Are You Ready to Make a Leap?

This is one part of the job that I will really miss

When you were young did you ever play the jump-rope game where you try to skip into a swinging rope held by two other kids? I always loved that game as a little girl. I was terrified of getting wacked in the face by the rope, but it was worth it to experience the thrill of jumping in at exactly the right moment.

I had a jump rope moment yesterday in my career. I left my job as editor of Cosmopolitan to focus on my work as an author and speaker, promote my new career book, I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This, and start a digital business.

Last January I went to my fab boss and told him that the time had come for me to leave Cosmo and that meant he would begin to look for my replacement. It was bittersweet for me. I’ve loved Cosmo, I’ve loved Cosmo readers, and I’ve loved making it #1 in its category for 14 years–but I was itching for a change.

Change is really important in your job. It keeps you fresh, energized, and yes, on your toes. It’s good to be kind of scared—though never paralyzed with fear, of course. I told my staff they should use my departure to think about where they are professionally and what they may want next.

And it’s also good to be always looking for windows of opportunity to take advantage of. One of my favorite Shakespearean passages is from Julius Caesar: “There is a tide in the affairs of men which taken at the flood lead on to fortune.”

It’s another way of saying you have to find the right moment to leap into the swinging jump rope and experience the thrill of it.