Quitting The Rat Race

I had a hard look at myself and what I really wanted out of this life. And I think that you shape your reality at the end of the day and with just a little bit of self belief, taking a risk and just doing what truly makes you happy.

Wait a minute, can you see this? Look. Oh, and there's a baby down there. Hi, it is Alison. And we have another edition of the Scale It Method podcast podcast. And this one was just one that we decided to do last minute here because I happen to be on safari at the Lion Sands Sabi Sands Reserve in South Africa at the Ivory Lodge. And as you can see behind us, this is absolutely stunning. And I've been on safari with this amazing woman, Kimberly Lahaney, who happens to be our guide. Mike and I, my husband, have been here for a few days and it has been truly a life changing experience. And a lot has to do with this incredible woman who is our guide. And you are one of. There aren't very many female guides.

Yes, absolutely. So at the moment, I am one of two female guides on the team and one female student.

Yeah, that's amazing. So I wanted to share her story because on the Scale It Method podcast, we talk about scaling your business, obviously, but it's also about scaling your life and really following your heart and living your biggest dream possible. And that's what you have done. So I want to share your story. So you were in the corporate world for a long time? Pharmaceutical sales. How many and where were you doing that?

So it was all based in Johannesburg, but yes, pretty much straight after high school, I went straight into corporates and it was pharmaceutical sales and I was in that industry for about six years. Yeah. So still fresh out of school and just straight into working.

Yeah. And so what was. What was going on then? What were you feeling?

You know, I felt at the time it was almost like something I had to do. You know, it's like the norm. You come out of high school if you're not doing university, going straight into working. And you know, my family are quite big corporate people, so I felt I needed to also just stay in the lane and do the same thing, climb the corporate ladder. So it was something that I did. And don't get me wrong, I put my heart and soul into it. I worked really hard, reaped the rewards of it, but I just wasn't happy.

Yeah. What were you feeling inside?

Not much, really. I just felt like there was more to life. I honestly felt that there was more to life and that my purpose here on this planet was more than just spending time in my car in this rat race, driving from one pharmacy to the next. And, you know, so I just felt like I was destined for something bigger than that. And it's. It. Honestly, I was, I was very unhappy. I can't remember waking up in a morning where I was like, yay, yeah, going out today. I'm excited. It's. Those days were very far and few in between. Yeah.

But so many people live this daily. Maybe you're feeling that now. Right. And you just kind of accept it or settle that. This is all there is. Right.

Right. You almost like put yourself in a box, you know, and, you know, because this is the norm. This is what society says, this is what your friends are doing or what your family are doing or what, you know, and you kind of feel like you don't want to step out of line because then it's just you on your own going off. So it, it's. Yeah, it. I just think I sat and I had a hard look at myself and what I really wanted out of this life. And I think that you shape your reality at the end of the day and with just a little bit of self belief, taking a risk.

Yeah.

And just doing what truly makes you happy.

And so what did you do? Like, let's. There was this shift. I mean, did you wake up one day and go, okay, I can't do this anymore.

Literally went that way. I will never forget it. It was a Thursday morning. Thursday morning. So weekend was close, but I had woken up, my alarm went off at 5 o' clock in the morning. And I remember just laying in bed. I had my whole day planned on where I was going. I was doing quite a distant trip for that day. And it just hit me and I said to myself, I actually, what am I doing? I cannot do this. I don't want to feel what I'm feeling anymore. It's not serving me. It's not. I'm too young to be this unhappy, you know, and I will never forget it. I got onto the phone, five o' clock in the morning, I phoned my boss and I said, listen, I'm sorry, but I quit. And, and okay. So he was a bit devastated. And they really worked hard to. They, you know, we'll increase your salary, we'll, you know, give you more benefits. And it's like, you know, it got to a point where it wasn't about the money, you know, it wasn't about the benefits, it wasn't about any of that. You know, it was more my Own my own happiness. You know, I wasn't, I wasn't feeling fulfilled. And I'll never forget I did that. And I had a mild panic attack because I was like, what have you just done? Yeah, like what are you going to do now? You know, like, you've got bills to pay, you've got all of these things to do. I hadn't even spoken to my mom or anyone about this was my decision.

Yeah.

And you know, I kind of got to the point where I was like, you know what, it doesn't matter for anybody else. It's me that matters right now. And I literally took a minute, I processed everything and then I got into the Internet. This was before my field guiding journey started and I kind of took a sabbatical for myself. Just go figure out what I want to do. I upped and left for the States. I went and lived in America for three years. It was supposed to be one year, but it ended up being three years. And I think that's where I finally just realized that, you know what I can do whatever I put my mind to. And then pretty much when I came back from the States, the whole new Kim, whole new person, whole new perspective, perspective on life. And my parents, as a welcome back gift, actually booked a weekend away at a lodge that I actually spent spend four years working for. So it was at that moment where I arrived there and I was like, stars aligned, everything makes sense.

So what was that like? You got on the safari and for those of you that have never done a safari, I mean this has been a dream of my husband and mine for years. It's been on our bucket list. And we actually, we actually booked this trip three years ago before the pandemic and we had to keep putting it back. But it truly, like today we were on the reserve and saw two male lions literally feet from us. It's like you are literally in the wild. And so. But that you came with your parents and then what was it where you were like, this is what I gotta do.

It is the strangest thing. It was, it was exactly that. It's almost like an instance, almost like seeing the love of your life for the first time. You know, I don't know how to explain that feeling, but it was just this overwhelming sense of peace and just like knowing this is it, this is it. And I became obsessed. And I remember my guide, Shame, I almost chewed his ears off with my millions of questions of how did you do this? Where do you get there? How do I begin? Because this is what I Need. I mean, I was. I was in absolute awe. Sitting on the game drives. I was sitting next to him, like next to him in the car, just asking questions, how do you know this? And everything? And just the whole lifestyle. He pretty much walked me through everything. And I fell in love with the lifestyle. It's a very, very simplistic lifestyle, which I really love. And. Yeah, and I just. I said to myself, this is it.

And so then you went to study.

And I actually that very morning, because we were for a weekend, but that very morning I jumped onto the website and I found that the company I work with, NJ Moore Field Guide College, they had an intake coming up in July. I was there in January. So I applied. Craziest thing. So I went through a ton of interviews. I think over 150 applicants applied, and only 13 of us got accepted into this course. And. And that was it. I kind of just. I knew nothing about anything that I know now, you know, So I kind of went with an open mind and a willingness to learn. And it's amazing because, you know, because that passion has always been there. It was easy learning, you know, it was. I mean, look, it wasn't always easy.

But you wanted to learn.

I wanted it.

That's the thing that you're so passionate and excited about it. You just absorb it because you're just so fascinated, right?

You absolutely do. And I did that for six months, you know, and the craziest thing is, you know, after that, you sort of go into like an internship for another six months at a lodge. So they'll either place you at a Maritaba or a Lion Sands. And my internship placement ended up being at Maritaba, the very first lodge I ever went to, you know, as a guest. Now I'm like a student there. And a year later, I got my. I got offered the position, which was also not very easy. You really do have to put your heart and soul into it. And I feel if it's not something that you truly love, you will struggle. It's tough, especially being a female. We'll probably get to that. But yes, it was difficult, but so rewarding. So worth it. And it's literally been five and a half years since. And I've not looked back.

Yeah, and she is. She knows everything. Like, you're literally driving miles and miles through the train. I don't even know how you know where you are. And then, oh, there's a rhinoceros. Oh, there's giraffes. And knowing so much about these animals and how they Live and. And their behavior and all of that. And so. And then obviously keeping everybody safe as well. What do you love the most about it or what have you. Can you share any of maybe an experience that happened for you or anything that just.

Absolutely. And I know you're probably expecting like a really great animal story, but. And there are lots of those. I do have a lot of animal stories, but I think one thing that I take or pull a lot of joy from in this job that I do has got to do with the people that I meet. And for me, Alison, it's the. I just get goosebumps thinking of it now, but it's the. The first timers, right? Like you first time in South Africa, first time seeing anything like an elephant, a giraffe. It must be so bizarre to see it for the first time in real life. And, you know, the stories for me are when I get the guests that come through who have saved their entire lives to spend three days with me. You know what I mean? This is something I do every day, so I see it every day. And it's always humbling for me to see it through my guest's eyes for the first time. And I remember one very specific moment. It was a small moment, it's tiny little moment, but I had first timers, also from America, much elderly couple and. But also bucket list for their entire lives, they've been planning this and saving for it. And the time came and I was the lucky one to. To show them this beauty, you know. And I remember we were sitting in this elephant siding. It was a breeding herd of about 80 plus elephants, babies, moms, bulls, you name it, all together. And the vehicle was just so quiet, you know, like, it was a moment where I felt it wasn't a moment to interpret anything that was happening in that moment. It was more of just there was such an energy there. And as I turned around to check in on my guests, there were just tears of joy just streaming down her face. And like, I'm honestly even just getting along thinking about it, but it's the tears. It's the. I cannot believe that this is happening right now. You know, she's. And just.

And you get to be part of that moment.

I get to be part of that moment, you know, And. And for me, it was that fleeting moment of just like, how lucky am I that I got to make you feel that way, you know, that you, at the age that you're at, you know, got to feel this magic with me today, you know, and it's the Tears of joy. And then it's the, you know, and there's always like a story that's related to why they're feeling this emotion. And so at the end of the day, it's moments like that. I think that. And there are a lot of those moments where you get to experience that with people.

Sure. And I mean, you could be back in corporate. Right. Selling pharmaceutical products. It's a moons right now. Right. I mean, and you know, because that is such a detour that you took.

Absolutely.

And now you get to experience these amazing moments because you're living your purpose. Like you said, you feel aligned and you know, how many of you feel that calling, but you feel like, well, if I do this crazy thing, what will people think? What will my family think? What will my friends think? I mean, I know for myself, when I took the pivot to becoming an entrepreneur, I had so many people that said I was going to fail, so many people that said, know you are absolutely crazy. And you know, you just have to listen, you have to follow your own heart because nobody is going to know what's right for you except for you. Right. I mean, and it sounds like you were absolutely born to do this. Now you also said that there are not many female guides.

Right? It is, you know, I mean, this industry for a very long time has been a male dominated industry. I mean, think about, it's rough and tough. You know, you're driving these Land Cruisers, you're carrying rifles, you're changing tires, you dealing with big elephants and lions and all these hairy scaries and. Yeah. So for a long time, many years, it has been a very male dominated industry. But now we are starting to see a lot more females coming in, which I absolutely love. Speaking of elephants.

Oh my God. Wait a minute.

Can you see this? No.

The chair. Okay, wait, I gotta do this.

That is incredible. Look at him eating right there. Hi.

Look at that. Oh my gosh.

How special is that?

Wow. Wait, here he goes. Hi.

Hi, honey.

Look at that. Wow. He kind of stole the show here. Can you believe that? Here, I'll do this for the rest. I don't know if we can see. There he is, there he is.

And off he goes. Just came to say hi.

So. So not many females, but that's changing.

It's changing. It's changing quite a bit. And I love to see it, I absolutely love to see it happening. But yeah, I mean it's natural, naturally. So I mean, we're Moving into D.O. 21st century now.

Yeah.

Women can do anything. A man can do 100. And don't get me wrong, it's. You know, it's a. I find that when we're in uniform and with a team, especially now, working in. Even in the team before this, there was very, very few females. And there are times where you have to push a little harder just to be like, okay, you know, I don't actually need your help. I can do this. But, yeah, I always say that when I'm in this unit uniform, we're all equals. Right. When I'm outside of this uniform, by all means, open the door for me. Yeah, that's. That's awesome.

But you are. I mean, and she is absolutely incredible. She takes control of that, of the experience, and you are going after life, Right? And so we. We want to cheer you on because let's just share what this is.

Right? So it's been. Been an absolute dream of mine. So every year there is this. It's sort of like a major event. It's called Safari God of the Year, where you pretty much get nominated. I almost see it as like the best of the best in the industry. Right. So they pretty much choose five contestants throughout the entire industry to partake in a week's worth of, like, I wouldn't say competing, but it is. It's sort of like challenging each other, you know, so you'll be doing. You'll be up against your. Your contestants, you know, where you'll be doing game drives, you'll be doing hosting, you'll be doing bushwalks. You get assessed on your birds, your tracking, your tracking sign, you know, so it's pretty much everything that she knows.

The name of literally hundreds of birds, like the liter. It's first of all hard to even see him. It's like a mile away. And she's. You know the names. I mean, like, yeah, it's. And even just from the sounds.

Yeah, yeah, you know those. I do. I do love the boo. So.

So the.

The safari God of the year, Safari.

Guide of the year, and has never been won by a female right. Until now. This is going to be happening for Kimberly Lahaney, so we'll. We want to, like, cheer her on.

I'd really. I'd really love that. So, honestly, look, it's not a sure thing. They still need to be voted in, but I think there is a strong pull, especially from our team. We've all spoken about it, and it's such a great feeling because they too, feel the same thing and they all also backing me. So.

Yeah, yeah.

So I've Got a whole year to prepare myself now, but I've got a really good feeling about it. Yeah, it's been envisioned. I'm manifesting it in the mind.

You know, we're in sync here. Here's another manifestor.

Yeah, big time.

All right, well, this has been amazing. You know, this has been really an incredible experience. And thank you for doing this interview. This was on the spot. She hasn't done this before. And I said, hey, I want to share your story.

I appreciate it so much.

So I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Scale It Method podcast. And you know what? I'm just going to show a few more elephants because the little family has come by. So look at this. Oh, there's the baby.

Oh, wow. And a smaller one by the river there.

Oh, my gosh, look at this. I don't know if this is definitely the first podcast that I've done with elephants. Maybe the first one you've seen with elephant. Look. Oh, and there's a baby down there. Can you see?

Running to the water. They're all gonna go down.

Oh, my goodness. Look at this baby over here.

That is so special.

Wow. Oh, my gosh. Well, you've seen it here. Scale It Method podcast. If you haven't subscribed yet, do it now. Share it with your other business owner friends, people that you care about. Until next time, get out there and go for it. Go after your dreams. They're there. They're waiting for you.