Do what you love

Switching careers might be easier than you think

There’s nothing inherently wrong with making money - I am a big fan of capitalism, in fact - but just making it for the sake of it was not striking a chord in my heart. The last several W2 jobs I had involved a mission statement that might as well have read “Buy more designer clothing.” My role in life was apparently to make the person I worked for fancier. For the sake of my soul, there needed to be something else happening - a better byproduct than riches. I felt driven to improve the world in a more meaningful way. Money is necessary, of course; as Henry David Thoreau said, “Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.” But working 60+ hours for the ability to buy nice things was not fully experiencing life to me. What I do needs to be financially sustainable, of course - but it also needs to be something that feeds my soul.

Some people just want a paycheck and can enjoy hobbies and side projects without needing their day job to be a reflection of their values. I am not writing this for them, and I am not the right coach for that person.

I am here for the person who is tired of watching her boss or manager make painful mistake after painful mistake, blissfully unaware of the added stress and workload they pile onto their employees as out-of-touch, oblivious leaders. I am here for the person who sees a lot of pain and suffering in the world and has had her share of it too - but has learned from it and wants to share that knowledge so someone else can process their trauma more easily. I am here for the person who wants to make her own schedule, but still work very hard for a real purpose and real goals: to be motivated not by the clock-in tracker or micromanaging supervisor, but rather her own drive to perform and provide the best service to her clients, whose lives she can see improving in direct correlation with her own efforts.

I am here for you.

I want to take you step by step through how to get from where you are: a mind-numbingly boring and oppressive work environment, where you barely have any energy in your free time to do the things you actually love… to fully replace that income with your passion project, with ideal clients, and with work that not only falls within your skillset, but actually matters to you. That might feel like a big leap… It kinda is! But that’s OK. You can build towards those goals day by day. If all you have is 5 minutes every morning, you can start there. Or maybe an hour or two on Saturdays is your only free moment because the week is packed solid? You can start there too.

Want to know a secret? There’s not really a secret to any of this. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the main things are consistency and persistence - with a little luck and skill thrown in. You can make your own luck and you can certainly improve your skills, so my best advice is simply: don’t give up and keep showing up. In the coming weeks, we’ll explore ways to do all this even if you’re thinking you have absolutely no chance with your current crazy schedule. I swear it’s possible - if you really want this, it will happen.

If you don’t want to wait for my next post, or you need accountability or coaching through this process, I offer one-on-one and group coaching for people looking to change careers or start a business doing what they love. Reach me at bw@barbaraproject.com.