Hug me, I'm leaving!

Image From Jesslee Cuizon

Since Sunday I've been doing more reading, and exploring.  The more you read the more you find hey!

Following our last post Charles (from @100thgallery) shared with us that he and his wife have both chucked in their day jobs to chase their dreams (which is completely cool!), and said "it's almost as if there is something in the water that is making us question ourselves, our careers, our directions, motivations etc." And said that most of his friends are doing the same thing.

And he's right!  I guess we are in a unique position in history to even be able to consider the option of self-employment, location-independence, following our passions, etc!  We literally have the world at our finger tips right now in a way that even 5 years ago was not possible!

I hadn't heard of Maren Kate before today, but I caught a link Everett Bogue tweeted to her latest blog post today: "21 Reasons You Should Work for Yourself".

It was great.  You should read it.  The following sentence hooked me at the start, and made me distinctly uncomfortable, as I recognised myself when she she spoke of trying to help friends who lament their current work situations : "I listen and feel bad, I often try to help by explaining ‘oh you could do this and start your own business’ but too many people nod yes, but in their hearts know they’ll never take the plunge."

Close to home anyone? Do you want to be that person?...I certainly don't anymore!

She goes on to share, you guessed it, 21 reasons why working for yourself is awesome...and you know what...most of those 21 reasons, on their own, would be reason enough!  But 21 of them altogether are pretty compelling.

Serendipitously, Julien Smith today blogged: "The Quick, 12-step Guide to Quitting that Job You Hate".  Oh my goodness...he was blogging my day...I swear he had a video camera in my office and was getting down my day thought for thought...right up until Noon!  I'm still working on that bit...but I love how it ends with the person quitting before lunch time, and coming out of the office "possibly glowing"!  And I love the comments from people who've done it, or are doing it just as he wrote it.  I love the guy whose resignation was "Hug me, I'm leaving!"

So, actions taken today:

• Finished reading Smalltopia by Tammy Strobel.
• Bought a fantastic set of eBooks/Courses from Only72.com. {For 72 hours you can score 23 business courses from some of the hottest names in this space.  That's $1,052 value for just $97!!  Get in quick!}

Actions for tomorrow:

• Working up to a little quitting at noon action!
• Coffee at Friends of Mine at 12.30 anyone? (LOL)

As Charles so rightly challenged, "if not now, when?"

PS: we think what Charles & Samantha have/are doing is so great!  You can find out more about what they're up to at One Hundredth Gallery (@100thgallery) & Backstage at Bento (@ThisIsBento).

Designing a Life

I've been thinking a lot lately about the kind of life I want to live, and how to go about designing it.

I just spent 3 weeks travelling.  And the one thing that was crystal clear to me all that time was that I did not want to keep living this life as I currently was, starting with my current job!

(Gratuitous travel photo 1: of me...you know where!)

This is something Tomas and I talk about a lot.  And yet that is all either of us ever seem to do...talk.

(GTP 2: the shoes weren't the only thing I loved about Amsterdam!)

So, a Few Home Truths

1. A mutual friend of Tomas and I has been staying this past week, and said every time I've seen you for the past 3 years you've both been hating your jobs!  (She is not exaggerating!)
2. I've let life take me where it wanted...I haven't been particularly proactive in my approach.
3. The fear of doing the wrong thing stops me from doing anything.
4. I start getting the Monday blues on Saturday afternoon.
5. My role at work is changing a little, in a way that I think will be less creative, ie: more of the stuff I don't like about my job and less of the small amount of stuff I do.
6. This list could go on and on...

(GTP 3: my 'little' cousin, travelling companion extraordinaire!)

Inspiring Friends

Today I had brunch with some friends.  One told how she'd been so dissatisfied with her job earlier in the year that she'd started looking and applying for new ones with a vengeance.  Then one just came and tapped her on the shoulder.  She starts her new job in January.  It's a new challenge, in a new town.  She is excited.

She also mentioned her housemate, an accountant, who wanted a change, so moved over from Perth, got a job as a barista - complete with on the job training, and is enjoying the less stressful pace for a while.

Another friend is growing her online business so that she can support herself enough to quit her day job and do the thing she's always dreamed of; another is setting up a small business so that when she has kids she has a way to keep income coming in; another quit a job that no longer suited her and moved to a new company, new boss, better role.

People are doing it... people are purposefully designing the lives they want to live, and putting those designs into action!

In my heart I know the kind of life I want.  Now I just need to plot a plan to get from design to implementation!  (And I'm putting it out here in an attempt to be accountable!)

How about you...have you designed the life you want to live, and are you/have you done anything to work towards it?

We'd love to hear what you're doing, and what steps you're taking towards the life you want!

Wishing you a great week!

Jones :)