I Walked Away From Wall Street at My Peak – Here’s Why

In this candid interview, I sit down with Khe Hy, a former Wall Street executive turned writer, coach, and podcast host. We dig deep into what it truly means to make radical life and career transitions—like quitting a high-paying job at the peak of success—and how to navigate the messy identity shifts that come with it. Khe shares brutally honest insights about redefining his relationship with achievement, the guilt over leisure time, and why chasing success doesn’t always lead to happiness. We also touch on overachiever insecurities, playing the status game, and how Khe rebuilt his career by following the fun. 📫 Sign up for Khe's newsletter: radreads.co 🎧 Listen to the Examined Life podcast: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXjo-Fr2SmPVfR2BsDlTqgqy5HHM9ny9C 👉 Follow Khe on X: https://x.com/khemaridh CHAPTERS: 00:00 - 00:27 Intro 00:27 - 02:00 About Khe's Childhood 02:00 - 04:03 College Years 04:03 - 09:06 Working on Wall Street 09:07 - 10:25 Quitting the high-paying job at the most intense and lucrative period in the career 10:25 - 12:28 Becoming a creator and launching an online course 12:28 - 19:13 How to navigate a big identity shift 19:06 - 20:32 What if you Want to Make a Big Change but your Partner is not Onboard 20:32 - 25:25 Social status and change 25:25 - 28:32 What Khe asks all his coaching clients 28:32 - 29:18 Where to find Khe ----------------------- 💌 Join our weekly newsletter for more productivity tips and resources https://fortelabs.com/subscribe/ 📚ORDER MY BEST-SELLING BOOKS 🧠 Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential: [https://www.buildingasecondbrain.com/book](https://www.buildingasecondbrain.com/book#order-now) 📂The PARA Method: Simplify, Organize, and Master Your Digital Life: https://www.buildingasecondbrain.com/para 👩‍🎓 TAKE MY SELF-PACED COURSES 1️⃣ Pillars of Productivity: https://www.buildingasecondbrain.com/pop 2️⃣ BASB Foundation: https://www.buildingasecondbrain.com/foundation 🤓 TEST YOUR PRODUCTIVITY POTENTIAL Take our Productivity Pulse Check to evaluate your daily habits and find out where you can make improvements. Take the quiz now: https://fortelabs.typeform.com/pulsecheck?utm_source=youtube 👋 CONNECT WITH ME 📬 My weekly newsletter: https://fortelabs.com/subscribe 👩‍💻 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiagoforte/ 🌐 My website: https://www.buildingasecondbrain.com/ 💌 My blog: https://fortelabs.com/blog/ 🐦‍⬛ X: http://x.com/fortelabs 🟦 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fortelabs 🤳Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fortelabsco/