Avocationists get paid to do what they would do for free. Avocationist.com shows you how to live an Avocationist life funded by your regular old job. No risky jumps, lots of fun.
Note: In the last post, I introduced the idea of Going Pro without Quitting Your Day Job. In this second part, I cover the benefits. Part 3 will show how you can Go Pro.
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My palms were sweaty and my voice was about two octaves higher than normal as I dialed the phone. I was just hoping that I wouldn’t sound like a total idiot.
I had landed the first big interview for my new website Avocationist.com. In a few minutes I’d be talking to an author who had sold more than 2 million books. He was someone I had watched on TV. His financial advice had helped my wife and me learn how to save for retirement. And he had agreed to talk to me!
If someone asks you that, are you excited to tell them the answer?
I hope so. If not, you're wasting away.
No matter what your job is, no matter where you work, there's a way to create a project (on your own, on weekends if necessary), where the excitement is palpable, where something that might make a difference is right around the corner.
Hurry, go do that.
That's the spirit behind Going Pro without Quitting Your Day Job (read more in Part 1 and Part 2). You don't have to wait to try anything. There is a way to do it small, now.
Photos: (c) Allan Bacon (left) and by fazen (right)
For most of my career, I was busy with work and the little remaining time was dedicated to my family. While this arrangement made me feel like I was taking care of everything, over time it left me feeling hollow.
Somehow I knew that the empty feeling was from not doing the things in life I was born to do.
When the pace would slow down a bit I would think up big plans for how I could fix my work or my life to fill that gap. But none of these dreams were practical – and deep down I didn’t believe that they would really fix things anyway.
Then one Saturday afternoon about ten years ago, I had a realization: I had been getting little signals all along about how to find what I was made to do. I just needed to follow my spark.
It happened when I took this photo of my daughter.
Have you completed employee reviews in the last month? Did it feel like a good use of your time? Did you feel like you were really building value in your company or did you feel like you were checking off a box on someone else’s cover-my-butt list?
Be honest.
When your Outlook calendar is completely colored in and you don’t know what half of the meetings are, you should probably start to think about giving yourself a demotion.
I’ve been inspired reading Seth Godin’s new book “Linchpin” which launches today. (Buy it here. I love the book because you can dive in anywhere and pick up some uncomfortably challenging advice.)
In the spirit of Seth's book, I offer my favorite way to free up time while making a bigger impact at work...
7:06 pm at the Hilton. Running late from work. Pay my $15. Put on nametag. Gulp. Walk into a ballroom of strangers standing around chatting. Everyone knows someone but me. Crap. Maybe I’ll just stand in the corner…
Have you ever experienced the "yuck" factor of networking? Do you feel like you have to pretend to be someone different to make new contacts? Do you feel guilty about bothering people you'd like to meet?
I did too. Then I learned that networking was something I already knew how to do.
I just had to forget everything I'd read about the "right way" to connect with people.
Pam Slim has just published Escape from Cubicle Nation
based on her hugely popular blog of the same name. Pam’s work focuses on helping corporate employees start their own businesses. [Side note: I highly recommend this book if you are considering making the move]
In the first excerpt from our interview, Pam explains how she started the blog and gives insights into how she has successfully balanced the practical parts of her life with her passion for helping budding entrepreneurs.
Do you ever get a feeling that your job has lost its luster? A job that used to motivate you now requires you to get yourself pumped up before you do it?
Check out what I learned at a No Doubt concert this weekend - how to know when you have outgrown your work.
Want to do something different, but can't figure out what it is? Or how to do more meaningful work without jeopardizing your lifestyle?
Join me for a special tele-class this Wednesday night, June 10th at 5pm ET: Don't wait to test-drive your dreams (How to start now without quitting your job).
It's free for my newsletter subscribers. [Read more →]
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