I started to find myself between a rock and a hard place. It was one of those genuine, “it’s not you it’s me” scenarios. I was blessed with great colleagues, I was living the good life but there was no fire in my belly. I’d commute to work thinking ‘there must be some other way’.
Bubbling away in the background of the daily hum drum was a passion. A desire that I wasn’t fulfilling. I wanted to do something different but I just couldn’t find the balls to get on and do it. With every pay rise and promotion I was spending more money.
I was leading myself to believe a life without regular trips to Hawksmoor, weekly organic food shops, long haul holidays and John Lewis click and collect just wouldn’t be worth living. And then there were the ‘essentials’ like utilities and a mortgage and a travel pass and a… There was always something.
What would you do if you weren’t afraid?
Summer 2012 I sat round the table of a girly pub lunch. It was a farewell for a friend heading back to the US who had followed her dream to come and study in the UK. We were talking amongst us about our futures. Another one of the girls round the table was on the verge of quitting her job to set up her own business. She said one of her biggest inspirations was a friend (that had died young) once saying to her “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?”
Fear can hold us back from so much. I was constantly finding reasons why I couldn’t do something, but ultimately it was because I was scared. Scared of so many things. But remove fear from the equation, throw caution to the wind and you’re far more likely to escape the rat race.
The confidence I found to escape the 9-5 and confront my apparent fears transferred over into so many other areas of my life. I started to stand up for what I believed in so much more, I launched a blog to air these views, I lifted more weight in the gym, I embraced new social situations, I was simply more comfortable being me.
Money (sometimes, not always) makes the world go round
One of my biggest fears had been turning my back on a comfortable and assured income. I truly admire the people that can genuinely stand up and say “money doesn’t matter to me”. I wish I was one of those. What I can stand up and say though is I’ve quickly come to realise how much money I actually need to satisfy an enjoyable life (for me) and not to satisfy a long list of ‘wants’ or supposed ‘must haves’.
Jumping off the corporate treadmill and a regular decent income was so, so liberating. Aside from how good I feel standing at the top of a mountain on a blustery day or after some seriously great sex nothing, just nothing, has felt as good as it did to have the courage to say to myself I’m walking away from my next pay rise.
Focusing far less on money makes you appreciate so many other things in life. It forces you to tighten your belt. It liberates you. I found somehow having less, made me stress less!
This is a sample taken from a chapter in the book How To Escape Your 9-5 And Do Something Amazing.
At last! A guide to stepping off the corporate hamster-wheel and living a fuller, more rewarding life. Written by people that have successfully made a break for freedom, How To Escape Your 9-5 And Do Something Amazing is your freedom manifesto.
With thought-provoking, insightful features written by people from all over the world, this book will change your life. If you have ever wondered how you can shake off the shackles of your 9-5 but still make a living, then this is the most important book you will ever read.
