A decade ago today I walked away from my dream job.
I remember the exact spot I was in when I received the call that I was being offered a temporary production assistant position in Remote Production at ESPN. Upon moving to Connecticut, my first day of work was on my 22nd birthday and I couldn’t have been more excited. ESPN was a place to learn everything the right way from start to finish. I had mentors who invested in me and helped me establish the work ethic that has driven my passion for entrepreneurship. From carrying melts to dub in the snow at 2 am from our production trailer to long nights of clip reels and graphics prep, ESPN was the foundation upon what Greyline Media is today.
"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” — Confucius
I can’t thank my mentors enough for all the opportunities to grow and push myself. They gave me the critical feedback I needed most to learn how to adapt in an ever-changing environment of live sports production. I always knew I wanted to have flexibility in the job I loved. When I decided to go out on my own, it was the confidence that I gained from my years at ESPN that drove me to success. The friends I made in that production trailer from 2007-2011 are still some of my closest friends today. It’s when you work in an environment of competition that you really learn who you are and what you want.
Greyline Media is an extension of me. Our values are based upon doing quality work that we’re proud of, valuing our teammates, and being passionate about the projects we take on. The word Greyline means ‘the narrow band of dusk and dawn that separates areas in daylight from those in darkness throughout the world.’ Anyone who knows me knows that I am always pushing boundaries, wanting to learn more, and working from dusk to dawn to do that. That narrow band, the greyline, is the ‘balance in life.’ For me, finding a balance between work and life can be the best part about truly living.
In recent years I’ve realized that walking away from my dream job was the best thing I could have ever done. It allowed me to take the foundation I learned and create my own dream job. To all those entrepreneurs out there who are in the daily grind with me, keep pursuing your dreams .. defining what they are… and realizing that walking away from your ‘dream job’ might quite possibly be the best decision you’ve ever made.
-Lesley
