Take The Plunge And Persue Your Dream

I’m one of the people that eases themselves into something. I sit on the step, getting used to the water.

I am not a plunger.

I wish I could tell you I’d taken the plunge when it came to the decision to leave my job, but that was more of a push. I got notice of my impending redundancy back in March, and from then I’ve had some time to do some thinking.

Not only what I want to do with my career, but with my life. Because at the end of the day, we spend so much time working it better be something you enjoy.

If I’m honest with myself, I wasn’t enjoying my role as much as I should’ve been. If you’d asked me back in March how I was finding my role, my answer would’ve been “challenging”. I had landed a double promotion and was probably a bit out of my depth. But I didn’t let that stop me. I poured my heart and soul into it, giving myself stressma (stress induced eczema) trying to hit targets and deadlines. I cancelled personal plans, worked late nights and early mornings – all for nothing. When I had the meeting in March my confidence (and motivation) hit rock bottom and I was forced into the freezing water to re-evaluate my life.

I asked myself a simple question.

If there was something I could do, that I loved doing, what would that be and how could I turn it into something I can make money out of?

Now, my background is in marketing. So I know about social media, sales, communications, strategy. None of that is my passion though, my raison d’être. I don’t leap out of bed in the morning desperate to analyse data. I wake up wanting to write.

So, on that rainy Friday afternoon as I was cry-driving back to London, I made myself two promises.

1. I would write something, anything, every single day. If I love it and I want to earn money from it then by god do I need to put some hours in and do it.

2. I will actively pursue becoming an author.

I’m under no illusions that this will be easy. In fact, I think it’s going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But at least I’m in the pool.

Now I just have to learn how to swim.