Marie Forleo

Yeah. I grew up in New Jersey like you did. I remember distinctly as a kid, when adults would say, hey, what do you want to be when you grow up? I never had one answer. I always had like 17. I want to be a teacher. I want to be a dancer. I want to be a writer. I want to be a businesswoman. I want to be a model. I want to be an artist. It was just like on and on and on.

And as the years went on, some of those answers would change, but there was never just one answer. And I didn't realize that that was even odd or different until really my college years. I remember a lot of people seemed to have a very distinct, definitive vision for what they wanted to do. You know, I want to be a doctor or I want to be a lawyer or I want to be whatever it was.

And I still had like 15 things that sounded really intriguing to me. And when I started my career after graduating, I went to Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. My first job was actually on Wall Street on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. And I was pumped. I was so excited because it's like the financial mecca of the universe.

Back in those days, this is like the late 90s, there were actually no chairs on the floor. And I'm a person who has a lot of energy. So I was like, oh, this is so cool. I'm going to be running around all day. This is amazing. And after about six months into that job, I was super grateful for the work because I'm the first in my family to go to college.

Back in those days, this is like the late 90s, there were actually no chairs on the floor. And I'm a person who has a lot of energy. So I was like, oh, this is so cool. cool. I'm going to be running around all day. This is amazing. And after about six months into that job, I was super grateful for the work because I'm the first in my family to go to college.

And my parents, they just busted their buns to be able to even give me an education. And I took that very, very seriously. But after about six months, I started hearing this voice inside that said, this isn't who you are. This isn't what you're meant to do. This isn't what you're supposed to be. And I was like, that's strange.

And I tried to kind of push that voice away, but it kept getting louder and louder and louder until one day I remember being at work and starting to feel sick, like physically ill, started to feel dizzy, like I couldn't really breathe. And I said to my boss, I said, hey, can I just run out and get a coffee real fast? It was at a kind of slower time during the day. He's like, yeah, no problem.

So I left and I didn't go to get coffee. I made a beeline to the nearest church and I sat on the steps and I cried. I cried my eyes out because I felt like such a loser because I knew logically and intellectually that I was so I was so grateful to have work, which included a steady paycheck. It included health benefits. I felt like I was doing good by my family.

But at the same time, the truth was I was miserable and I felt like I was dying a slow death. And I didn't know how to reconcile those two things. The first signal I got from above was actually, it said, call your dad. And back in those days, I still had, it was like flip phone days. So I took the flip phone out of my like dark green jacket. That's what all the traders had.

And I called my dad and I was crying. I was like crying the ugly cry where like there's knots coming out of your nose and you just can't breathe. And I was like, dad, I'm so sorry. I'm a man. And when I finally shut up, and took a breath. He's like, Ree, stop. He's like, you've been working since you were nine years old. I'm not worried about you figuring out how to keep a roof over your head.

And I called my dad and I was crying. I was like crying the ugly cry where like there's snot's coming out of your nose and you just can't breathe. And I was like, dad, I'm so sorry. I'm a man. And when I finally shut up, and took a breath. He's like, Ree, stop. He's like, you've been working since you were nine years old. I'm not worried about you figuring out how to keep a roof over your head.

But he's like, here's the secret to life. You're going to be working for at least the next 40 or 50 years. You have got to find something you love. And if going to work every day at this place makes you this sick that you ran out and you're crying in the middle of the day at the church, you can quit. You'll do what you did. You'll bartend. You'll figure it out.

But he's like, here's the secret to life. You're going to be working for at least the next 40 or 50 years. You have got to find something you love. And if going to work every day at this place makes you this sick that you ran out and you're crying in the middle of the day at the church, like you can quit. You'll do what you did. You'll bartend. You'll figure it out.

Trend

Appearances