Forget climbing the corporate ladder, TikToker Sam (@lifebeyondcorporate) walked away from it to build a life that actually feels good and is redefining the whole meaning of success.
She is now a part-time career coach who also works at a restaurant after leaving her six-figure salary job as a marketing director in corporate America. She left because she felt super unfulfilled, stressed, and anxious all the time.
“I wanted to talk about how society has sold us this lie that the key to success is to go to school, maybe take on a ton of debt, get a career that you’re not even sure you’re going to like, and then find yourself years later, very successful on the outside, but now trapped in a lifestyle that you can’t get out of, scared to make a change out of fear or out of financial worry,” said Sam.
This type of situation happens time and time again, yet society keeps perpetuating the lie that success equals happiness. And, of course, in the eyes of society, success means making a lot of money, having a respectable job, and owning expensive material things.
Sam points out that people who are traditionally successful are often extremely unhappy and anxious. They tend to self-medicate using drugs or alcohol, all the while wearing a mask they can’t take off because they have to keep up the ruse of being happy and satisfied with their lives.
The happiest people are usually the ones in the creative arts or who are living a slower and simpler life. It has taken Sam a long time to understand this. She is proof that traditional success does not always lead to a better life.
“I followed the traditional success formula, had everything from the outside, yet found myself more and more unhappy the higher I climbed,” she said.
“And, I am now a part-time career coach, supplementing that by working at a restaurant, and I am happier than I’ve ever been.”
She wishes more people would talk about what actually makes them happy and ignore what society deems as success. Sam has come to realize that her goals in life are to be content, at peace, and live in the present while reducing her stress and anxiety as much as possible.
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That is what success means to her. She was unable to achieve those goals working at a corporate job.
Now, she’s encouraging parents to set new, healthier examples for their kids. It’s important that the younger generation knows they don’t need a high-paying job to be happy.
They should pursue their interests, and the money will follow. Or, they can build a simpler lifestyle without accumulating a ton of wealth.
In the comments section, plenty of TikTok users agreed with Sam’s take and detailed the things they would or have already been doing differently in their jobs.
“I would love nothing more than to disappear to one of those tiny Hallmark movie towns and work in a coffee shop/bookstore that I live on top of with my dog. I work 10 to 5 Tuesday to Friday, and life is simple and happy. That’s literally all I want,” commented one user.
“Went to college, had a good six-figure salary for 20+ years. Not rich, but good money. At 46, [I] left and became a custodian at school, and [I have] never been happier in my life the last five years. Zero stress and less money equals happiness,” wrote another.
“Agreed. Just quit my job as a public defender a month ago. Coasting right now, and trying to curb my drinking after taking care of other people’s problems for so long. Congrats on finding something more satisfying,” chimed in a third.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
