That's why. And because I learned to know myself through adventure, through adventurous framework. That's why I was able to move so quickly. So once I figured out my finances and I kind of, like, dig the life, check to where to see where I was in my life and career journey.

00:20:27:24 - 00:20:58:02
Inconnu
And my guts were telling me that was it. Go try it. And I love to apply this adventure, spirit and mindset to take bold moves for myself. I know it's not for everybody. I'm sure you need to figure things out first before to do any bold move like that. And that's yeah. Disclaimer I want to give you. But for me, I love to live adventurously.

00:20:58:04 - 00:21:04:17
Inconnu
I love to live without regrets. I love to live.

00:21:04:19 - 00:21:35:22
Inconnu
And feeling alive. So that's how I take decisions like that. So I came back from my holidays. I knew it was the right move, even if it was scary. I gave my letter of resignation, and then I went through, a period of transition where I started to prepare for what's what's coming next. Also hired a coach to help me go through this because I didn't want to go, like wandering around not knowing exactly what I was doing.

00:21:35:24 - 00:22:06:14
Inconnu
So I hired, a business coach to help me through the transition. And, it's been now a month that I am on my own doing content creation and starting to, do again, purpose coaching. And I'm excited. If I look back, six months ago, I was really dreading mornings. I didn't have the energy to wake up.

00:22:06:16 - 00:22:36:05
Inconnu
I felt burnt out. I felt like it was going a bit through motion and I knew that something had to changed. And through the introspection that I did, and I was able to create for my personal program, it reconnected me to this sense of alignment, finding meaning in what I was doing. And I knew slowing down and listening to my gut, that doing that now was the right move.

00:22:36:07 - 00:23:09:13
Inconnu
And most people will ask me or already ask me, but what if you fail? And I rather take the chances in my life and fail? Then wondering 30 years from now, what if, I should have done the move so I know it's not everybody thinks this way, but for me, it's important to take the chances. And now, for the right moment, the right opportunity.

00:23:09:13 - 00:23:45:12
Inconnu
I could hear my intuition in my gut telling me to go to change. And I'm pretty confident that if I keep publishing at least five days a week, plus doing podcasts as well, creating content, bringing value, and also testing a lot of different things, that something will happen in the next year. And I started to improve my coaching program and I love the idea of time in front of me, and I really feel the same way.

00:23:45:14 - 00:24:13:23
Inconnu
Then, almost nine years ago, when I quit my job and travel the world for a year, and for me, this year is a year of adventure. A year of of. Prioritizing my mental and physical health while doing this at the same time without burning myself out again and pursue my dream. Content creation job I always wanted to do.

00:24:14:00 - 00:24:48:02
Inconnu
And if you've been following me for a while, you know by by now that I just love to tell stories, to create content around my passions, values, interests and that makes me feel fulfilled in doing something meaningful, especially if I can inspire will help people along the way. So that's where I am right now, and I'm pretty, pretty stoked to be honest, to to be working on my own at the moment.

00:24:48:04 - 00:25:30:00
Inconnu
And improving every day so I can be in front of camera, creating content, helping others and if I failed in 12 months from now, what's the worst thing that can happen? I just get back to normal job. But along the way, along the journey that will be 2025, I'm sure I will develop a lot of valuable skills, knowledge and anything that will serve me in the future of my life and career.

00:25:30:02 - 00:26:02:13
Inconnu
And for me, it's really important to create a life and then carry you love because they go together and that's how I can stay healthy in my mind, while also taking care of my mental and physical health. So now my days give you a bit of, hint. It's I'm still like testing a lot of different things, but I like to wake up between 7 and 9.

00:26:02:15 - 00:26:42:09
Inconnu
I have a small routine that change every day. So it's either cold exposure with my cold bath, breathing techniques, meditation, running, and sometimes I go straight to work. So I don't have like a specific routine. But that makes me feel good. I'm still testing and, After that I get to work around, I don't know, I do a good session of 4 or 5 hours of work, and I try to take a break the afternoon, usually because I don't work well first, and also because I want to spend time outside.

00:26:42:09 - 00:27:16:08
Inconnu
So I do go for a run a bike ride, hike, or sometimes just a walk and, yeah, refresh. I have a refreshing mind. And then the nights I try to, to, do another session of work, usually it's like either creating content, thinking about ideas, editing content, and, having conversation on social media to see how I can bring value and help people with helping them find their own path.

00:27:16:10 - 00:27:47:15
Inconnu
So yeah, it's an exciting part of my life at the moment. And why I'm doing this is because since I lost my dad to suicide almost 15 years ago, now, I have this constant desire to. Make life worth living. And I think it comes to exactly what happened. My dad, just like.

00:27:47:17 - 00:28:07:17
Inconnu
Ended his own life, didn't want to live anymore. And my mission is kind of like through his experience, through what he taught me about everything that happened, to make life worth living for me and then for others.

00:28:07:19 - 00:28:49:16
Inconnu
And helping you with finding your own career path. A job you love you're passionate about, even if it's not easy every day, I can tell you that now. Would bring so much energy, so much passion, and so much great in your life that combining something you love with taking care of yourself and live your adventurous life with going outside, spending time in nature, those combination is something that I'm sure will make a great life, and maybe it's different for you, but that's the kind of life I want to live moving forward.

00:28:49:18 - 00:29:17:17
Inconnu
So that's it for today's episode. I want to thank you for still being here to the end of this episode. If you want to see how I can help, we help you with finding your own path, bringing more adventure into your life. Just DM me podcast and I'll be very happy to have a conversation with you on social media so you can share podcasts either on LinkedIn or Instagram.

00:29:17:17 - 00:29:40:20
Inconnu
And I'll be really happy to start a conversation. See how I can help you. If we can work together and yeah, let's prepare 2025 and plan your escape to create something exciting for you. Thank you again and have a great day everyone! Bye.

00:29:40:20 - 00:29:58:18
Inconnu
That's it for today's episode. I really hope you had a great time on the show today. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe to the Adventure Ignition Podcast and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify because it helps a lot.

00:29:58:20 - 00:30:28:17
Inconnu
Get this message of Adventure out. If you have any question, any suggestions, or you just want to contact me, please do it on social media. I blaze the stones over LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook. I would be pleased to start a conversation with you and answer your questions before to leave you. I really want to take a moment to acknowledge you for still being here on this episode.

00:30:28:17 - 00:30:57:19
Inconnu
And thank you so much for your support and being part of my journey on the Adventure Recognition Podcast. And as usual, I'm going to end this episode with a famous quote from Allen Keller that I love so much. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. Thank you so much for your support. Don't forget to say yes to adventure, surf the vibe and spread the love.

00:30:57:21 - 00:30:59:08
Inconnu
Peace out.