I’m now two months into my journey and the world hasn't
ended. The initial fear that used to
pulse through me every now and then seems to have been more hype than anything
else.
That’s how fear works though. It
paralyzes the mind and body.
In this installment I wanted to touch on some things I did
prior to turning in my notice and walking away from a steady paycheck and
benefits. Doing these things have helped
me overcome the fear and have, without a doubt, helped me focus on the work at
hand instead of waiting for the end of the world.
About 2 years prior to turning in my notice I:
1.
Took a long hard look at my current position,
the state of the field I worked in (Higher Ed) and what the future was starting
to look like. I saw more downside than
upside. I began to think about changing careers.
2.
Tracked my spending for 6 months to get a better
sense of where my money was actually going. I kept a daily journal and logged
EVERY dollar I spent and what I spent it on. I broke it down into categories each
month. This really opened my eyes to some careless spending.
 |
| Attributed to Abe Lincoln (but there is no actual proof he ever said this!) |
3.
I began to pay more attention to saving money,
in case I decided to leave.
About 18 months prior I:
1. Started to cut back from the things I identified through my spending exercise
2. Began paying my credit cards down aggressively.
3. Adjusted the contribution I was making to my
401k plan by dropping to the minimum percentage that secured my employers
contribution and directed the rest into my savings account. I did this to save
as much “ready cash” as possible should I decide to leave.
4. I took what I learned from the spending exercise
and figured out what I actually spent on necessities (home, food, bills etc…)
in a year.
It’s a very interesting exercise. If you've never done it – do it. I
found out that the number is much smaller than I thought. You may be surprised
too. It made me feel more confident in taking the risk of working for myself. It helped me zero in on the exact amount of
money I needed to save to give myself a year (if I didn't earn another penny
during that year) to go on living close to how I was currently living.
About 6 months prior I:
1.
Decided that unless something drastic changed at
my current job, I would leave and start working for myself full-time.
2.
Started planning for my departure and putting
things in order (to help my co-workers as well as visualizing what my life
would look like how to best approach it).
I am not one to recommend just quitting a job without really
thinking things through. I do think anyone can leave a job they are unhappy
with though – I just recommend having a plan in place. Most people lock
themselves into situations without even trying to take a long hard look at
what’s actually possible.
You can read the 3 previous posts in this series here:
Next month, I will
update you on my progress since starting off on my own and some of the early
hiccups, lessons and small victories.
