One of my biggest challenges in my current working situation is that I’ve been successful. I know what you’re saying, how can being successful be a negative? The fact that I’ve seen some success in my career means that it’s harder for me to leave it behind since I’ve built up a certain lifestyle for myself and my family, making it harder to deal with the transition that goes along with branching out and doing something totally different. I can’t afford to play around with their financial security, so it means that I have a tougher road ahead to reach where I want to go in my career.
In my case, my “totally different” doesn’t have to be working for myself in my own business ventures, but I’d prefer it to be that. In general I am just not engaged in my current job and not enjoying what I am tasked to do on a daily basis. It doesn’t spark my interest or my passions, so it’s difficult to get excited about it every day. Not only that, but I’m less likely to want to go the extra mile since I’m not that interested in my work. Is that a way to make a living and live the majority of your life? Well, it depends on your perspective. I’m not unhappy with the decisions I’ve made so far in my life, as they have provided myself and my family with a lot of great things. I think I’m just ready to make that next step after providing for family, hoping that I can still provide for them while doing things that I love.
One thing that I wish I would have explored earlier was trying to branch out and start some of my businesses earlier in my career. Especially in the 6 months I was unemployed, or the 2 years of living alone before I finally got married and bought a house. I see those as two crucial times where I could have spent a lot of time building those businesses without certain responsibilities or distractions that I have now. Of course hindsight is always 20/20, but these concepts help illustrate the benefits of starting early.
If you are able to start your true passions early on in your career (or even while still in college) you set yourself up not only for success, but at finding success in something that you love to do. The longer you wait, the less flexibility you’ll have in your life to be able to truly focus your efforts onto your passions. That doesn’t mean you won’t be able to see success and eventually make the transition (which is what I’m trying to do now), it just means that you’ll have a tougher time getting there, and probably have to wait a little longer to get there.
Just like anything in life, the younger you start the better prepared you’ll be in the long run. Being able to take advantage of the times in your life where the amount of responsibilities are the lowest can create a very productive period of your life that works to help build your dreams. A little bit of that work early can save a lot of stress and headache for you in the future. I know from personal experience every day I come home stressed from my current job, and I wish I would’ve had someone give me this advice when I was starting out. Good luck!
April 28th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
I can totally relate to this post because I’ve also been successful in my career from the very beginning. I’ve doubled my salary in about five years, and moved up the food chain along the way. That early success makes stepping outside the rat race that much more unbelievable. Looking back, I wish I had opted to pursue something I loved, rather than something that paid well and opportunities for advancement.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:05 am
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