This is the thirty-sixth edition of The i’Mpossible Project: A series where anyone can share a personal story of inspiration or an event in life where they overcame tremendous odds. Everyone has a powerful story to tell and something to teach the world. (See HERE for guidelines on how you can write for The i’Mpossible Project.) Here we have Dani DiPirro with "Leave the Paycheck to Launch the Dream: How I Left My Job to Do What I Love."
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I used to wake up most
mornings cursing the day. I spent my weekends and weeknights writing about how
to live and love life in the present moment, but when it came to my day-to-day
life, I struggled constantly with embracing my 9-to-5 job. Though the job itself
wasn’t bad at all—and the people I worked with were great—getting up every day
and going to work often felt wrong. It’s hard to explain exactly what was wrong
about it, but at the core I had the belief that I was living a life that I
wasn’t meant to be living. It wasn’t easy to leave what was comfortable and go
after what I really wanted to be doing—pursuing my website, PositivelyPresent.com as a full-time career, but
here are the essential elements that helped me get from here to there:
Recognize the need to leave.
For a while, I convinced
myself that my unhappiness at work was normal; this was how everyone else felt
too. But as time went on, I started to realize that might not be true. While
most of my friends weren’t jumping up and down with excitement to go to work
every day, they weren’t miserable. They didn’t feel like they were losing a
part of themselves every time they put on a suit or sat in a meeting. As my
friends settled into their careers, I found myself itching to get out of mine
and make my own path.
Face the fear—and keep going.
Even when I knew that I
needed to be living a different life, I was scared to make a change. No one
else I knew was doing anything other than what was expected of them—getting up
each morning, going to work, and climbing the corporate ladders of their
various industries. While my friends were supportive, many of them raised an
eyebrow at the notion of leaving the privileges of a comfortable corporate job.
I was scared—but I knew I had to face that fear and keep going. If I let the
fear take over, I would always stay where I was.
Find a source of inspiration.
To overcome my fear, I needed
inspiration, guidance—and I needed it fast. Lucky for me, an inspiring duo
wasn’t too far from reach. My parents had started their own company when I was
just a kid. My father told me stories of what it was like to start a business
with two small children depending on him. He had so little money. He had to
start from nothing. I remember those early days and how nothing seemed
different other than the fact that my dad no longer went to the office every
day but instead had a section of the basement dedicated just to him and his
work. Miraculously, though he and my mother were stressed and strapped for
cash, I never knew about their struggles. It was difficult, he told me, but he
never regretted it.
Seek out encouragement.
My parents encouraged me to
go for it—to go after what I really wanted for my life. Perhaps that’s what all
parents do with their children, encourage their dreams, but it seemed like an
extra bonus that my dream of working for myself paralleled the dream they’d
shared years ago. I was fortunate to have them, to have their support and their
wisdom. Without that, I don’t know if I could have taken the leap and said
goodbye to the job I’d grown so comfortable in.
The actual act of leaving was
simple—a desk cleaned out, goodbyes said—but all that led up to it was what
made it possible. The need, the courage, the inspiration, and the
encouragement: each of these things pushed me in the direction of leaving what
I’d known and going after what I wanted.
***
Dani DiPirro is the author of
Stay
Positive: Daily Reminders from Positively Present
and Live
Happily Ever After Now: A Guide + Workbook for Living in the Present Moment. She is also the founder of PositivelyPresent.com a site dedicated to helping
people live positively in the present moment. To check out Dani’s latest book,
and watch the Stay Positive video, visit StayPositive365.com.
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Why is this "The i’Mpossible Project?"
Inspired by Josh Rivedal's book and one-man show The Gospel According to Josh: A 28-Year Gentile Bar Mitzvah. Gospel (non-religious) means "Good News" and Josh's good news is that he's alive, and thriving, able to tell his story and help other people.
On his international tour with his one-man show, he found incredible people who felt voiceless or worthless yet who were outstanding people with important personal stories waiting to be told. These personal stories changed his life and the life of the storyteller for the better.
Josh's one-man show continues through 2015 and beyond and he is looking for people in all walks of life, online and offline, to help give them a voice and share their stories with the world.
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