I quit my finance job and moved to a new country to work in a totally different field. My excitement outweighed any fear.

I'm so glad I quit my investment banking job and moved to Zimbabwe.

Alex Blumenfeld After working in investment banking for two years, I quit and moved to Zimbabwe to find fulfillment.

Working for a wildlife reserve is far different from finance, but it's a challenge that excites me.

Even though I live among hippos and found a python above my porch, I've never felt more at peace.

Growing up, I was always taught that challenging myself was the key to growth.

If something was uncomfortable, to me, that probably meant it was worthwhile.

Investment banking seemed to fit that bill perfectly.

So, after I graduated from college , I accepted a job as an investment-banking analyst, jumping into an industry full of intensity and rigor that I thought would serve as a launchpad toward a life of long-term success.

Drawn to the challenge that the role offered, I dove right in.

The prospect of gaining financial intuition and building the analytical toolkit of a mini CFO sounded like the ultimate accomplishment.

Rather than emerging with a deep insight into evaluating businesses, I spent most of my two years there focusing on execution: learning highly specific processes, navigating tight deadlines, and delivering work under relentless pressure with minimal sleep.

I soon realized that, despite how hard I was working, this experience wasn't shaping me into the person I'd hoped to become.

So, I began asking myself a bigger question: If this isn't the path to fulfillment, what is? Hearing my own priorities out loud pushed me to a new field and continent I realized I wanted to contribute to something that improved the lives of people, animals, or ecosystems.

Alex Blumenfeld About a year and a half into that role, I decided to ask my dad the existential question I'd been quietly wrestling with for months.