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Have you ever sat at your desk after yet another unnecessary meeting and stared out the window at all the other people across the city beavering away in their glass boxes and thought, ‘I can’t do this anymore, I know I’m meant for more in life’ ?
Have you always had a secret passion you would love to be your day job, but don’t quite know how to make it happen?
Does it give you chills to think that you will be doing the same thing in some form or another for the next 20 to 30 years?
If the answers are yes, I know where you’re coming from because it’s where I was a few years ago, until I discovered how I was going to make my escape. I had fallen out of love with my job and knew I wanted to make a move to have my own business, but how to make it happen? I was in this gilded cage; a good income, my own home, respected in my role, I knew my job inside out and knew everyone would think I was crazy for giving up on a career I had worked so hard for. But it wasn’t enough. I wanted more!
So, I created a way to transition from being a frustrated unfulfilled employee in the corporate world to where I am now, a business owner who loves what I do every day.
If you know that corporate life is not for you anymore, and that there is another life you know is waiting, this is the episode for you!
THE 5 KEYS
I’m giving you the exact keys that I used to open my corporate cage.
It’s my ‘how I did it episode’. I’m giving you all the good stuff, what made the difference between just thinking about escaping, and actually finding the keys, turning the locks and flying free as a bird. I’m not going to pretend it was always easy, but it was more than worth it and I genuinely have never looked back, even on the bad days, which of course you still get!.
Whether you want to find an exciting new job outside of the office based world or are looking to freelance or consult, or have always wanted to have your own business these keys will work for you.
Key 1: Passion With Purpose
I believe having a passion that you long to work with is the single most important thing when it comes to leaving the corporate world. It not only gives you motivation while you work towards making a living doing what you love, but also will sustain you until you succeed in your new field.
Passion is your secret weapon, it is the fuel in your tank, so being really clear on what it is is absolutely crucial. One tiny caveat here, although you may have a passion for something, it doesn’t automatically mean you have the talent and skills to work with it.
But if you have a passion that you are actually good at then it can be incredibly powerful and you owe it to yourself, and others that could be benefiting from it, to be using that passion and talent everyday.
So let's talk about purpose because passion needs to have purpose if you are to be successful. If you look it up in a dictionary, purpose means ‘the reason for which something exists or is done’. To psychologists it means an heartfelt intention to achieve a long-term goal that is personally meaningful and in many cases makes a positive mark on the world.
So purpose is a reason why you do something, that reason could be a cause you believe in, or to be rich, to become famous or to make your mark on the world in some way or just to be happy. There are hundreds of potential purposes you could have.
Both passion and purpose are important. Passion is the emotion, the energy and the fuel, while purpose gives you the reason, the direction and the drive to achieve.
Passion can exist without purpose, and purpose can be without passion but neither will lead to success and everyday happiness alone. Passion without purpose can mean you love doing what you do everyday but you’re not aiming for anything, or are not sure what you want to achieve in life. So ultimately could mean you do not reach your potential. On the other hand, purpose without passion could be quite empty and dissatisfying as you will not have the energy and drive or joy in what you do while on the journey.
Think of it this way, if you were going on a journey in a car, you could know why you are taking the trip, have a map of the route and know exactly where you are going, but with no fuel to power the engine you are not going anywhere! Equally if you have no map or destination you would be driving around randomly!
So, ask yourself two questions:
- What is the passion in your life that you are good at? What do you sit at your desk staring out the window dreaming of doing one day?
- What is your true purpose? In other words, why do you get up in the morning? Is it for purely money, for meaning in your work, fulfillment, to make a difference in the world in some way, or something else.
They seem like simple enough questions but take your time. I talk a lot about passion throughout this podcast but you will hear exactly how to find your passion and purpose in the first few episodes, so go back and listen to them and you will find some tools and techniques to help.
Understanding your purpose will also help you figure out how you will use your passion to make an income. What do I mean by that, well there are lots of ways that you could use your passion in a future career. Your purpose, what drives you and what ultimately is most important to you will help you decide what you do. It is not just simply about finding a job doing it. Take a look at #7: Which Career Path Option Is Right For You to learn more about the potential paths you could take your passion down.
Key Two: Positive Mindset and Mental Strength
Having a positive mindset is crucial for you to make the leap from corporate as even the fastest move will take some time. Don’t underestimate its importance. Your mind needs to be clear and focussed and ready for anything. You need to be able to be mentally resilient to protect yourself when you have your down days.
What is mindset anyway? People talk about it a lot but let’s break it down. The Cambridge dictionary describes it as ‘ a person's way of thinking and their opinions’.
It’s the way you mentally approach situations you are going into, for example you could have a cynical mindset or an entrepreneurial way of thinking, or a practical way of thinking.
So, what does a positive mindset look like? Well, it’s believing in yourself and your abilities, believing that your decision to make your escape from the corporate hamster wheel is the right one. That you have the right to be able to love what you do. And that all your plans will come to fruition in time. It’s not about being overly optimistic, which I know can be a bit annoying. It’s understanding the situation, the positives and negatives and choosing to believe things will work out while preparing for any setbacks.
You will naturally have lots of highs and lows on the journey, believe me I battled many of my own mental demons (and a few human type ones too!) who tried to make me turn back from my decision! But by thinking positively, and using tools and techniques to help me stay mentally strong and resilient I was able to keep going.
If you're interested in checking out what techniques I used and recommend, go and listen to #8: ‘My top 8 Positive Thinking Strategies For Your Career Change Toolkit’ where I give you more of the science around ways of thinking and ways to keep believing.
Key 3: Productive Attitude
The number one excuse I’m given by people wanting to make the move out of the corporate world is that they don’t have the time. I know because I said the same.
If you’re working in a corporate role I know you already have a full schedule, and put on top of that family commitments and anything else you can’t pass on to someone else, let’s face it time will be in short supply. That’s a given. You need to be ready to put the work in but without burning out. So that means doing more with less time.
So you’ll be getting really good at organising yourself and making the most of the time you can carve out to work on this passion project. And you will need singular focus and tunnel vision to make it happen.
You’re going to be a productivity ninja!
The secret is setting yourself up for success at the start:
- Get organised. Use project planning software, I use Asana, but you can use whatever works for you. I find Asana really user friendly and my planning can be as simple or as detailed as I want. A good system will keep track of your progress and will send out reminders to give you that little nudge that something you promised yourself you would do needs to be done. Also, sometimes just putting something into a system makes it real, it seems more official somehow and not just a little day dream.
- Be selfish with your time. You are not going to be able to do everything you usually do, so pick the special things. Tell your friends that you will not be able to spend as much time with them as this is important to you. But stress it’s only temporary until you break out of the cage!
- Explore time management techniques and work out what is best for you. The main point there is ‘works for you’. It doesn’t matter that your friend Jane uses a great time saving method, or Dave has the most amazing daily planner, you have to find what will work with your style of working.
- The ability to take action is also hugely important. Be an action machine! When you do have the time, use it to take action and get a result on one thing. Having that approach will also help you deal with any mindset demons, as by taking action, you don't have the time or brain power to doubt yourself
Key 4: Personal Brand
Your personal brand is what people think about you, when you’re not in the room. It showcases your experience, your behaviours, talents and skills. So who do you want to be seen as in your new role? What do you want people to think when they meet you?
To pinpoint your new personal brand, think about who you are and what you want to accomplish in life next, what’s unique about you and what are you great at; in other words what’s your thing, and what makes you stand out? You should be as authentic as possible, so don’t try to be something you're not. But there can be some element of fake it until you make it!
You may not know it but right now your personal brand is tied up hugely in your role in the company you work for now and everywhere you worked before. It’s not just about the sharp jackets or smart dresses, it's a way of thinking, a way of speaking and writing that you just naturally slip into the minute you walk into the office or log into your work laptop in your home office. That corporate gloss on your personal brand may or maynot be right for your new career, so it's important to think about it.
Now, you can’t shed your corporate personal brand until you have left your current job, but that doesn’t stop you from starting to think about the personal brand you want others to see in wherever you are planning on moving to.
Gradually build your new personal brand so you are ready with it and confident before you leap into your new life. This is particularly important if you are planning on freelancing or consulting or having your own business in your new field because you will be introducing yourself a lot to potential employers or clients. But for everyone, this new brand will hopefully be for life so make sure it fits right!
Oh, you’ll also need to consider your personal brand on your social media, and how that can help you make the switch physically and mentally, but that is a whole other episode! Watch this space!
Key 5: Powerful Project Plan
It seems really obvious that you need a plan, but believe me some people think getting out of the corporate world will happen by magic, that someone will come and offer them that perfect job or they will win the lottery and be able to take the leap then. There’s no corporate career escape genie! No one is going to do this for you. You need to get planning to make it happen.
You will plan how you are going to get to that day where you walk into your manager’s office or jump on a zoom with them and get to say ‘I’m resigning, I’m leaving to go and be (whatever it is you want to be). I used to fantasise about doing just that! Don’t tell me you don’t too!
So treat this move like you would any project you have worked on in your day job. And I know whatever role you have you will have been involved in many, many projects! This project is just as important as the top project you are currently working on in your job, so make sure to give it the same importance.
Your project plan should include:
Your Overall Strategy: What you need to do and in brief terms how you will do it, so you can reach your ultimate goal of leaving the corporate world to work in a job you are passionate about. This when you want to get started and when you want that resignation letter to be handed in by.
What needs to be done: This is where you dive into the nitty gritty of how you will go about making that strategy happen.
How you will keep on track and make sure you’re ready to make the move:
Things to think of here would be how you can keep taking action and focus on that productivity mindset. what systems, apps and tech you want to use to help with time management and organising yourself
Dealing with practical considerations such as personal and or business finances and finding the time to act on your plans. How you will deal with unexpected circumstances or challenges to your mental resilience.
Speaking with friends and family and getting them on side and thinking about how you are going to deal with other people like colleagues or you boss, what you will tell your employer.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS…
If you feel like you’re in a cage, trapped in a job that no longer fits, you owe it to yourself, your loved ones and the world to use these keys to get out! If not now, when?
Afterall, if you do nothing, nothing will change. You will stay in the cage. Doing something, even if it's small and it takes time for you to fly free, is surely worth it!
You have heard this before, but life is too short to be wasting a minute of it. I hope you can use these keys to open your own cage and find what you are looking for. And know that I am cheering you on all the way!
