7 Things I’ve Learned Since Quitting My Job
Quitting my job – it was easier than I imagined.
I don’t think this was much of a shock to anyone. Perhaps it was more obvious that I was unhappy there than I’d thought?
I walked out of the office lightly. Without sadness. Without fear. Without anxiety. I just quit an amazing corporate job with a promising career in marketing. I felt free and excited about what might happen next.
That’s what my life looked like 3 years ago.
Now I want to share with you some things I’ve learned since quitting my job.
1. Ignore Everybody
Whenever you try to do something against the status quo (starting your own business, relocating to another continent, pursuing art, minimizing, or something third), the naysayers will do everything in their power to let you know that you’re going to fail.
Perhaps your family will think you will fail, your boyfriend/girlfriend/partner, your friends, ex-coworkers, etc., but the only person who cannot doubt it needs to be you. You will never be successful if you give up before even trying because everyone around you thinks you will fail. Ignore everybody and go after your dreams.
2. Don’t Expect Success Overnight
You will never be successful when you first get started. No matter who you are, where you’re coming from, how smart you are, or how rich, you cannot expect to be an overnight success. There is no such thing as overnight success.
Wanna bet?
Show me someone who succeeded overnight and I’ll send you $100. (Lottery winners don’t count)
We all start somewhere, and it takes intense focus, willpower, discipline, and many sleepless nights to achieve something meaningful. Tune out everyone who tells you to take the safer road, trust your gut, and go chase your dreams.
3. The Safest Thing is Often the Opposite of What Everyone Else is Doing
I know this one sounds strange, but trust me, the safest thing you could probably ever do is to do something everyone else is not doing. To do something all naysayers say is impossible. However, most people never even try impossible things, they try only the easy things, and that’s why impossible things are beyond their reach.
When you’re competing with millions of people trying to do easy things, you’ll probably have a really hard time making a living doing that easy thing. The harder and more impossible the niche you’re trying to fill is, the easier it is to succeed.
4. Be The Change
You want to be authentic and successful? First, you need to live the change you believe in. You believe in minimalism? First, become the minimalist and then write about it. Don’t write about it if you don’t understand fundaments.
Want to open a vegetarian restaurant? You better be vegetarian. Want to end poverty? Writing about it is not enough, you should actually be feeding people. There are many examples, but to be the change, you need to live it first. If you don’t, no one will believe you.
If you truly believe in the cause, you’ll find the way no matter how challenging or hard it may seem. Elon Musk sent a car to Mars, so what’s your excuse?
5. Be Original Your Own Way
Look, I’m not going to lie to you – everything has happened before, and everything will happen again and you can’t avoid that no matter how hard you try. But just because something has happened or will happen, that’s no reason not to try to do something your own way. It’s being you that makes the thing original. It’s your approach that makes it unique.
If you want to start a coffee shop, start one. If you want to write a book about minimalism, write it. It won’t be the first, and certainly, it won’t be the last. But it will be original, and it will be yours.
You only have so many hours in the day. Don’t waste it on stupid things that don’t matter (and there are many of them). In today’s modern age, there are millions of different channels competing for your energy and attention. You can’t focus on all of them, to succeed you need to cut through the noise by using your energy and attention wisely.
Unsubscribe, unfollow, unfriend, unplug.
Change the channel from nonimportant to what matters.
Your time, energy, and attention are always best spent on work that matters (cleaning the house, grocery shopping, mowing the lawn, etc. is not work that matters – these are chores that must be done). Track all your time and kill all the hidden ways you procrastinate against the actual process of creation.
Don’t do anything else until you do work that matters.
7. Test All Your Assumptions
Everything you learned in school about how the world works was probably a lie. This isn’t because your teachers are intentionally deceptive, it’s because the way the world works has changed fundamentally in the last couple of years. Most people think it still works the old industrial way, but it doesn’t.
Every time you find yourself assuming that the world works a certain way, make sure you test that theory first.
You wouldn’t believe how many untested assumptions there are that people still insist on believing.
The only way to get your work published is by finding a publisher. A record label is the only way to bring music to the world. The only way to be happy is to buy a ton of things. Retirement before 65 isn’t possible. The only way to become a self-made millionaire before 30 is to rob a bank or win the lottery.
None of these things are true, but you haven’t tested them yet, have you?
Don’t believe everything you hear and test all your assumptions. The only way to prove something is through execution.
Bonus Tip: Happiness is One Decision Away
Perhaps you’re not sure that quitting your job is the right thing to do. And you may never be. But if you have a burning desire for change, then it’s time to embrace it. Life is too short to be miserable.
Your own personal happiness should be one of the most important things in your life. That may sound selfish, and perhaps it is. But if you are not happy, you will not be well-equipped to help those around you, so you could consider such prioritization as both selfish and selfless.
What is Stopping You?
If you dream of leaving your job one day, ask yourself what is stopping you.
You are in control. You are responsible for every single element of your success. No one will pick you up and dump you in success-land. You control the keys to your happiness.
Thanks to the internet, the world has become an equal playing field no matter where you live and you have no excuse but to take control in your own hands and start playing the game. Yes, it’s hard, but do you know what’s harder? Sitting under fluorescent lights in your cubicle all day hating your job, and life.
Some say you only need 1,000 true fans to succeed… test it for yourself and let me know 😊
Cheers!
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