Vault: They quit their jobs for something they love

Summary

The Bert Show

Episode Title: Vault: They quit their jobs for something they love
Date: June 9, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Bert Show explores a compelling question: Why would someone walk away from a high-paying, stable career to pursue a passion that pays less, but fills them with purpose and joy? Through candid conversations with listeners and reflections from the hosts, the show dives into real-life stories about making bold career changes, the fears and doubts involved, and whether the leap toward passion over paycheck is truly worth it.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Why Leave a Cushy Job?

• Bert (Host) opens the floor by asking listeners to share stories about leaving lucrative but unfulfilling jobs to follow their hearts. He admires people willing to walk away from "hundreds of thousands of dollars" (01:01), citing a friend named Simon as inspiration.
• Notable Quote:

  "You gave up all that cash... and you wanted to do what was in your heart, so you did it."
  — Bert (01:01)

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Mitchell Anderson’s Story: From TV Actor to Restaurateur

• Co-host 1 shares the transformation of Mitchell Anderson, a once-successful TV actor (e.g., “Party of Five,” “Doogie Howser”) who left LA after 9/11 to find fulfillment elsewhere (01:37–02:56).
• Mitchell moved to Atlanta, trained as a chef, and now runs Metro Fresh, his own restaurant.
• Notable Insight:

  "He wanted something more stable and personal... Followed his heart, took the acting completely out, and now he makes soup."
  — Co-host 1 (02:56)

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Listener Stories: Courageous Career Pivots

Shannon: Ad Exec to Paramedic (03:06—04:21)

• Shannon, once a high-level advertising exec making over $150K/year, left to become a paramedic for half the pay. She is now even happier in the medical field.
• Notable Quote:

  "I went from making $150,000 plus a year to making $50, $60,000... Oh, yeah, absolutely. I mean... I'm 29 now and I've been in it for seven years."
  — Shannon (03:19, 04:16)

Rachel: Chemical Engineer to Potter (07:11—09:45)

• Rachel left a $100K job as a chemical engineer to make pottery—her true passion. She now runs her own studio, teaches, and feels healthier and happier.
• Notable Quotes:

  "It just felt so empty. And what I really wanted to do was art... Absolutely. I can't tell you how much happier I am right now."
  — Rachel (07:47, 08:26)

Alicia: Sales to Cookbook Author (10:30—12:02)

• Alicia made $180K/year in sales but was “miserable.” She left just before the financial crisis to pursue her dream of writing cookbooks and studying nutrition.
• Notable Quote:

  "I'd rather be struggling and, you know, try to make it as a cookbook author, which has thankfully worked out well, than as miserable as I was."
  — Alicia (11:13)

Michelle: Recent Quitter (12:19—13:22)

• Michelle just quit her marketing director job to follow her dream of becoming an event planner, inspired by hearing the show in real-time.
• Notable Quote:

  "You said somebody's going to call and say this is a sign. And it really was... Sorry, I'm getting a little choked up."
  — Michelle (12:48)

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Hosts’ Reflections: Paycheck vs. Passion

• The hosts openly discuss the persistent fear that often keeps people tethered to lucrative but draining jobs.
• Bert admits,

  "I think I'd rather be unhappy in a job that pays me a boatload of money than be happier in a job that fulfills me in other ways and not make good money."
  (04:30)

• This prompts honest debate among the co-hosts about what truly matters—money or meaning.

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Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• On the turning point:

  "...every minute was an hour to me."
  — Bert, on hating his first radio job (05:18)

• On the opposite path:

  "He's the opposite actor... most other actors work in restaurants and just want to be actors."
  — Co-host 2, on Mitchell Anderson (06:17–06:21)

• On fulfillment:

  "I feel like I'm so much healthier. My husband... he's so supportive. The turnaround in our relationship and just general happiness has made it all worth it."
  — Rachel (08:41)

• On finally taking the leap:

  "I probably toiled away for, like, six, seven years where I knew the whole time I wanted to quit... When you make the step—and that's a scary decision to make initially—you don't know what you're getting yourself into."
  — Rachel (09:14–09:36)

• On success after struggle:

  "Now, my financial situation is really stabilized... I just live life more simple. And I love it. I would never go back to it. I wouldn't go back to it for the world."
  — Alicia (11:36)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:01 – Bert introduces the episode’s main theme, questioning why people leave lucrative jobs.
• 01:37 – Mitchell Anderson’s journey from acting to running a restaurant.
• 03:06 – Shannon tells her story: advertising exec turned paramedic.
• 07:11 – Rachel leaves chemical engineering for pottery.
• 10:30 – Alicia discusses her leap from sales to becoming a cookbook author.
• 12:19 – Michelle shares her raw, emotional decision to quit and follow her dream.

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Tone & Final Thoughts

The episode is warm, candid, and sprinkled with humor but never loses sight of the real emotional stakes for callers wrestling with major life changes. The Bert Show cast demonstrates empathy, curiosity, and genuine admiration for those willing to put happiness and authenticity before income. Ultimately, the message is clear and uplifting: pursuing what you love often leads to deeper happiness—even if the path is uncertain.

Endnote:

"That's why we only do the show for one person—one person. Usually it's me, but today it's cool that it was someone else."
— Co-host 1 (13:08)

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Transcript

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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[Host (Burt)]

for somebody that was in a pretty cush job. You're making a ton of cash, I mean, maybe in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, right? And you decide that you want to do your own thing or you want to follow your own passion. And I don't know what that is. It could be rebuilding homes in third world countries, whatever. So you gave up all that cash. What I think is really admirable and you wanted to do what was in your heart, so you did it. What's in Simon's heart is he wants to do his own show, he wants to do his own thing, he's got his own brand, he wants to do his own show. So he's turning down all that money. Are you happy you did it and how did it turn out? 404-741-Q100 I have a friend who I

[Co-host 1]

think fits into this category perfectly. Certainly not making Simon Cowell money, but was a fairly well respected actor getting gigs. Mitchell Anderson, who is party of five.

[Co-host 2]

Do you?

[Co-host 1]

Yeah, Party of five. Doogie Howser and a bunch of other stuff under his belt. And he was living in la, doing the acting thing, getting these gigs and Getting these movies, but he just felt that his calling was somewhere else. And it was the terrorist attacks of 9 11. I just learned because he sent out a newsletter from his restaurant, which was his dream. And when the 911 stuff happened, he kind of had this epiphany that, you know what, it's cool what I do. I make great money. We just had a conversation about this a few days ago. He's like, I make great money, able to buy my own house, able to, you know, do nice things for my parents and my friends, and everything's cool. But on 9-11-01, he realized that the instability of the acting world and the cutthroatness of LA is not what he wanted. He wanted something more stable and personal. So he came out to Atlanta, moved in with his partner Richie, because they had been dating long distance for a while, trained with Super Jenny, and now he has his own restaurant, Metro Fresh in Midtown.

[Co-host 2]

And he's totally different career.

[Co-host 1]

Yep. Followed his heart, took the acting completely out, and now he makes soup.

[Caller]

Wow.

[Host (Burt)]

Hey, Shannon. Good Morning. You're on Q100.

[Caller]

Morning, everybody.

[Host (Burt)]

Hi.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Morning.

[Caller]

I worked in a high executive advertising company out west, and I was making six figures a year. Worked long hours, and, you know, that's what I went to school to do. And I left to become a paramedic.

[Co-host 2]

Oh, wow.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

What made you decide to do that?

[Caller]

Well, I worked through the fire industry to put myself through school out there for the wildland industry every season. And I need to put myself through school to live on for the year. And I just slowly kind of got into it while I was in school. But then after I graduated, I got a fantastic job making lots of money. So I kind of put it on the back burner. Some were taking classes, and I ended up becoming a paramedic and left and went from making 150,000 plus a year to making 50, 60,000.

[Host (Burt)]

And are you happy in the long run that you made that decision?

[Caller]

Yeah.

Oh, yeah, absolutely. I mean, I didn't. I was newly married when it all happened, so I didn't get to see my husband a lot. Working for the advertising company and leaving it. Now I'm still in the medical field. I do something a little different now. I make more money. But, you know, at the time it was a huge pay cut.

[Host (Burt)]

And you're truly happy now?

[Caller]

Oh, absolutely. I've been in the medical field. I'm 29 now and I've been in it for seven years.

[Co-host 2]

That's amazing.

[Host (Burt)]

Yeah, I mean, for a lot of. For a lot of People. I think I would include myself in this, man. Really? I think

[Co-host 2]

that.

[Host (Burt)]

I hate to say this about myself, but I think if I had to totally strip back and be totally honest, I think I'd rather be unhappy in a job that pays me a boatload of money than be happier in a job that fulfills me in other ways and not make good money.

[Co-host 2]

I think that's hard for you to. I think it's hard for you to sit where you do and say that because you love what you do.

[Co-host 1]

Yeah.

[Co-host 2]

Like, you come to work and you

[Host (Burt)]

love it so much the last couple weeks.

[Co-host 1]

I know, but I mean, you're doing what you love.

[Co-host 2]

Yeah. You're doing what you love. Have you ever had a job that you hated so much that you would, like, like, just be absolutely miserable every day?

[Host (Burt)]

Yeah, my first job in radio was miserable. I had to be on the phones all day long trying to recruit people randomly through a phone book, trying to recruit them to listen to radios, the radio station.

[Co-host 2]

Okay.

[Host (Burt)]

So it was four hours on the phone, basically, phone soliciting, and every minute was an hour to me.

[Co-host 2]

And so what if you had to do that for eight hours a day, but they were going to pay you a million dollars a year to do it?

[Host (Burt)]

That's what I'm saying.

[Co-host 2]

Would you do that?

[Co-host 1]

I don't think you would.

[Co-host 2]

And be miserable every day having to make those phone calls or whatever it is that you just hate to do

[Host (Burt)]

a million dollars a year. I think I would try.

[Co-host 1]

You would try. But then you're doing it and you're getting paid a million.

[Co-host 2]

Life is so different.

[Co-host 1]

Yeah. You're getting paid a million dollars and you hate it, and you hate it, and you hate it. And then what happens is, let's say you get a phone call from a radio. You know, you've gotten a taster. You know, radio is what you love. Like, I don't know if this. I can't remember if that woman said what made her realize the paramedic was the calling. And I don't know what made Mitchell decide on the restaurants. You know what I mean? But let's say Mitchell's example. Let's say he worked in a restaurant when he first moved to la, and he's like, oh, my God, I love this. He got to work with the chef and he saw food coming together.

[Co-host 2]

He's like the opposite actor.

[Co-host 1]

Yeah.

[Co-host 2]

Most other actors out there work in

[Caller]

restaurants and just wanna be actors.

[Co-host 2]

Very true.

[Host (Burt)]

I'm just acting to put food on the table. I really. To own a restaurant

[Co-host 1]

the polar opposite

[Caller]

of 99.9% of people in Los Angeles.

[Co-host 1]

But in the back of his mind, that was there. So let's say the same thing happened to you, and you got a taste of radio, and in the back of your mind, that was there the whole time. You're making all this money, and then somebody offers you an 80% pay cut, but you get to do the radio job that you dreamed of. I think after a couple of years of just making those phone calls and making those phone calls and making those

[Host (Burt)]

phone calls, I hate to admit it. I don't know how. I don't know. I don't know.

[Co-host 2]

Because you haven't done anything for that experience, that long, like, period of time that you've experienced that. That you hated that much. I don't think that you could. I don't think you could.

[Host (Burt)]

Hey, Rachel. Good Morning. You're on Q100.

[Caller]

Hey, guys.

I definitely agree with what you guys are saying that it's hard to say if you're not in that position of where you hate it and you wake up every day and you're going to. I just can't do this. I can't walk in this office again. I feel like I'm wasting my life. I don't care about the paycheck. I'm so unhappy. I used to be a chemical engineer. I guess I technically still am making about 100 grand a year. But I just couldn't stand that life. It's hard to explain why, but it just felt so empty. And what I really wanted to do was art. So I had been doing it as a serious hobby for a long time. And six months ago, I left to do that full time.

[Host (Burt)]

To do art?

[Caller]

Yeah, to do pottery. You guys making mugs and bowls?

[Co-host 1]

It's like what I did in fourth grade.

[Caller]

Exactly.

[Host (Burt)]

Do you own, like, a pottery store?

[Caller]

I have my own studio, and I'm selling through galleries. I just started teaching classes last night with my first class, so really my first actual paycheck here, except for sales.

[Co-host 2]

So do you feel like you're finally living your real life?

[Caller]

Absolutely. I can't tell you how much happier I am right now, this January 13th, than I was last year.

[Co-host 2]

And have your. Has, like, other things improved in your life, your relationships and all that kind of stuff?

[Caller]

Oh, absolutely.

I feel like I'm so much healthier. My husband, even though you can imagine he liked my paycheck quite a bit before, too. He's so supportive. And the turnaround and our relationship and just general happiness has made it all worth it, at least for now. We'll see in a few years.

[Host (Burt)]

Somebody's driving into work this morning, and they're going through the exact same thing. And this is a sign for them. They're listening to you right now, and they're going, I gotta quit. I gotta do what I really want.

[Caller]

You know, I struggled with it for. I probably toiled away for, like, six, seven years where I knew the whole time I wanted to quit. Imagine, like, seven years. Every single morning, Monday through Friday, you're going, gosh, I don't know if I can do this one more day. Maybe I should just call in sick. Can I just not show up?

What would happen?

You know, and that's fine.

When you make the step, and that's

[Narrator/Advertiser]

a scary decision to make initially, you don't know what you're getting yourself into.

[Host (Burt)]

Sure. But, I mean, at the end of the day, you got to live your life authentically, I guess.

[Co-host 2]

Absolutely. And like she said, she's so much happier.

[Co-host 1]

Didn't we all meet somebody who, because of the economy, had to, like, trim money off of his budget? I don't remember the story, but had, like, they said, you gotta save the company 60 grand next year. So he had five 30 grand employees. So they basically said, fire two of them. Well, he made 60 grand. So he's like, you know what? This is my calling. So this is what it was meant. There's a sign. So he bailed, saved the company the 60 grand, because he quit, and used the opportunity to open up, like, made signs or something in his garage. I feel like it's somebody that we all know, but they use the economy as, like, the push to do exactly what you're talking about.

[Host (Burt)]

Hey, Alicia. Good morning. You're part of the Burt Show.

[Caller]

Hey, how are you guys?

[Host (Burt)]

Good, thank you.

[Caller]

I was making over $180,000 a year in sales, and I was miserable. I just hated it. I went to school for marketing, and I thought, you know, I was one of those people, like, no matter how much money you pay me, no matter how miserable I am, I'll just take the money. Because, you know, you're getting paid that much money, how much can you complain? But at the end of the day, I was unhappy, and I ended up quitting my job two months before the financial crisis hit. But, you know, thankfully, I'd done really well beforehand, and now I write cookbooks, and I decided to go back to school and pursue my passion in nutrition, and I couldn't be happier. I get asked all the time, like, don't you regret it? You know, you still have the six figure house and the six figure bills. Don't you regret it? And I'm like, I don't regret it for the world. I'd rather be struggling and, you know, try to make it as a cookbook author, which has thankfully worked out well, than as miserable as I was.

[Host (Burt)]

Do you think things are going to change here when you eventually have to lose the house that you're in because you're not making that kind of income and sort of like start really, really trimming the fat? Do you think you're going to feel differently?

[Caller]

You know, I can't say I would because I've really been through the roughest patch with that and, you know, thankfully now, you know, my financial situation is really stabilized. I'm really not living, you know, paycheck to paycheck, as you would call it. I can pay for the house. You know, I bought a little Corolla. I don't need a big fancy car. I just live life more simple. And I love it. I would never go back to it. I wouldn't go back to it for the world.

[Co-host 2]

That's incredible.

[Host (Burt)]

So everybody's calling and saying that they're happy. They made the move, they left the money on the table, they went to go pursue their own thing, and they're all happy that they did it. One more call, we'll find one that's miserable. Damn it. We'll stay until 11:30. Hi, Michelle. Good morning. You're on Q100.

[Caller]

Yeah. Yesterday I woke up. I'm a marketing director for an apartment

company and I've been sick this week

and I've been home. And I just decided yesterday that I'm done. I need to do something that makes me happy. So I went this morning and I enrolled in school to be an event planner. That's what I want to do.

[Host (Burt)]

Good for you. Well, I mean, if you listen to these last calls that we took, you're going to end up a much happier person at the end of the day.

[Caller]

That's what I'm hoping for. You said somebody's going to call and say this is a sign. And it really was. I just turned on my car and heard it and I'm just. Sorry, I'm getting a little choked up.

[Host (Burt)]

That's a big life change. So the sign that you're hearing right now is you're getting confirmation from everything you did yesterday.

[Caller]

Right.

[Host (Burt)]

That's pretty cool. Good luck.

[Co-host 1]

And that's why we only do the show for one person, one person. Usually it's me, but today it's cool that it was someone else.

[Host (Burt)]

Thanks, Michelle, Steve.

[Caller]

Thank you, guys. I love your show.

[Host (Burt)]

Thank you. Appreciate it. Good luck. Okay.

[Caller]

Bye. Bye.

Thank you.

[Host (Burt)]

Bye. Bye.

[Co-host 1]

The bird show.