I quit my $300,000 bank job two months before I got my six-figure bonus.

For the past nine years, I have climbed the corporate ladder in investment banking, securing promotions, taking on additional responsibilities, and negotiating salary and bonus increases.

But earlier this year, I made the difficult decision to leave the industry for good and walked away from my $300,000 job.

It may seem unreasonable to an outsider, since I was two months away from receiving the largest six-figure bonus of my career. I myself wondered if I had made the right choice and if everything would work out in the end. But one thing was clear: if I didn't seize this opportunity, I would regret it for the rest of my life.

As a famous person so eloquently stated, you don't have to be 100% sure to make a decision. Gather all your ideas, information, and perspectives to get to 51%, and once you get to that point, make a decision and find peace in the fact that your choice was based on the best information you had at that point. Let's.

Throughout my nine years in banking, I have been fortunate to work with a select few who have made the experience truly worthwhile. One of them is a woman on my team who has been contributing to the industry for nearly 20 years. She became more than just a colleague, she became a mentor.

She taught me the intricacies of our work, stopped to answer my endless questions, and guided me through the maze of office politics.

However, about seven months after joining the bank, a pivotal moment occurred that forever changed the way I viewed my career path.

One night, while we were both working late, her phone rang. After a short conversation, she left her seat and never returned. After a while, my manager called me and told me that I had been promoted and she explained that my new role was very similar to hers and that she would be working with the same clients.

The fact that she was fired from HR at the exact moment I was promoted was shocking and turned what should have been a celebratory moment into a depressing mood.

This experience, along with many others, ultimately led to my decision to leave the corporate world.

I realized that at the core of the corporate world, you don't owe anything more than your paycheck. Even though I was once on the lucky side of things, the fear that the tables would turn was always in the back of my mind.

The adage “a man is only as good as the time he is able to devote” has never been truer. I've come to the conclusion that I can't achieve true financial independence because I don't have control over my time and my financial life is controlled by someone else.

My first few years in the corporate world were fun, intellectually stimulating, and full of learning opportunities. However, that elation gradually faded, and a sense of stagnation and disconnection began to take a toll on my psyche.

I turned to therapy. It was during my second session that my therapist suggested I needed a life coach. Although I was skeptical about how a life coach could help me, I decided to introspect and understand my misaligned emotions and what I really wanted out of life.

This reflection made me realize that I had no passion for supporting CEOs of large companies or working on multi-billion dollar deals. My only motivation was salary and social status. This is a difficult fact to admit.

Living according to society's expectations and striving for a prestigious job or salary just because it's what most people aspire to was unfulfilling for me.

My true desire is to inspire and motivate others to take control of their finances and their lives.

I started getting serious about my YouTube channel in 2022, posting content about personal finance, self-improvement, and business – how to use your money to live the life you want.

Working on your stuff was the best decision for me.

The freedom, flexibility, and ownership I get gives me a sense of excitement I never felt when I was working my day job. Being able to help people get from where they are to where they want to go while getting paid is something I will never take for granted. Nothing beats this!

When I finally decided to retire, I faced an 84% pay cut, but I was also in the privileged position of having a large emergency fund and a side job that not only covered my fixed expenses but also provided an additional income buffer. there was.

Now that I'm 30 years old, the prospect of doing what I love and having it positively impact others without having to be responsible for my children was incredibly appealing. . My income was not directly related to the hours I worked, but rather to the impact I made, which gave me a sense of freedom.

I embraced what I truly love and stepped out of my comfort zone. My passion for the greater purpose became my sole focus, leaving no room for other people's opinions.

My path may not be suitable for everyone, but by sharing my experience I hope to inspire others to follow their dreams that have been delayed or lost. I hope I can give you the courage you need.

Nisha Shah is a certified public accountant and former investment banker known for simplifying money matters.

All views expressed are the author's own.

Do you have a unique experience or personal story you'd like to share? Email the My Turn team at myturn@newsweek.com.