A Great Leap Forward: Choosing to Change Careers

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W. L. Bateman said “If you keep doing what you’ve always done, and you’ll keep on getting what you’ve always got.” You know how life coaches often seem to keep teaching people that they’d get nowhere if they simply stay in that boring office job they hate instead of working on their dreams? The decision to change careers is not an easy one to make, but sometimes, you just have to take that leap of faith to make everything fall into place.

Time for a Change

I’ve worked at the same “Business-process outsourcing (BPO)”-type company for about six years now (January 2010 to January 2016) and I’ve learned a lot from all the experiences I’ve gained. I’ve made friends and had a ton of fun, but the latest changes in the office environment didn’t sit well with me and I realized that it was finally time to go.

Why did I choose to write about it? If you’re still having doubts about leaving a job you don’t like, then maybe reading this will give you the courage to take the leap and find a better path in life.

“Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sometimes, the Environment stops being good for you

There’s a saying that employees stay when they’re treated well, and they leave if their managers treat them badly. I don’t believe that most managers intentionally try to cause harm. They simply do what they believe is right for the company and they can have both positive and negative effects depending on the employees’ temperament.

I can say that the manager above me was nice (and he had much better people skills than me). Unfortunately the changes in the office were completely incompatible with my work/productivity style. I really prefer complete independence when handed tasks, proper scheduling of work instead of last minute rush jobs, and not wasting hours and reading and responding to marginally beneficial emails.

After a while, working there stopped being fun and I knew I had to make a choice: bear with it, or take responsibility and commit to change.

We don’t HAVE to stay…

Again, this is a topic that most life or career coaches teach: If your job isn’t working out well for you, then you must remember that you have the power to leave and search for something better.

There are opportunities EVERYWHERE, but you’ll find them only when you step out of the cave you’re in and start searching for them.

A New Passion

One main reason why I enjoyed my previous job was because it’s possible to finish all required tasks in a few hours, and finish the week’s worth of work by Wednesday (I’ve made a management post about it here). Since I had all that free time, I was able to spend it wisely on things that give value like reading books and reviewing investments. Later on, I started writing manuscripts and creating blog posts. By then, I discovered that I actually enjoyed writing.

There’s a saying: “If you can make money doing what you love, then you’re successful.” That’s solid advice right there.

You very likely have talents and skills that you don’t pay attention to like cooking, planning and organizing parties, entertaining friends and guests, writing, drawing, woodcarving, gardening or landscaping, etc. Once you discover your talents, you must develop them and learn to make money using them.

Don’t worry about initially losing your “prestigious” work title and ignore the people concerned about the losses you’ll have and the risks you’ll need to take. Though they generally mean well, their words are often discouraging. In any case, when you become great at what you do, you’ll be proud of it.

Remember: You are NOT your Job. Work is just something you do to make money, so why don’t you make money while doing something you enjoy?

Say Goodbye to the Good, Hello to the Great

I first found that saying on Jack Canfield’s “The Success Principles – How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be” and realized that it applied to my previous job and goals. Back then I realized that I should aim higher, but I still enjoyed my job and I was using it as a safe haven to develop my hobbies (remember, after completing all my current and future work-related tasks, I have leftover hours every day).

Loathe as I am to admit it, the only thing that gave me the push to and take the leap was when the office environment became unbearable. If you’ve grown *too* comfortable with your own job, you’ll likely get stuck there forever.

Anyway, after reading and learning from so many success books I have one lesson I want to share with you:

The world has unlimited opportunities. As you make use of them, they grant you more skills and experiences that can lead you to even better ones.

You can stay at what’s comfortable, or you can do something great. You can do what’s safe and easy, or you can do something amazing.

“Life beings at the end of your comfort zone.” – Neale Donald Walsch

It will work out – Boldness has Genius in it

There are no guarantees for success… but it’s GUARANTEED that I’ll miss out on great things if I stay. At the end of my life, I don’t want to have any regrets about the things I didn’t do. I want to know that I’ve done my best to reach for my dreams or die trying.

Wouldn’t you like that too? Don’t you want to know that, in the limited lifespan that you’ve been blessed with, you’ve done your absolute best to make the world a better place?

You could… but only if you take the leap of faith. You might face hardships and failures, but just remember that success lies just beyond the point where you would have quit on your dreams.

“The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets:

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.

Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!”

– William Hutchison Murray

I leave you with a clip I found on Youtube. It’s from the movie “Up in the Air” and I suggest you watch it:

“How much did they first pay you to give up on your dreams?”