In 2020 I lost an influential friend in my life, Jeff Fuson, who passed away unexpectedly. He was a great friend because he offered me a lot of clarity towards the decisions I made. For example, before his passing, he gave me one of my favorite phrases and pieces of advice, which is, “If the rent gets too high, then it’s time to go.”
He meant that if the work becomes too much that you aren’t reaching your purpose, then it’s time to reassess what you’re doing and determine if the work is still worth the effort. It might be time to either quit jobs or stop working with that set of people.
Some of us can hear Jeff’s words and create an approach to quit anything whenever we face opposition. However, that’s not what Jeff taught me as he and I worked through some coaching training together. Instead, Jeff knew that jobs could be challenging from time to time. Despite the challenges, though, we must persevere and push through the difficulties because that’s where the opportunities rest.
Yet, despite a job’s challenges, there are times when the obstacles are too much. Some examples are when a job adversely impacts your health. Or when there’s no opportunity for advancement, or the company has a bad reputation, or most importantly, as Jeff taught me, “if it keeps you from doing your purpose.”
Keep in mind, even the list above can be subjective and is not exhaustive. You are the ultimate determiner of when “the rent gets too high” because you should know your purpose better than anyone.
If you don’t know your purpose, then work through the book “Find Your Why” by Simon Sinek. In it, you’ll understand the importance of knowing your “why” while given practical exercises to discover your why. Knowing what your why is then will help you to discern “when the rent gets too high.”
In closing, hopefully, through this phrase, you can see how Jeff was a great pastor, mentor, and friend. He wanted people to live into their purpose than just quit their jobs for no reason. Therefore, I hope you hear his advice on when to stay or leave a job. More importantly, live and work with purpose because when the rent isn’t too high, as Jeff also said, life is “so good!”
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