I Quit My High-Paying Executive Job to Travel the World for 3 Years.

Looking back in hindsight 8 years later, do I regret it?

I used to work as an executive in the world’s second largest food company, a massive conglomerate with factories and offices in dozens of countries around the world. I was paid well and despite the economic downturn at the time, enjoyed a whole range of benefits.

But in late 2012, after seven years in the industry, I quit my job to the surprise of everyone around me, packed up my bags and left my country.

Why did I take the plunge?

In my culture, studying hard and achieving excellent results in ones school examinations was prized above all else. In an effort to please my parents I studied hard, did well at school, went to university to study industrial engineering. That was the problem.

I studied engineering because it ensured two things: a good job after graduation and just as important — bragging rights for my parents.

The truth was, despite the happiness this life path was expected to bring me, I had no interest in what I studied, nor in the job I got after acing the first interview I ever went for. Not even after rising up the ranks to become a company executive after a couple of years. I…