September 11th, 2013
“Should I Quit My Job?” Try These 3 Tips Before You Bail
Have you ever had this experience?
You hate your job. It’s not what you want to be doing, and you know it.
And every day that you continue to show up for work, you feel like a little part of your soul is getting sucked right out of you.
In your mind, you feel like quitting your job is the only possible solution. Because:
“If only I had more time to work on this dream I have, then everything would be great.”
But then you realize that your “dream” is still a little tenuous.
Although you have an idea of what you want to do (and you may even have a strong tugging in your heart about it), you’re not actually sure whether you’ll love it since you’ve never tried doing it for a living.
You reeeaaally want to just pull a, “Take this job and shove it” move on Monday morning— but you worry that you won’t know how to make money right away if you quit.
If this sounds like you at all, then today’s Wildheart video is for you.
In it, I answer a reader’s question about quitting, and give her three specific things to think about to help her get clear on whether to quit her job and pursue her passion—including practical advice on getting the bills paid.
(Because NO, those bills won’t disappear just because you carpe the hell out of your diem!)
Watch the video, and then let me know your experiences in the comments below.
Are you considering leaving your job right now? Or have you already pulled the plug? If so, when did you decide that it was the right time to quit?
And as always, if you like this video, hit like and share it with your friends!
You never know whose life could be changed by just one well-timed message.
Hidey Ho!
Sally
P.S. If you want to carpe the hell out of EVERY diem—plus get personalized coaching, a strong community of like-hearted peaceful rebels, and special Wildheart prezzies (and a whole lot more), head on over and grab your spot in the Wildheart Revolution. I can’t wait for you to join
the party!
Grrl, you know this is my most pressing issue right now!
Interestingly, I quit my Fancy Pants job over a year ago… and I hadn’t done ANY of these things. Which is why I’m right back in the same situation all over again. In my defense, I didn’t know yet that I wanted to be a coach… I just knew that my life depended on quitting that job and finding my passion.
Anyway, now that I know what I’m doing… I totally dig these tips!!! I’m solid on two of the three… but struggling with one of them.
When you and I started a coaching relationship, you really kicked my ass into gear for getting my coaching practice started. It was miraculous – I felt empowered, exhilarated, and validated. Tip #1 is soooo necessary… and sometimes we really need someone to hold our hand through it. THANK YOU. :)
Tip #2 is still difficult. This *is* the temporary job that I took after quitting my Fancy Pants job, and I still hate it. Do I quit again to find another temporary job in the interim? Aaahhh, I don’t know… but I think I can stick this out for another few months until I quit. I think.
And Tip #3 is perfect. I did this one on my own a couple months ago when I took this temporary job. It really helps me with perspective and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Once I am confident I can make X amount of dollars per month, I can quit. This is totally doable. I got this.
Thanks again, Sally, for an awesome video. Still loving the new format!
<3
sara
Day Job & Dream Business poster child right here!
You can do both. You should do both. It creates less pressure and it allows you to REALLY figure out what you are doing in your business. I am nine months in and I am still growing and tweaking, and still not as profitable as I need to be.
I could be pushing myself longer and harder hours but I am not and I wont. Why? Because I know I need space to be creative and hammering down on myself is only creating another “day job” for myself where I would be trading hours for dollas.
I also learned to love my day job by interviewing for a new one, one that I thought I wanted.
I learned that I had a lot of freedom, awesome schedule, and a decent salary and as a temporary solution my current day job was a perfect way to explore my dream business.
Awesome Video!
PS Jessica read QUITTER by Jon Acuff or better get it on Audible and listen to it on your commute!
Sally – Yes, and YES! As you know, I did take the leap last year to quit my not right for me corporate job and go out on my own. At the time, it felt like I had no safety net and I didn’t know what I was doing (it was scary as hell!) — but looking back I definitely did have a plan in place, it just wasn’t the typical, secure full-time type of thing I was used to.
When I quit my comfy job I decided to freelance for the time being and “see what happens” doing work that I love. I also got a bartending job to help counter that income and the nice part was that bartending is fun and easy and something I enjoy… so I didn’t have to get a part-time crap job that I hated but I had a steady income with both freelance and bartending… both things I enjoyed and were on my own terms.
Unbeknownst to me… by opening up to the universe and committing to the kind of lifestyle and career I wanted, some magical things happened on their own and I was eventually approached by a great, small company offering me a job that would be fulfilling, challenging, and I’d still get to work from.
I’m convinced that job would have never come my way if it wasn’t for releasing my old corporate job and taking risks. I still do my side-hustle and have dreams for growing my own business, but I get to learn a lot and make money by doing something I enjoy as well in the meantime.
Great tips! And thanks again for being such a big part of that process last year for me!
Weeeeeelllll, ya see…if I were to tell MY boss to “take this job and shove it”, then I really WOULD have nowhere to go, since I AM the boss…now, granted, I’ve wanted to tell myself to “take this job and shove it” a few times, but I just don’t have the courage…I’m afraid of me. I might kick my own arse or something…I mean, I have temper problems, Sally…if I were to get mad at telling me to “take this job and shove it”, what would happen? Would I get mad? Would I beat myself up? I don’t know if I could take an arse-whooping from myself…
Now, to quote Lance Storm, “If I can be serious for a moment…” I TOTALLY see what you’re trying to do, and I really dig that a lot. My sales are slowly picking up, but it’s not enough QUITE yet, and in the world’s worst economy it’s a tough deal to sell movies and such to people who have lost their own jobs and such.
I’ve been in jobs where I’ve felt what was left of my soul being crushed, and I’ve totally felt the urge to just walk, because the job was so far beneath me, it was below the bottom of a bottomless pit.
It’s a tough sell, and my own opinion/unsolicited advice would be tuck away some funds from the soul crushing day job, and work two jobs. “TWO JOBS??” you say. Yes, two. The soul crushing day job, while at night, you Wildheart your cute little behind on your “real” gig, and start to lay the foundation for the Wildheart Revolution.
Everyone gets stuck in a rut, and everyone has to do things they would rather not. For example, everyone knows of the rock group KISS, and how Gene Simmons is rolling in more money than he can possibly count, but back in the day, Gene was a school teacher. He didn’t like the job, but needed the money, but at night, he was free to put on the Demon makeup and play rock and roll. Ace Frehley did deliveries for a liquor store while trying to make it in KISS. Paul Stanley drove a cab. At night, they would act as their own roadies, lugging amps and various equipment before heading backstage to put on the makeup, determined that no matter what size the crowd was, they were going to put on the best damn show they could that night.
Just because you hate your day job, a lot of people think the best thing is to just leave, but as Sally mentioned, the bills ain’t gonna pay themselves. So, maybe get 6 or 5 hours of sleep at night, and when you get home, take a break, eat something, and then work on your second job as if your income depended on it. Because it WILL. Don’t treat it like a side gig, because you won’t get anywhere that way.
I can’t tell you how many nights I would be asleep in my chair, computer still on, in the middle of something for my work. I’d wake up at some crazy hour, and STILL want to do “one more thing” before calling it a night and getting ready for the day job. If you want to do what you have always wanted to do, you need to bust your back at it, while still doing your day job, and build your base. It may take a long time to lay that foundation, but the more work you put into it while not feeling the pressure of being FORCED to (because you have no other income), the more enjoyment you will have in the end. You are building an empire. But empires don’t build themselves, and even if they did, they don’t in one night. Take the time, do it right. When you have your little nest egg, and you know for sure you no longer need that soul crushing day gig, THEN leave it. You’ll have the double satisfaction of not only being able to leave behind that day job, and feel the relief of not having the pressure of having to do it each day AND you’ll have your own empire, right there, ready for you to take over the world. (Cape is optional. Capes always tend to attract the attention of, like, the FF and the Avengers and them, and they are always such spoilsports about ruling the world…)
I ended up quitting a lucrative, stable job to do a startup. At first, I tried to do both, but I realized I would never have a chance of getting my startup going without quitting my day job, so I ended up tightening my spending until I saved a decent amount. I then quit, knowing that I at least have some cushion to keep me afloat… so far so good! :)
Ahhh awesome! And congratulations!