“I’m quitting my job to chase my passion!”
When I hear someone say those words I experience two feelings
simultaneously.
1. Excitement. You can’t help but admire someone with
that kind of passion. Exciting things often happen when people step out of
their comfort zone and make space to go for their dreams!
2. Fear. What if their dreams are not realistic? How
will they pay their bills? What impact might that decision have upon their
family?
I never know what to say (and doubt there is any right thing
as each situation is so different) but as someone who has quit jobs to chase
dreams I thought I’d jot down a few thoughts.
Warning: my thoughts don’t all mount a single argument to
either quit your job or stay in it. They’re some things to ponder when you’re
making the decision.
Chase Your Dreams
First and foremost – chase your dream.
So many people stop chasing dreams. They end up looking back
on missed opportunities with a sense of regret.
If you have a dream that won’t go away I think you owe it to
yourself – and the world around you – to pursue it.
Be Responsible
Don’t chase your dreams in a way that leaves a trail of ruin
behind you.
You owe it to yourself to chase your dream – but not at the
expense of those around you.
Too many times have I seen men and women chase dreams in
ways that put their family in the way of harm. I can recount a number of new
bloggers who quit their jobs to become full time bloggers only to find that
their family no longer had an income stream or health care. I’ve seen marriages
break down and tragedy strike as a result of chasing dreams without a safety
net or backup plan.
I know ‘be responsible ‘doesn’t sound as sexy as ‘chase your
dreams‘ – but it’s important..
Take a Run Up…
My part-time work and study allowed me to transition in this
way. I understand that this won’t always be possible for others. That doesn’t
mean you have to quit your job immediately in order to follow your dreams.
There will almost always be a way to get your dream started
– even while you work a job. Think about how you can get momentum up and to
position yourself to make that eventual leap.
When I was in high school I used to compete as a long jumper
in athletics. I wasn’t particularly good at it but had a great coach who showed
me the basics. Interestingly, a lot of the work he did with me was focused not
upon my jumping technique but my running and timing.
He told me that the key to a good jump was getting good
momentum going in the run up, and then timing the jump and positioning to perfection.
Yes ‘jumping’ was something I needed to get right but
without a good run up the eventual leap (and landing) was never going to be
successful.
What can you do – in your current situation – to create
momentum and to position yourself well for that time when you might actually
make the leap into giving up employment to chase your dreams?
Answering this question might result in any number of
things. It could lead you to part-time study. It could lead you to more
intentional networking. It could lead you to working in the evenings on your
project. It might lead you to creating a business plan. There are many
small and achievable things that you can do today – even while working a
job – that will put you in a better position to chase your dreams.
You May Never Need to Leave Your Job
I can think of many people who actively pursue their dreams
while also working full-time and part-time in ‘real jobs’.
I know a full time accountant who has set up a charity and
who supports orphanages in Africa by using his evenings and annual leave to
travel and fundraise
I know a lawyer who is writing a novel in the evenings and
on weekends
I know a teacher who started a craft business and makes her
products in the evenings and sells them online and at markets on weekends
I know a woman who is a stay at home mother with 5 kids, who
also cares for her mother who lives with Alzheimer’s, who has built a blog that
generates the equivalent of a 3 day a week job
None of these people wants to give up their work but each is
also living their dreams – fairly significant dreams at that.
The reality is that not everyone’s dream is of doing
something that requires you to leave employment for it to be achieved. The hard
reality is that some people’s dreams don’t end up coming true (at least not in
the way that they imagine that they will).
Also, keep the possibility open in your mind that perhaps a
part-time job will be enough to sustain you so that you can pursue your dreams.
I know that this isn’t always feasible in every industry but I know a number of
people who found part-time work and simplified their lifestyle in order to
sustain themselves while they also worked on making their passions and dreams a
reality.
A Job Can = A Dream
Coming True
Similarly, I can think of many people whose dreams have come
true through employment.
Sometimes I wonder if we put working for yourself on a
pedestal as being the only truly fulfilling end result. Why is this?
Some people are just not wired to work for themselves and do
their best work when working within a team of people under the leadership of
someone else. Some people’s dreams fit very comfortably into that scenario.
I think of a friend of mine whose dream was to have an
impact upon global poverty. She used to think that to follow that dream meant
having to charity of her own. She tried that and quickly found that it wasn’t
for her. This ‘failure’ could have been the end of her dream but she decided to
find another way and ended up taking a job working for not for profit organization.
After 10 years of service in that organization, she’s risen through the ranks
and looks like becoming the next CEO of it. Her dream has come true – through
her employment.
I know of another friend who took a similar path. He dreamed
of starting a business that developed iPhone apps in a particular field but
ended up joining another company who did that and working for someone else.
Interestingly by taking that job he learned the skills he needed to also pursue
some personal projects and ended up starting his own company on the side.
This is a path that many people would do well to consider. It
may mean re-skilling and switching the fields in which you work in (and perhaps
taking a pay cut to get in at the ground level) but could be a way of following
your dream and keeping a steady stream of income.
Sometimes You Do Need
to Jump
Sometimes, there comes a time to make the leap. It’s not for
everyone and not something to rush a decision into but there comes a point
where you’ve created enough momentum and you hit a ceiling of how much you can
pursue your dreams while having a job.
Sometimes you also come to a point where you are just too
comfortable with a ‘good life’ to do what it takes to create a ‘great life’.
You need to put yourself into an uncomfortable position to make yourself fight
for your dreams!
Make sure you wrestle with this decision a little. Listen
to the ‘fear’ (fear is actually a good thing – it keeps us alive but also is
often a precursor to doing something significant!) and involve others who
care for you (and who you care for) in the decision and then make the
move.
Sometimes you just need to jump and put yourself in a place
where you’ve got no other option but to work your butt off to make your dream
come true.
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