From Desk Job to Dream Job, Cubicle to Cuba Feature on Women Writers

Author_Heidi_Siefkas_in_Triniada_CubaFeatured article, "From Desk Job to Dream Job: A true story of leaving the cubicle for Cuba" on Women Writers

What I’m about to share may seem like fiction, but I’m disclosing it to convince you that by taking risks, being adventurous, and believing in serendipity dreams can come true.

Six years ago, I would daydream from my cubicle about travel. It didn’t matter where. I would escape my cluttered desk of press releases and marketing pamphlets to a tropical beach, canyon, enchanted forest, or other adventure.  At the time, I was a Vice President of marketing and public relations for a start-up company in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. My commute was fifteen minutes. I was well paid. I even liked my boss. However, I wanted more.

Over an impromptu holiday long weekend, I decided to embark on a solo adventure to an island that repeatedly appeared in those cubicle daydreams, Cuba. Everything that I pictured about Cuba was true: the explosion of colors, music in the streets, the aroma of cigars, and a rolling museum of classic 1950’s American cars. However, I didn’t expect to fall in love. Now don’t get the wrong idea, I didn’t fall head over heels for a Cuban lover, although muchos tried. It was the culture, its people, and this contagious vibe of happiness that got me. On New Years Eve, underneath a Banyan tree with a mojito, I made an audacious resolution to architect the job of my dreams, a hybrid career of traveling and writing.

The maiden voyage to Cuba was the start of a new life, a new career, and ultimately leaving my desk job behind. It didn’t happen right away, but all of my decisions led to receiving a call only two months later. At my desk covered in manila folders and dozens of Post-its, I received a call from a former colleague. After seeing my pictures from Cuba on Facebook, she approached me with an offer I couldn’t resist, leading educational tours in Cuba for Americans.

Although life on the road is the hardest job I’ve ever done: 18-hour days, unpredictable outcomes, and many scary moments: hurricanes, hospital visits, and lost passports, it continues to challenge me. I have been able to witness Cuba in transition. Just like my transition to Life 2.0, Cuba is in flux and becoming her own Cuba 2.0. From that Banyan tree years ago, I couldn’t have imagined the role Cuba would have on my life, but also I didn’t understand that I as well as all the travelers that have come with me have helped Cuba transform into her next phase.

Cubicle_to_Cuba_by_Heidi_SiefkasI share my adventures in Cuba and beyond in my latest book, Cubicle to Cuba. Through down-to-earth, short, and sassy vignettes, Cubicle to Cuba will teach you about Cuba, but also inspire you to think outside of the cubicle, travel more, and live a life full of adventure.

What’s your next adventure?

Perhaps it is writing your own book or traveling to a far-flung place. If you are interested in traveling to Cuba with me, come along for the ride in May or October 2017. I’d love to show you around the once forbidden island.

Here's to looking up!

*View full article on Women Writers

2 Responses

  1. Cuba definitely beats working in a cubicle :D Checking out your book now.
    • Heidi Siefkas
      Working from an ever-changing office is better for sure!

Leave a Reply to Jazzy