There are times in life when a big decision must be made, but, sometimes, before we even have the chance to make it, it gets made for us. Decisions like buying a first home, moving countries, getting married, or having a child…

…or starting your own business.

For nearly ten years, I have managed marketing for different companies, mainly B2B tech startups. During this time, I’ve discovered more about marketing than I ever expected. Specifically, I’ve found that the more I learn, the more I see how much there is still to learn.

Where am I going with all of this? I’ll tell you.

About a year ago I found myself auditing my professional history. I wanted to fully understand the decisions I’ve made over the years, why I took the jobs I did and what were the catalysts that made me interested in changing positions when I did.

A little over 9 months ago we found out my wife was pregnant. This was one of those times in life, a time when you take stock of where your life is going and what you plan on doing with it.

A few months into my pregnancy, I began to feel that familiar urge – my desire to explore new career paths was resurfacing. Around this time, I also began a more consistent meditation practice. During one of those sessions, it hit me – my biggest professional goal was to pursue my own dream, not someone else’s.

As Gary Vaynerchuck says “It’s better to die on your own sword than someone else’s.”

Once the idea got in my head, there was no going back. What I needed to do was audit my experiences and talents and see how I could leverage them in a way that would be unique and valuable to others.

I did a lot of sosoul-searchinga lot of talking to people I trust, and a lot of thinking instead of sleeping.

I even reached out to some of the people whom I respect most – people in the marketing world that most of us look up to.

One of those people was Neil Patel, a rock star in the world of SEO and marketing. My assumption was that it would get lost in the thousands of outreaches he probably gets.

But I was wrong – amazingly, he actually got back to me

Neil did provide me with some great, actionable advice that I am actually putting to use with this very blog post.

I have found that people like Neil, or others who I look up to, are far more willing to help out than I could have ever imagined.

After my communication with Neil, and a few other people that I trust, my decision was made – I was going to strike out on my own and work towards building an agency that works with B2B startups to scale their marketing.

But there was a problem.

Well, actually, two “problems.”

First, I was still employed. While I had already started working on this plan on my nights and weekends, it wouldn’t have been enough to really get things off the ground – there are only so many hours in a day.

Second, I just had my first child – everything everyone said about it being the most rewarding, and difficult, thing I’ll ever do was right. At this point, I am not sure what is up and what is down. But I’ve never felt the kind of love for another human being that I feel for little Matan.

With these two realities in mind, I found myself in a quandary of sorts. I was still pushing forward, though.

Well, the man upstairs, as he is wont to do, made my path just a little more clear.

After returning from a week of vacation to get to know my newborn son, I was brought into the boss’ office and told that the company was “restructuring” – my position and several others were being cut.

Now, most sole-breadwinning new fathers would be horrified at this situation – just coming back from paternity leave (I was using my paid time off, not actual paternity leave or FMLA) to find out that they are no longer employed.

But I immediately saw divine intervention at play.

The company, rightfully, seemed to feel extremely guilty about the timing. As such, a very generous severance was given. This now gives me the runway I need to really get my business off the ground.

So here I am, making the proverbial lemonade.

I am now starting my own B2B Startup Marketing Agency, and I am sure that I will look back on this pivotal moment as nothing short of a god-send.