I’m sure many of you out there have had that moment when you think it’s time to throw in the towel and make the world your oyster. A weight is lifted off the shoulders and bird song fills your ears, until you realise the woeful state of your bank balance and get back to pounding away on the keyboard.

Well, what if you had a pretty penny tucked away after being Google’s Chief Financial Officer for seven years – could you be swayed then? Meet Patrick Pichette, the man resigning from said post and strapping on his travel shoes. Inspiration struck whilst watching the sun rise over the Serengeti from the vantage point of Mount Kilamanjaro, which is probably as good a place for an epiphany as you will find.

You can read the full letter HERE, which is where I have pulled the quotes below from:

I remember telling Tamar [his wife] a typical prudent CFO type response- I would love to keep going, but we have to go back. It’s not time yet…

But then she asked the killer question: So when is it going to be time? Our time? My time? The questions just hung there in the cold morning African air…

I could not find a good argument to tell Tamar we should wait any longer for us to grab our backpacks and hit the road – celebrate our last 25 years together by turning the page and enjoy a perfectly fine mid life crisis full of bliss and beauty, and leave the door open to serendipity for our next leadership opportunities, once our long list of travels and adventures is exhausted.

Well said good sir. Pichette will remain as Google CFO whilst they find a replacement so his bag is not yet packed.

Insert wonderful quote about travelling here and spend the rest of the day staring out the weekend.

[sources:googleplus&fortune]