【好文分享 - Google CFO 辭職信】30年連續工作的Patrick是個工作狂，連和妻子吵架的時間都沒有。他總是告訴妻子：他愛工作，公司需要他。有一天妻子問：那哪天輪到是我們的日子？我的日子？可以環游世界，體驗人生？聽到這句話，他覺悟了。

Google CFO 的辭職信

After nearly 7 years as CFO， I will be retiring from Google to spend more time with my family. Yeah， I know you‘ve heard that line before. We give a lot to our jobs. I certainly did. And while I am not looking for sympathy， I want to share my thought process because so many people struggle to strike the right balance between work and personal life.

This story starts last fall. A very early morning last September， after a whole night of climbing， looking at the sunrise on top of Africa - Mt Kilimanjaro. Tamar （my wife） and I were not only enjoying the summit， but on such a clear day， we could see in the distance， the vast plain of the Serengeti at our feet， and with it the calling of all the potential adventures Africa has to offer. （see exhibit #1 - Tamar and I on Kili）。

And Tamar out of the blue said “Hey， why don’t we just keep on going”。 Let‘s explore Africa， and then turn east to make our way to India， it’s just next door， and we‘re here already. Then， we keep going; the Himalayas， Everest， go to Bali， the Great Barrier Reef.。。 Antarctica， let’s go see Antarctica！？“ Little did she know， she was tempting fate.

I remember telling Tamar a typical prudent CFO type response- I would love to keep going， but we have to go back. It‘s not time yet， There is still so much to do at Google， with my career， so many people counting on me/us - Boards， Non Profits， etc

But then she asked the killer question： So when is it going to be time？ Our time？ My time？ The questions just hung there in the cold morning African air.

A few weeks later， I was happy back at work， but could not shake away THE question： When is it time for us to just keep going？ And so began a reflection on my/our life. Through numerous hours of cycling last fall （my introvert happy place） I concluded on a few simple and self-evident truths：

First， The kids are gone. Two are in college， one graduated and in a start-up in Africa. Beautiful young adults we are very proud of. Tamar honestly deserves most of the credit here. She has done a marvelous job. Simply marvelous. But the reality is that for Tamar and I， there will be no more Cheerios encrusted minivan， night watch because of ear infections， ice hockey rinks at 6:00am. Nobody is waiting for us/needing us.

Second， I am completing this summer 25-30 years of nearly non-stop work （depending on how you wish to cut the data）。 And being member of FWIO， the noble Fraternity of Worldwide Insecure Over-achievers， it has been a whirlwind of truly amazing experiences. But as I count it now， it has also been a frenetic pace for about 1500 weeks now. Always on - even when I was not supposed to be. Especially when I was not supposed to be. And am guilty as charged - I love my job （still do）， my colleagues， my friends， the opportunities to lead and change the world.

Third， this summer， Tamar and I will be celebrating our 25th anniversary. When our kids are asked by their friends about the success of the longevity of our marriage， they simply joke that Tamar and I have spent so little time together that ”it’s really too early to tell“ if our marriage will in fact succeed.

If they could only know how many great memories we already have together. How many will you say？ How long do you have？ But one thing is for sure， I want more. And she deserves more. Lots more.

Allow me to spare you the rest of the truths. But the short answer is simply that I could not find a good argument to tell Tamar we should wait any longer for us to grab our backpacks and hit the road - celebrate our last 25 years together by turning the page and enjoy a perfectly fine mid life crisis full of bliss and beauty， and leave the door open to serendipity for our next leadership opportunities， once our long list of travels and adventures is exhausted.

Working at Google is a privilege， nothing less. I have worked with the best of the best， and know that I am leaving Google in great hands. I have made so many friends at Google it‘s not funny. Larry， Sergey， Eric， thank you for friendship. I am forever grateful for letting me be me， for your trust， your warmth， your support， and for so much laughter through good and not so good times.

To be clear， I am still here. I wish to transition over the coming months but only after we have found a new Googley CFO and help him/her through an orderly transition， which will take some time.

In the end， life is wonderful， but nonetheless a series of trade offs， especially between business/professional endeavours and family/community. And thankfully， I feel I’m at a point in my life where I no longer have to have to make such tough choices anymore. And for that I am truly grateful. Carpe Diem.

Patrick

【網友熱評】

似水漣漪之年：至少他已經賺夠了養活自己家人的錢。像我們這些，辭職了我們吃什么。

Syqiven：其實我想說的是，如果沒有他之前二三十年的努力工作，也沒有今天他能夠和妻子去享受生活的條件。我們還只是沒有背景沒有財富的年輕人，今天不努力工作，以后如何有條件感悟這樣的人生？

Zanpen：我覺得一個沒有成功過的人是無法去環游世界，享受生活的。畢竟連住的地方都沒有

水木土豆教主：只有“變態”的人才會在事業上取得成功。我早就意識到了家庭的重要性，所以我在事業（專業）上也就很難取得成功了。還好這個社會是開放的，提供了工作以外實現人生價值的途徑。我從不后悔把應該加班的時間拿去做飯洗碗。

晨_魄：我翻印一下大意這樣，BOOS 老婆命令我辭職帶她玩去，反正錢賺夠了。。。

一Odaddy：需要中文版的贊我，私信你。

alfray：某年9月，我與妻于南非登高望遠，日出燦爛，心情暢快。妻說，不如一路向東，再往南極，體驗人生之美？我答，如此頗險。歸后，妻所求盤桓于心。我想，過去數十載醉心工作，如今兒女已成長，兩鬢已蒼蒼，何時才能回報妻子的愛與付出？人生無外工作-生活的選擇，如今，我要選擇生活。差不多了。

浮塵陌客-Ran：寫得確實入理，但應該每個人都是需要經過一段為工作奔忙的時期的，因人而異有長有短，沒有為事業付出就沒有以后小憩的本錢和膽量，至少普通人是這樣的，還是那句話：先把必須走的路走完，才有資格走自己喜歡的路吧。

L_iusq：早知道他是只飛鳥，她老婆以為抓住了他 —— 其實只是一手的羽毛。。。