Joining Downshift to help high performers slow down, reflect, and discover a new way of living

On September 19th, 2020, I departed Silicon Valley and began the process of unbundling my life.

It wasn’t inspired by a rational process. A guttural instinct initiated the sudden and significant change. As if compelled by a wisdom source beyond sensory perception, I leaped into the void, leaving behind everything familiar to me. My job, friend group, place of living, and identity as a high performer were undone.

For four years, I have been untethered. I pushed away from shore without anchor and a clear destination, which has been profoundly challenging and uncomfortable. My self-worth was indelibly attached to my professional success, so leaving that behind was tantamount to egoic death.

That’s the paradox of transformation. Sometimes, you arrive at a murky precipice with an inner knowing that the life you have no longer suits you, yet without clarity about what is ahead if you decide to answer the call and make a change.

However, the void has slowly revealed new gifts. With patience and dropping deeper into surrender, a new life has steadily emerged.

Whereas my old life was a constant search for new levels of financial attainment and egoic trophies, this new direction, which could have only been cultivated in the void, is orienting me toward simplicity, a deeper connection with my authentic desires, a connection to God, and service to others.

My writing in this newsletter is one form of service that has emerged from the void. Supporting military veterans with PTSD via the Heroic Hearts Project is another. Recently, another deeply aligned form of service work has come into my life: Downshift.

Along with a few other members of the tech community who have undertaken a period of radical transformation, we’ve created a service for our native professional community designed to help others slow down, reflect, transform themselves, and discover a new life path of deeper personal alignment.

Unlike the accelerators that are commonplace in tech, Downshift is a decelerator. The essence is to slow down, not speed up.

Rediscovering yourself is not a sprint. It’s a stroll. It’s not a new mountain to climb. It’s a river to float down.

To date, no such service for professional deceleration exists. Now, it does, and I’m thankful to have contributed to its creation.

We recently concluded a three-day retreat in the Catskills of upstate New York with ten downshifters, all exceptional people who feel the call to a new way of life. It was remarkable to see the changes each participant embodied and the heroism required to step into the void. The retreat also marked a new stage in my commitment to serving others through God's divine intervention in my own life.

Team Downshift on the concluding morning of our latest retreat

In the void, I’ve learned that the Creator has a plan for me—it always has. The unbundling of my prior life, as well as the moments of suffering during my childhood, are part of that plan.

If you observe the fundamental nature of the universe, you’ll see that none of its matter or energy goes unused. It’s transformed from one shape to another, gaining complexity, rhythm, and revealed meaning. The end of an old life is the foundation for a new form to arise. Perhaps it’s time to allow your new form to take root.