This is the disclaimer I wish I had: your dream job does not exist. You must create it, and that will require work. Those who make it look easy are either lying or benefiting from a benefactor out of reach to most of us. There are no shortcuts and plenty of false starts. The impossible will take longer than you anticipate and, although you won’t believe me, that’s a good thing. If you knew how much it took to make moves and move mountains you would never begin.
And why not? The most common answer is fear. Bills will amass like dirty dishes along with other responsibilities that will weigh on our wallets and our minds. One might also concern themselves with the opinions of others, and ask for permission in a place where it will never exist. Still some may commence to changing their career but, when faced with mistakes or misgivings, retreat and return to the world they believe to be all too real. More often than not, however, the correct answer comes down to confidence.
We want to trust a plan that we’re sure will work. We want to know that we’re capable of pulling off the impossible.
Remember the “The Wizard of Oz” and that Cowardly Lion? He was terrified of just about everything: lions, tigers, bears and even a little dog named Toto. He sought the Wizard to ask for a fix of fearlessness. Turns out, he had it all along and so do you. Courage comes from taking a trip down your own yellow brick road, and trusting the path you planned.
My plan took 3 years to pull off, and on October 3rd I quit my job to follow my dreams. Since then I’ve made more than 800 new connections on Linkedin, over 1,000 people have subscribed to this little blog (THANK YOU) and my Goodbye Google video has been viewed 330,000 times. Invitations to speak at conferences and conventions have come from California to South Africa. Business opportunities have popped up at home and abroad – Dublin, India and Turks & Caico come to mind. All of this in 12 days.
My plan worked, and it’s by no mistake. If you want to follow your dreams then you must first figure out how to quit your job. Too few of us do work worth doing. Steve Jobs said it better than I ever could:
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”
I want to share the secret with you now.
Selfish Sacrifices
You need some space. Every day we share 2.5 billion status updates on Facebook. We send 5,700 tweets per second, pin 5 million articles daily, and like 1.6 billion Instagram photos in a month. Digital media has become our global pastime. 
And it’s extends to the real world. The gift of the modern age is we have greater access and more opportunity than ever before. There are Meetups to join, conferences to convene, activities to attend and festivals to frequent. Not only for yourself, but friends and family too. We do it all and give up little along the way.
Online and offline we’re constantly connected and the cost is our capacity. Either you do few things well or too many things poorly. Regardless, your bandwidth is burned up and in it’s place we stall. We’re stuck on an empty tank and with no fuel for our fire.
You can do a maximum of three things well. That’s it.
I say three because I learned the hard way. When I arrived in San Francisco after college I knew no one. My closest friend was in Atlanta, and family in Chicago. I had all the time in the world for me, myself and I so I decided to pack on twelve pounds of muscle. The plan was to go to the gym five times a week and watch what I ate religiously. Because mind is as important as body, I decided I should read more and ordered five books from Amazon. Oh and to become one with San Francisco, I began to “practice” Yoga. That took care of my spirit.
Do you know that I got nothing done, and to this day I have read only two of those five books?! And this is to say nothing of my job, which takes precedence by default. One of your three focus areas is evidently your employment, so what about the other two? There’s family, friends, education, various forms of entertainment, travel, service to others, sports, music, hobbies and an immeasurable amount of other interests. Call it life and the mistake we make is attempting to balance it all.
Work-life balance does not exist, and here’s why:
Constant Connection – The Radicati Group reports that 182.9B emails are sent/received per day globally. In the US, each individual receives an average of 125 emails – including on the weekends. You can thank your Blackberries and iPhones for extending the reach of your desk. To your boss and over demanding clients, you’re always one message away.
Work is Waiting - Here in the US, American workers produce $63,885 of wealth per year, more than their counterparts in all other countries according to the International Labor Organization. Where productivity exists so do longer hours, and this rings true across the globe. The reward of a job well done is more work.
Life is Like Limbo – You can’t plan everything. Sometimes you’re up and other times you’re down – rarely can you call the play. Take into account all the outcomes, but most things are outside of your control. Life tells you to jump, and you decide how high.
We make choices. We give and take. We prioritize one thing over the other, and we choose wisely. The name of the game is sacrifice. It’s simple – you have three choices:
Give Up
Give In
Give It Your All
The funny thing about giving it your all is what you must first give up. As it stands, something is broken and the fix is for you to find. In the eye of the storm it’s impossible to see the light. Step back. There’s too much noise and with it comes distraction. Turn the volume all the way down.
You will miss family functions and come late to social settings. Your friends will wonder where you are, and your neighbors may start to talk. Let them. Truth be told, I left New York City to escape the wrong expectations. I moved 3,000 miles to California to get away from the wrong things and figure out the right ones.
I’m not suggesting you leave home to find your way, but to go somewhere new you must be willing to take an unknown road. You must be willing to do something different. If you hear nothing else then heed this advice: dedication requires separation, and in your separation you will find your revelation.
Real change takes time. Lean in and get comfortable.
Delirious Dedication
Figuring out how to quit your job is like pulling off a band-aid: you want it to be quick and clean but you realize they’ll be some pain. I can’t tell you how long the headaches will last, but for me it took 3 years of late nights and early mornings. Delayed gratification was my middle name.
Commitment is crucial, and dedication requires a decision – are you willing to go above and beyond? You’ll want to take lunch breaks instead grabbing coffee with colleagues. Don’t. Thoughts about leaving the office early will outweigh networking events each and every weekday. Tip the scale. Watching TV when you walk in the door, hitting the hay early and sleeping in an extra hour will look appealing. Look away.
Remember that whole thing about sacrifice? Here’s what it takes to quit your job in pursuit of your dreams: turning off the TV, ditching dinner with friends, lots of cheap beer, saving more than you spend, building a business on the side (more about this later), 5hrs of sleep a night, no vacations, missing family functions, skipping weekend weddings, ditching the Big City to save bigger money and dating? No time and couldn’t afford it anyways.
Who wants to do all that?
Who wants to give so much not knowing what they’ll get??
Who wants to sacrifice a job for the slim chance they could catch any career they choose???
It’s a lot to ask, and for good reason. The road ahead will require hard work. Know this – you’ll never know how strong you are until strong is the only option left. And this extends beyond entrepreneurship. In a sense, you’re starting up and the business is YOU. Your brand needs to be marketed to recruiters and sold to hiring managers. Here’s how:
Market – Who is your audience? Think about people and their problem. Then, match your interest and expertise with their needs.
Message – What is your value? There is something you do better than anyone else. Perfect your craft and offer your services as a solution.
Medium – How do you share your story? Just because you build it, doesn’t mean they will come. Figure out the time and place to capture their attention.
Messenger – What is your Personal Brand? We work with, hire and do business with people we like. People like us. Your personal brand must not only connect, but close the deal.
Money – How much is your value worth? Work requires a reward, but don’t concern yourself solely with dollars and cents. Social currency comes in the form of recognition, added opportunity, exposure and new affiliations (to name a few). Never settle for less than the fruits of your labor.
I call these my 5M’s of Self-Marketing, and mastery takes months. For an entire year, I thought about the answer to these questions in relation to my next step. For me, it meant building the foundation for my blog. To you, it could be graduate school applications, business plans, a change in scenery or yes, a change in careers.
Take the job hunt, for example. Your target could be a specific company, key influencer or the job of your dreams. More than likely, you’ll want to touch base with the decision maker – you and everyone else. Getting through the front door won’t be easy. Yes, there’s LinkedIn but it takes more than a connection. You need to deliver value, and content is king. Your experiences, work history and perspectives make you unique. But it’s never enough to tell me about your one-of-a kind talents, I want to see your skills and spot your strengths live and in color. How you package that story matters, and so does your personal presentation. Nothing lasts longer than a first impression.
Except for the job search itself – it can take months and sometimes years. Without going into too much detail, along the way you figure there are companies to search, resume to redo, and cover letters to customize. Don’t forget about job applications to complete and online profiles to perfect, relationships to build and networks to infiltrate. There’s coffee to grab and referrals to reference. This is to say nothing of phone screens, onsite interviews, offer letters and negotiations. A Saturday in the life of a successful job seeker might include:
8:00am - Breakfast of Job Search Champions
8:30am - Catch up on your blogroll. Knowing the news and following your industry is essential to establishing your expertise.
9:00am - Respond to email and make a game plan for the day. What 3 – 5 things will you accomplish? Ready, set, go!
10:00am - Do the rounds and check job search engines, company websites and job boards. Remember to set alerts on sites like JobFox to receive updates as jobs become available.
11:00am – With a list of jobs in mind, head over to LinkedIn. Who do you know at each company? What friend of a friend can shed light on a role? Better yet, who can refer your candidacy?
12:30pm – Take a breather and go for a fun. Clear your mind and come up with the energy to kick into second gear. Oh, and remember to eat.
1:30pm – Revise your To Do list.
2:00pm – Follow-up on unanswered emails, and reach out to old friends. Reconnect with former colleagues to learn more about their moves, and ask for specific introductions to new networks. Keep in mind that your college, children’s school, religious affiliations, service organizations, professional groups, etc. are all opportunities to make new connections.
4:00pm - Schedule coffee and lunch meetings for next week, and find local Meetups to attend
5:00pm – Take stock of your day and set the tone for tomorrow. What’s does Sunday have in store?
What’s required is overwhelming and the only way to do it all is to dedicate yourself to a little else. Remember, three things is all you have time for. You may lose yourself along the way but keep this three-pronged approach in mind:
Three - Set-up at least 3 informational interviews per week, including coffee with colleagues and lunch with long lost friends. Leverage LinkedIn and check out paid apps like Jibe where you discover what Facebook friends are hiring and ask for a referral.
Two – Attend 2 local networking events. Join your local chamber of commerce, find professional Meetups and organize other ways to relate in the real world.
One - Create 1 piece of content to capture the attention of your audience. It could be a blog post, Pinterest board, webinar or video. Stay front of mind, and keep the conversation on-going.
It comes down to people and building a community around your competence. People will see your expertise, and want to engage with you. Between now and then, you’ll need to learn a lot. Give yourself the space to be a beginner, and dig all the way in. No one starts at the top.
Revealing Revelations
Every pro was once an amateur. According to Malcolm Gladwell, it takes 10,000 hours of practice to achieve mastery in any field. You might as well get started and figure it out as you go.
“The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The next best time . . . is today.” African Proverb
Make a plan. Set a goal. Work toward it. But every now and then look around. Things are forever changing. Growth is what happens when life does not go according to plan, and you cannot plan most things. Change keeps life interesting. Too much control creates complacency, and leaves little room for creativity.
Take pre-recorded music tapes. First introduced in the 1960s, cassettes created an entirely new market. Vinyl was never conducive to car stereos and you couldn’t walk down the street with your turntables. Enter the Walkman, Sony’s iconic portable cassette tape players that went on sale in the 70s and has since sold more than 400 million units. We take portable music for granted, and forget that before the iPod and iPhone – way before – there was the Walkman.
Innovation in it’s infancy.
Progress is never immediate, it’s incremental. It will reveal itself in the language of repetition. The process is perpetual:
Learn - Do you your homework, and practice deliberately. Surround yourself with like minded individuals that push you to be better. Teach too.
Launch – Don’t be afraid to ship your art. Perfect does not exist. Instead, focus on one option at a time to test. Gauge each response.
Iterate - Pay close attention to feedback and use it to make decisions – do nothing, revisit the drawing board, or abandon all together.
Your job search is a live experiment. Test multiple resumes, try different email templates and prepare various elevator pitches. No one size fits all solution exists and you will need to customize your approach. It’s the only way to figure out what really works.
In essence, your job search is a series of untested hypothesis. The odds are that one or more of your hypotheses will be wrong. Be prepared to pivot. In tech talk, pivoting is the process of changing. The concept is nothing new and the practice ever so simple – if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
It will not happen overnight, but you will arrive at a conclusion. By figuring out what doesn’t work, you start to get a sense of what does. The goal is to make more mistakes and check off one box after another. Fail enough times and you eliminate all the wrong options. All that’s left is the right way.
For me, it meant building a business on the side until I could leave my job. I’m not crazy enough to think everyone aspires to startup land, but I do believe you are the CEO of your life. If you’re not where you want to be, get there. It has nothing to do with what you have or have not – it’s all about what you’re willing to sacrifice. Take your first step today.
Your dream job does not exist, you must create it. Start soon. Master this moment for nothing more than the sake of mastery, and something will shift. The beautiful thing about searching for anything, including a new job, is what you discover about yourself. You are not defined by what you do, but who you are. Be remarkable and opportunity will find you.
I recognize that, with responsibilities and limited resources, most of us cannot afford to jump ship this early, but we can begin to chart a new course. Full steam ahead!
The post How To Quit Your Job – a Definitive Guide to Deferred Dreams appeared first on Michael Peggs.