Off the beaten path: Leaving the agency world

In 2023, I quit my job to run with mushrooms. For 16 years, I worked in cultural and consumer insights before leaving a director-level agency position to run with a passion project: exploring the culture of mushrooms and psychedelics.

Leaving the agency world and a full-time salary behind has been terrifying, enlightening, and rewarding. Mushrooms – both my subject matter and matter of admiration – have been key to navigating this new path.

Colleagues and peers have supported but also questioned this choice, and I’m sure they secretly thought it was mad. Why would one quit a perfectly good job, without an income stream, to explore a weird niche? The decision was driven by three things: wellbeing, morality, and motivation.

Wellbeing
I must acknowledge the privilege of working in an agency that values wellbeing in the workplace and doing interesting work with brilliant colleagues. This isn’t enough to prevent burnout, however, when the very nature of the work no longer serves you.

The initial driver for change was to live a more balanced lifestyle: to work equally with my hands and head. Rather than all-day brain work at the laptop, my wellbeing is rooted in hands-on work with nature – getting grubby in a forest; growing and nurturing my own food. Field research, in an actual field – ha!

Morality 
We are living in an era of profound human influence on nature. Ethically, it was becoming difficult to justify helping big brands with extractive capitalistic intentions and unsustainable business practices. While I myself am a consumer of things and hope not to sound hypocritical or naive, my morals were conflicting.

Working for capitalistic gain should not have to feel soul-destroying. Fungi have a lot to teach the world – learning from them may shine a light on ways to shift the dial; for nature to influence humans to design better systems, business strategies, and corporate structures. Engaging in this kind of work, aligned with a passion, provides a sense of purpose and feels significant.

Motivation
Most of all, leaving a great job wasn’t about running away from something; but rather about running towards something.

When you're passionate about a thing, your motivation is intrinsic. Compared to extrinsic (external rewards like money or status), I’ve found intrinsic motivation to be sustainable and satisfying. Researching mushrooms is fun and fulfilling, so much so that it inspired a personal ethnographic study which I named ‘Running with Mushrooms’, in which I’ve interviewed over 50 mushroom folk in five countries, exploring what we can learn from fungi and psychedelics.

Pursuing a passion is enlightening, with continuous learning, reflection, self-development, growth, and abundant inspiration from mycophiles and innovators all contributing to my overall wellbeing.

Challenges
It hasn’t all been easy. Navigating an entirely new world can be frightening and financially stressful. At times isolation and imposter syndrome have wiped out my motivation, and I’ve needed to learn how to ask for and accept help.

The biggest challenge has been learning how to earn a living with mushrooms. Much of the work in the literal field (or forest) requires an academic background or experience in disciplines like mycology, biology, ecology, agriculture or sustainability. While many have launched successful mushroom businesses, my entrepreneurial skills leave much to be desired. Most of the work opportunities open to me were entry-level positions. While money isn’t a key driver, living expenses need to be paid.

Luckily, passion can help overcome challenges. With each obstacle, intrinsic motivation takes over. To earn a living, I’ve figured out how to merge the skills, intelligence and experience acquired over a long career in consumer insights, with the world of fungi.

Mushrooms themselves have also helped deal with challenges, physically as well as emotionally: a morning functional Lion’s Mane coffee facilitates focus, and mycophiles are a close community, filled with encouragement and support.

In retrospect, the dream of experiencing a healthier, motivated lifestyle while working in line with my ethical code, is worth taking a risk for. Being true to oneself and one’s values is crucial for long-term happiness.

If I’d interviewed myself before this journey, I’d come across as a starry-eyed optimist, full of dreams about working in the magical world of mushrooms. Meeting myself 10 months later, I am a starry-eyed optimist with a realistic strategy to work with the magical world of mushrooms. I wouldn’t change a thing and I’d encourage anyone to pursue their passions.

Jess Jorgensen is a freelance insight consultant