6 Things You Can Do Now If you want to quit your job
Hi There. I wrote this blog post to show you that quitting your job to do something you’re more passionate about is absolutely possible, and extremely doable with some prep!
Some background on me first – I used to work at Under Armour Corporate HQ in Baltimore, MD. It was honestly a great job. I worked with literally all of my friends, I could work out any time of day, and I could wear workout clothes to work. But truthfully, that was the reason I knew it wasn't for me. Even with an ideal situation, I was still wildly unhappy. When I'm writing this, I've been gone for 15 months and oh baby I'm NEVER GOING BACK! I'm serious; I love everything about the entrepreneurial journey. I think it's the best vehicle for personal growth. Furthermore, it challenges me every day in the best way. So.. here goes. My best advice if you want to make the change in the next six months to a year. LETS RIDE.
P.S. If you're happy in Corporate America, I'm so glad for you, and you should stay there (and honestly, this blog is probably not for you). But I was not, and I felt it in my bones that I wasn't serving my life's purpose there, so I left. It was hands down the hardest thing I've ever done. I'm not going even to try to pretend I have it figured out, because the truth is, I do not. Every day I jump through another hurdle, but building the life I want is worth it. What I do have is a drive to succeed. And success looks different to me. We all have a completely different definition of success, and my definition doesn't look like a secure 9-5. Success means no one is telling me what to do. Success means going where I want, when I want, how often I want, how much I want. And I'm determined to get there. But the hardest part for freaking sure was jumping off the cliff and leaving my corporate job. Most days, I can't believe I did it because I was so scared. It took me a full two years of inner and outer work to pull the trigger. Here are my top 6 tips if you're thinking about leaving.
P.s.s I'm not anti-corporate America. If you can find you're passion and the lifestyle you want there, YAY! My current boyfriend found it and is wildly happy. But for me, too many rules, too many people telling me how much I was worth, and I soon realized I had no say in how much I was worth. So I'm sharing my *own* experience with what worked for me. You should take ALL information with a grain of salt.
1. Mindset
This is the first bullet because it's the most essential step. The reason I didn't leave sooner was because of my mindset. And no shame, it's so hard to imagine yourself succeeding at doing something radically different when society programming and everyone around you is telling your success is a 9-5 job with benefits, PTO, the whole shebang. Bottom line, if you don't believe you can do it, how do you expect others too? It's so important to have such unwavering faith in yourself before you leap.
Start following people you want to be like. Who has the lifestyle you want? I got obsessed with a few people I admired. I only filled my brain with their content, learned the steps they took, learned about their upbringing, etc. (I also do @tobemagnetic by Lacy Phillips, a manifestation & mindset course. Lacy also calls these people you follow expanders.) Unfollow/hide the people that don't make you feel great about your situation. I am SUCH a believer that your subconscious mind is taking in beliefs of what you're scrolling on or watching on tv. Fill your brain with THINGS YOU WANT! If they're not value add, then you don't need to see their content.
2. Start looking for work and your BRIDGE JOB.
This is huge. I believe you have to use your trust muscle and see that you actually can do it. Start looking for little jobs in the field you want to go in. Things you can still do with your corporate job. By doing this, I also learned which things I didn't want to do, and something I did want to do! And I was like, oh, okay, I can do this!
3. Get over the fact that when you quit you won't be where you want to be
I call this one ego shedding because it takes a lot of that. You're probably going to leave your corporate job with a great title and NOT be at the top anymore. All of a sudden, you're playing a whole different ballgame. Embrace it. If you're not up for the challenge, you won't like it. This also is a lot of mindset work. Who are you without your job? That's a question we often don't ask ourselves. Learn to create your identity outside of your job.
4. Save save save save save
Isn't this obvious? Lacy Phillips calls it a Fuck You Fund. It's going to be your safety net, knowing that even if your new life doesn't work out, it's okay! You have money saved up to get you through. (It’s going to but this will take the fear out of it). And don't' forget that if it doesn't work, your degree isn't going anywhere and you can always go back (but I promise you won't want to).
I recommend the app Digit. It automatically pulls money out of your checking account, and you can set a limit on how much you want to save and a due date. Lacy recommends having three months of what you live off of saved up. I honestly had about 4-6, AND I sold my current car ( a Mercedes Benz) Downgraded to a jeep which costed less, I moved into a cheaper studio, and cut down all my expenses (yes, that means no manicures Lol I survived though!)
Yea, this is the part where you sacrifice. What did I learn? I would rather be happy with less than unhappy with more. I was living on the bare minimum for about a year & a half. Honestly, just last month, I hit an income goal that was more than I was making in my old job. The whole time, I was wildly happy, + I still am.
5. Start working on your portfolio/website/resume.
This is another small thing that makes a BIG difference. I'm pretty sure my website helped with every client I closed. I got lucky; my best friend @carsonkowardesigns just so happened to know how to build a beautiful website, which is such a good reflection of who I am. But If the work you're doing doesn't require a website, start working on what your job will require. Odds are it will take some putting together. Block off your lunch to work on this, even if you're at your job. Getting this done will help make it feel real and that you're closer to your goal (because you are).
6. CONNECT with likeminded people or people have also left corporate America to talk about their experience.
You got to see to believe. Another @tobemagnetic belief, but I'm so behind it. My dear friend Michele left Corporate America and traveled the world for three months. We would get dinner every week before/after, and I would ask her about the details of quitting her job. I remember a really distinct conversation where I told her I was going to be making a meager hourly wage at my bridge job to get me through, and she helped me do the math. She was like, "yea, and you can live off of that." I'm pretty sure I quit a few weeks later after seeing it was doable. It took one person who was in the same situation telling me it was feasible for me, and I was sold!
A mentor is great for this too. At this point I’ve invested over 10K in mentors in the past 2 years alone. Yep, you heard that right. Here’s the thing. Mentors collapse time for you. You get to learn from all their mistakes and they help you move forward in confidence every time you want to quit.
I hope this was helpful! I would love to hear what you thought below !