In the spring of 2013, Anna Lundberg took a sabbatical from her marketing job at Procter & Gamble (P&G) to travel alone across South America. Halfway through the trip, her boss contacted Anna about possible assignments for her return.  She knew she had an important choice to make.  Then, after nine years in Geneva, Switzerland, she quit her job completely and moved back to London without any solid plan for what would come next. “This was huge for me: I had always followed the ‘good girl’ path, doing well at school, going on to a top university, and working in one of the leading consumer goods companies in the world. For the first time in my life, I followed my heart, my intuition, rather than my brain”.  Anna moved back to England, where she grew up, and began the process of setting up a business.

Her intention since the start had been to create a more independent and flexible lifestyle.  After a bit of hesitation she founded her own digital marketing consultancy, basically doing what she had been doing at P&G but for other companies. “I was really lucky to get some big contracts right away and so I was “successful” in my first two years. It soon became apparent, though, that I had just latched onto the closest thing and these contracts were almost the same as having a full-time job – except that I was able to squeeze in a bit more travel in between!”

Do Over

Anna is now making her second “escape” since the first time seemed to be more of a “false escape”.  She was working in a client’s office that was essentially the same as having a full-time job, just without all the added benefits! She loved being exposed to a range of clients in different industries, but she wanted a less restrictive working arrangement.

She has now set up a portfolio career of three businesses: continuing the marketing consulting but shifting her focus to smaller businesses and start-ups; running a leadership training program for young managers; and coaching people who were like her two or three years ago, supporting them in making the transition from feeling stuck in a corporate ‘9-to- 5’ job to creating a lifestyle that gets their heart racing. Today, she is designing a life that allows her to live according to her most important values: freedom, personal growth and development, and authenticity.

One of these businesses is Wolf Leaders Academy, helping young managers to fulfill their potential in their professional careers.  Wolf Leaders Academy recently published their first book, How to Succeed in Your First Job.  Anna manages these three businesses, and her other mentoring and training work, while she travels, having become officially ‘nomadic’ last summer.

While she is traveling the world, Anna is always reading. Some of her favorites that helped her as she made her escape include:

  • The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau
  • The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly? by Seth Godin
  • And What Do You Do? 10 Steps to Creating a Portfolio Career by Barrie Hopson and Katie Ledger
  • Screw Work, Lets Play: How to Do What You Love and Get Paid for it by John Williams
  • The Escape Manifesto: Quit Your Corporate Job – Do Something Different! by Escape the City

The Learning Process

As part of the learning process of these past few years of making her ‘escapes’, Anna has learned that freedom is one of her top values. “Freedom to be myself and to to do what I think is right, to make my own decisions; freedom to work from home or from Starbucks and not be tied to strict office hours; freedom to have both the money and the time to travel and make the most of the life that I have”.

The flexibility of managing her own businesses has meant that she now has the freedom that she so craved. “I can choose to spend quality time with friends and family, I have the opportunity and the energy to pursue continual learning (via reading books and blogs as well as taking online courses), and I’m in complete control of my own schedule.  Of course there are still plenty of things that I *have* to do but in general I can go where my energy is”.

Escaping the 9 to 5 and being her own boss is not without it’s challenges.  Anna has found that one of the biggest challenges is keeping the faith when people around you are questioning your choices. “You have to believe in yourself, picking out the constructive comments from all the noise but ignoring the rest of the negativity. Finding people who are in a similar place to you, your ‘tribe’, will help you to stick to your guns”.

Push Your Limits

Anna also knows the perils of analysis paralysis and the need to push your limits.  “Everything you’ve ever wanted is one step outside your comfort zone!  I’ve found that personal growth and development comes when we push the boundaries of what we find to be comfortable and challenge ourselves to try new things, take calculated risks, and keep exploring and experimenting so that we ultimately live our most fulfilled lives.”.   So many people try to get things perfect that they never actually get things going.  “Remember also that it doesn’t have to be perfect from day one, nothing is forever…and you’ll never have all the answers! Don’t wait for the point when you have the perfect plan and you’ve answered every possible question, as you’re never going to have 100% certainty. There will always be some risk – and that’s okay!”

Main website – https://annaselundberg.com
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaselundberg