Two years ago today, I stepped away from OpenText.
I ended my last scrum meeting on April 28, 2023. I sent my farewell note.
What came next wasn’t a vacation. It wasn’t even retirement in the traditional sense.
It was a reset. A restart. A return to something I hadn’t made time for in decades — myself.
When I left Silicon Valley, some were surprised. I had built a career, almost 30 years long, across respected firms, leading engineering and platform teams with measurable impact. I had structure, standing, expertise.
But something deeper was calling.
Not for status. Not for rest.
For meaning.
Few knew that this wasn’t my first bold transition.
I had once made a far riskier leap, leaving Shanghai in the 1990s. That shift, which rewrote my life on a new continent, taught me to listen closely when my inner voice whispered, “Now. Go.”
So when I left the world of engineering behind, I didn’t do it to escape.
I did it to create.
Writing didn’t come from nowhere. It came from a yearning.
To answer the unspoken questions. To turn my lived experience into something that could speak to others.
I called this new path koffeemocha — a mindset.
It was my quiet rebellion against the idea that retirement is retreat. It became a space for reflection, reinvention, and mentorship.
I started a newsletter, Being Bold.
I wrote every week — sometimes with clarity, sometimes for the sake of persistent store of racing thoughts...
Each word was a brick in a new structure I was building — not physical, but foundational (over time).
In my first year of encore, I felt it sharply: the sudden absence of the daily calls, deadlines, and JIRA dashboards.
I went from sprints to stillness.
That pause was uncomfortable. It wasn’t empty, but it was unfamiliar.
And in that space of inaction, I met myself (being).
During a cross-country drive — from California to New York — time and space seemed to collapse. I wasn’t just tracing highways; I was mapping my own transition.
My own resilience became clear: I wasn’t following the path of a typical retiree.
I was remixing life.
In mid-April of this year, I traveled to Egypt. Not for leisure. For purpose.
In the pyramid, I saw echoes of myself.
In the myths, I saw metaphors for identity, broken and rebuilt.
In the heat, I nearly fainted — but I also awakened.
I wrote down 10 awakenings after this trip. They are reflected by koffeemocha.
From redefining legacy to thinking like an outlier, from leading with curiosity to balancing being and doing — each principle came alive not just in Egypt, but in the life I was building.
Two years in, I’ve learned that boldness also requires care.
After the physical exhaustion of Egypt, I recovered in 48 hours — not by luck, but by foundation, and was able to make another coast-to-coast trip.
Pilates strengthens not just my body, but my breath.
Central Park walks clear the mind, reminding me that movement is meditation.
Space to pause is now something I protect — not avoid.
Even this morning, I made a latte with home Breville.
As I sat in the quiet, hands wrapped around the warm cup, I felt the same clarity I seek when I write.
That’s how this reflection began.
In the last two years, I’ve mentored people quietly, some in person, others through words. Many are facing uncertainty. Some are wondering if it’s too late to start something bold.
Let me say this clearly: It’s not too late.
If you are standing at a crossroads —
If you are wondering whether to stay or leap —
If you are curious about what encore could look like —
Let me show you what’s possible.
Because this isn’t just my story.
It’s one version of a life remix, koffeemocha, that could belong to any of us.
Especially if we dare to be bold enough to start again — on our own terms.
Kefei Wang
Founder of Koffeemocha
Author of Being Bold in Transition