Is it worth giving up your day job to follow your purpose?

Is it worth giving up your day job to follow your purpose? – guest blog post with Helen Elizabeth Evans

One part of me loves to do new things, to create new stuff, to be in the fore-front leading the charge, but there is another part of me that is terrified of not feeling safe and secure, of not having enough money when I need it.

I hate to ask anyone for anything (just writing that has brought on the shiversss…) so putting myself in a position where I might need to feels abhorrent to me.

So… scary change isn’t something I do unless:

• I am so convinced in my very bones that it is the right thing to do (this usually involves some level of thrill and excitement too)
• I have no choice
• I am in some much pain I can’t see any other way to relieve it

Moving to the UK came from the first reason; leaving the safety of corporate life and starting my first business came from the second; and giving up my lucrative safety net business to follow my purpose came from the third.

So was it worth giving up my lucrative safety net business (aka a cash machine) to follow ‘my purpose’?

My service-based business-to-business (B2B) business was easier on one level because I just followed traditional masculine business rules and the cash rolled in. It was also easier because it didn’t require me to do much digging and delving into myself, my desires, whether I was good enough or not etc. I could hide out from who I am, I could skate on the surface of life, be busy for the sake of being busy and just not look too closely at anything.

But occasionally the cracks would show. Perhaps you might relate to some of these? If so, they are WARNING signs…

• I felt irritable most of the time which affected my relationships, especially with those close to me
• I got fed up with the lack of ethics of some of my clients,
• instead of letting things flow over me like water off a duck’s back I’d get annoyed and frustrated,
• I’d blame my staff for not being on-the-ball,
• I was bored and frustrated but couldn’t pin point why exactly
• I’d stop caring for a while and the service I was providing would start to slip…

I have high standards and really care about how I treat other people. I want to do a good job for them. So this started to affect my self-worth. What was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I get it together? Was this all my life would ever be?

If you’re at this point in your life then let me share what I believe are the two options I had:

1. I could have sat myself down and taken a different perspective, started to see all I had, all I’d accomplished, the difference I was making to those I already served. I could have delved into what was causing me to feel the way I was and found a way to meet the needs in me that were not being satisfied so that I could continue earning a good living with a successful growing business.

2. I could chuck it all in and do something different, something that gave me the meaning and challenge I craved.

I chose the second option. I didn’t have the skills or personal knowledge of myself I do now, so at the time it felt like I had no choice but to do something completely different.

In retrospect, the first option may have been a more ‘sensible’ choice. I’d certainly be better off financially in the short term. But… I have absolutely no regrets.

• I am happier.
• My relationships with my husband and children are improving exponentially.
• I’ve surrounded myself with the most amazing people and just keep meeting more of them. They motivate and inspire me.
• Boredom is a distant memory.
• I am discovering that I love me! What a feeling that is…

Of course, it will take time to build this business to the same level (and beyond) of the one I gave up, but I know how to build businesses and I know how to bring in money so it’s all working out!

If you are thinking of giving up your day job to follow your purpose (that which will inspire and fulfil you) my suggestion is that you first do some personal work on yourself to figure out what you really want, what motivates you, what brings to to a standstill, what you have to have and what you’d like to have, then you look at the skills you need to develop in order to create the career, business or life you want.

Karen Williams interviewed me on Monday 2 June at 12pm on this very subject, so check out our interview below.