Fellow podcaster and writer Stephen Hackett wrote about how he’d love to take his work at 512pixels and turn it into his full time gig.
And he also wrote about how scared he is to just go for it.
I was too.
Back when I was working for the Victoria Film Festival, I was putting in my time (not to mention and energy and effort) for 40 hours a week there, and then plugging away for an additional 20–30 hours working for Envato from home. That meant a lot of evenings and weekends taken up by what I really wanted to do for work rather than spending those same evenings and weekends doing what I really wanted to do in general, which was have more time with my wife and kids.
Not just more time, though. More time where I was happy and fulfilled. Because any other time would have been perceived as putting in the time rather than spending it.
My wife was understandably frustrated. She wanted me to be happy and fulfilled, but was tired of the hours being spent trying to get there. She also knew the 40 hours working for the festival weren’t fulfilling anything other than keeping one foot in a seemingly stable job. I was only staying there because I was afraid – afraid that I’d not be able to provide for my family if I went out on my own with this “whole blogging thing” that not many even understood could pay the bills.
When I was faced with a fear far greater – the possibility of losing the person who stood by me for every risk I’d taken – I chose to face the fear of forging out on my own as a writer (now speaker, podcaster and editor as well) and quit the full time job at the festival. I put both feet into my new career, and then started putting one foot in front of the other…moving forward as I went.
There have been ups and downs – including losing my steady job as editor at WorkAwesome when the site sold not one month after taking the leap – but they have been worth it. I get to make choices instead of facing dilemmas. I get to spend quality time with my family instead of just checking in with them in between working hours. I get to work hard for myself and others…instead of the other way around.
Marco Arment also commented on Stephen’s post:
“When you work for yourself, it’s all just you. You take all of the risk, you handle all of the bullshit and paperwork, you get to (but need to) make every decision, and you reap all of the rewards.”
That’s ultimately why I went for it.
There’s no better era to take the leap and carve your own path than now, especially if you’ve got the support of friends and “fans” to help propel your efforts and keep you on course.
(Having an incredibly supportive partner is always helpful, of course.)
If you’re thinking about making the move, then you’re ready.
If you’ve already got the foundation in place to make the move, then you’re set.
There’s nothing left to do now except go for it. So do that.
And then just keep going.
Photo credit: Alan L. (CC BY 2.0)
