I met with two people yesterday, each of whom is trying to figure out the best time to take the leap and quit their day job to plunge into their entrepreneurial ventures full time. While they each had concerns about paying the mortgage and letting go of health care benefits, they also shared an intense passion for the work they were imagining. Their passion for their new work was in distinct contrast with their feelings about their current work. Each had an idea of when it would be practical to resign, but agreed that their timeframe might not be soon enough to satisfy their growing desire to move on.
That didn't surprise me. Once a person lets the proverbial cat out of the bag, or in other words, acknowledges that they are ready to move on, there's no turning back, even for practical reasons. The old job never looks the same after that. The veil of denial so needed to keep showing up daily at a job that no longer engages the person, disappears and reveals what is true: it's time to leave. The practical side of most people tries to stuff this reality back down, but that is not easy once it's exposed.
Perhaps Pascal's quote: "The heart has reasons of which reason knows not" helps explain the conflict of head and heart each person in this situation experiences.
So, what do you do if you find yourself in this place of "one foot in and one foot out" of your job?
- Try to balance your intuition and inner self with your more analytical and practical side. That might involve writing your thoughts, concerns and desires in a journal, or meeting regularly with a friend to help you stay accountable around steps you're taking to make progress with your new work.
- At times it's effective and empowering to stare down your fear. Get out your calculator and itemize your expenses and determine as accurately as possible just how much income you will need to get by for a period of time. It is common for people to make assumptions that are inaccurate and keep them from the transition they want.
- Shift your mindset from "I'll have to choose between having enough and work I enjoy" to "I intend to have all I need."
- Take specific steps each week toward your desired work.
I've believed for some time that people too often go "all or nothing" with their entrepreneurial pursuits. I often suggest that people do whatever they can to develop their new businesses while keeping their current jobs, so that they don't get in over their heads too quickly.
Posted by Aaron
I agree. In these cases, the transitions were well-thought out and both were ready to roll.
Posted by BarbaraHeart?
Reason not the need?
Indeed!
I am a big believer that we make our own luck. Studies done to understand what makes lucky people lucky have shown that lucky people share one single simple common factor - they tend to make changes in their life when there is not necessarily a reason to do so!
Yes, it takes hard work, and all those other traits to succeed, but a lot of success is also simple common sense.
So readers, listen to your inner voice, listen to heart, and seek to do the right thing.
It may not always pay off big up front, but over the long haul it makes a huge difference.
Don't dread that change you feel, step into it, dance with it, make it!
Barbara, what a column! Keep up the great work!
You're column could not have come at a better time. Thank you!!
Posted by RayThank you, Barbara, for a very timely article. I am very seriously thinking of starting a business and that was my very thought the other day. I have one foot in the job and the other at home planning my office (not to mention my brain that is also at home keeping the foot company in the dream office.) It's going to be a part-time leap of faith but I need to do this. I fell when I was little and learning to walk, I guess I can fall again and learn to get up again!
Posted by DianeI just finished school for my business and I have been torn between throwing caution to the wind and going for it all at once or gradually building it as I go. It is smart to make sure financially I don't get into a bigger hole than I already am in. So I think I may take it slow and put all my ducks in a row. That way when the time is right to "go for it" I won't have huge amounts of debt hanging over my shoulders. I also will have a steady client base as well.
Thanks
Posted by julieI took the leap in early June. Quitting a good-paying job with no real plan in mind, only to seek something else more rewarding. Five weeks later, I found a seasonal business that interested me and that really fit my personality. It has been challenging in many ways but very fun and rewarding. I don't regret leaving the job that no longer engaged me, even though it didn't seem practical (to those around me) at the time. I firmly believe that we do make our own luck and the fear of failure really doesn't have a place in my life. I will support myself (and my one child at home) in one way or another, but it won't be by dragging myself into an office that no longer allows me to grow as a person. I had, what most people would consider, a meager savings account to fall back on. When trying to determine what I was saving for, I realized it was for investing in my own happiness. I say: don't be afraid to dream, and don't let corporate America define your life for you. As I mentioned, my latest endeavor is seasonal, so now I look to fill in the wholes till the next season gets underway. I am confident that I can do that and, even if it means shoveling driveways, I will be working towards my personal goals of survival, minus a cubicle that seemed to smother me.
Posted by Becky
Subscribe
