Three weeks after my wife Jenny and I packed our belongings into my Honda Civic hatchback and moved to Austin, Texas, I was fired from the job we had moved there for.

I remember sitting in that conversation, shocked, explaining why there had been a misunderstanding. I knew I could make a strong case for myself.

Then, midway through defending my position, a different question became clear:

Do I even want to?

That moment has stayed with me because it brought me face to face with something I had already been learning: being good at something doesn’t automatically mean I want to keep choosing it.

Returning to something I knew

Before Jenny and I opened Inspire Change Collective in 2019, I had worked onboard a cruise ship and then spent four years as a luxury travel agent. I was good at it—among the top 10% in the country—and I enjoyed the perks that came with the work.

Even with that success, I felt called toward something else. I knew there was more I wanted to create and contribute. Entrepreneurship felt like a way to answer that calling.

We opened our business and found success helping clients. But those first few years were challenging, especially with COVID. By 2021, I wasn’t making as much as I wanted, and the financial uncertainty was real.

So when I saw a LinkedIn ad for a position with a golf travel company in Austin, it caught my attention.

Travel was familiar. I had experience, a track record, and confidence in my ability to do the work. When I applied, I instinctively felt that I would get the job.

I did.

Jenny and I packed up the car and headed to Austin to start a new chapter.

An opportunity that changed quickly

I got started, made some sales, and soon the conversation shifted toward moving me into marketing. From those early conversations, it seemed they saw potential for me to contribute beyond the traditional sales role.

The owner’s son was living in Spain at the time. We were supposed to discuss the possible position and compensation when he returned.

I was excited enough to start preparing. I built a year-long marketing calendar around the company’s customer demographics and popular trips. I also researched other social media marketing positions in Austin to understand what comparable roles paid. I wanted to enter the compensation conversation informed.

When he returned, he saw that job research on my work computer and interpreted it as a sign that I was preparing to leave.

The meeting I was called into was a termination conversation.

I was surprised. From my perspective, I had been preparing to take on more responsibility at the company. I explained that I was researching compensation for the role we had discussed.

And then something shifted within me.

“Let go. We have bigger plans in store for you.”

In the middle of that conversation, I heard a clear voice in my head:

“Let go. We have bigger plans in store for you.”

That was my experience of the moment, and the message felt unmistakable.

I stopped explaining and politely said, “Okay, you guys have made up your mind, so that’s fine. I’ll just grab my things and go.”

I knew I could keep arguing my case. I had experience, I had already contributed, and I had a reasonable explanation for what he had seen.

But I no longer felt drawn to convincing him.

For a moment, I could see the difference between defending my ability and choosing what I actually wanted to give my energy to.

I gathered my things and left.

What I was willing to let go of

Looking back, I understand why I took that job. We needed more income. Entrepreneurship had been difficult. Returning to an industry where I had already succeeded made sense.

I can respect that decision and also recognize that my deeper calling hadn’t gone away.

I had left travel because I wanted to build something of my own with Jenny. The challenge of doing that had made a familiar opportunity appealing, but my ability to succeed in travel didn’t answer the question of whether I wanted to keep building my life around it.

Being fired was unexpected. What became mine to choose was how I responded.

That day, I chose to let the conversation end without continuing to fight for the position.

We went on to put more energy into building our business. That path eventually helped us fulfill our dream of living van life, which is a story for another day.

A few weeks after I was fired, the owner’s son asked me to coffee. I remember finding the meeting a little amusing because I had already moved on. I got the impression he might have expected me to ask for my job back, although I can’t know what he was thinking.

I didn’t ask.

By then, I was focused on what we were creating next.

Giving desire a voice

When you’re capable, “Can I do this?” can become an easy question to answer.

You can take the job. You can handle the responsibility. You can figure it out, make it work, and deliver results.

“Do I want to?” can require more honesty.

It asks you to consider the life that comes with the opportunity. What will this require of your time and attention? What draws you toward it? How does it connect with what you want to build?

Practical needs belong in that conversation, too. Income, commitments, and timing matter. My own story includes all of those considerations.

But desire deserves a voice alongside them. So does purpose.

You’re allowed to acknowledge that you’re talented at something and still choose a different direction. You’re allowed to appreciate what a previous chapter gave you without committing to repeat it.

And sometimes, you’re allowed to stop making your case because you’ve realized your energy belongs elsewhere.

At Inspire Change Collective, this is part of what alignment means to me: developing enough connection with yourself to recognize what matters, then bringing that awareness into the choices available to you.

I left that office without knowing everything that would come next. I knew I was ready to put my energy back into the life Jenny and I had started building.

If you’re facing a decision right now, give yourself room to answer both questions:

Can I do this?

And do I want to give this part of my life to it?