Career & Life Makeovers, Part 2: Ten Tips For Making A Big Career Change

The image above is a close-up of a gorgeous card that I received from my Teacher Training mentees this past weekend. Inside of the card it says, "Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it." 

Isn't that beautiful? It perfectly captures what I've been trying to say all along--that our life's work is not to sit at a computer* and dream about what we could be doing, but to actually get out there and do it (not that "doing it" won't also involve a lot of sitting in front of a computer...). But doesn't that sound nice? 

So, today, as promised, I want to share a follow-up to yesterday's post on Career & Life Makeovers, this time focusing on some of the things that I've learned from my experiences. Obviously, everyone's situation is different and everyone's personality is different, so not all of these tips may apply to your situation or life, but by sharing the things that have been helpful to me, I hope to save you at least a little bit of the growing pains that I've gone through...

10 Tips for Making a BIG Career/Life Transition

1. Go part-time first: One of the biggest pieces of advice that I give everyone who is thinking of quitting his or her full-time job to pursue a personal passion is this--try to go part-time first. Why? Because it's way scarier to quit everything and suddenly have to rely fully on your own devices; Often, this leaves people looking at an entirely open day or week and feeling completely lost when having to manage all of that time. You know the saying, "If you want something done, give it to a busy person"? Same applies here, in a way. 

If you have a good relationship with your current job, you may be able to go part-time there--you never know until you ask. You may be surprised by what sort of answer you get, and might even find a way to reduce your hours enough to devote way more time and energy to your "goal job " while working, so that you can then nurture it until you're ready to quit. If your current job won't let you go part-time, look for a new part-time job. Even if it's just working a couple of hours per week at the front desk of a yoga studio or in a coffee shop, this is a great way to supplement your income and take some pressure off of yourself and your "goal job" while you make the transition.

2. Jump right in--start your new biz before quitting your old biz: If you dream of being a blogger, or photographer, or yoga teacher, don't quit your current job until you've started your new one and know you love it and/or feel that you can make it in that field. As I mentioned yesterday, this may cause you to experience a couple of crazy months, but you'll eventually reach a breaking point and by then it will be a lot less scary to say buh-bye to the day job. Trust me on this. Don't put it off until someday, start it NOW and then figure out the logistics as you get further along ;)

3. Create a rule of thumb for learning how to say "yes" and "no:" This is different for everyone, but I think it's important to set up boundaries for yourself when first deciding to do it all (work and start your "new" job or biz on the side). I actually have two rules that I've tried to live by when making scheduling/life decisions on my own (easier said than done, but possible): 

• Rule #1: If an activity, job, or class zaps more energy than it gives me (meaning I leave feeling run-down instead of inspired), I give it up. This isn't always possible right away, but over time, it can be done. A great example of this is teaching yoga classes. When I first started teaching, I taught all over town--in a number of gyms, corporate environments, private settings, and studios. Some classes I looked forward to, I left feeling uplifted, excited, like I was making a difference. Some classes (or commutes) I dreaded, I hoped they'd be canceled so I'd have a little more time in my life, I felt like I was having to "wind myself up" to teach them (you know that commercial?). Over time, I was able to weed out the classes that took more than they gave, and make more time for the classes that gave me energy and inspiration. 

• Rule #2: If one activity or job starts to inhibit my ability to create, I have to scale back or give it up. This one is very simple in theory, but a little more difficult in practice (but so important!!).

4. Find a mentor: It really, really helps to have someone (or a couple of people) to bounce your ideas off of. This can be a virtual mentor or a real-life mentor, but it should be someone who has experience in the industry that you're pursuing, or someone who has made a similar life change. Find one ASAP and connect with them!

5. If you decide to do it, really do it: Often people get excited about something new, and then let it fizzle out when things get busy. I credit almost every change that I've been able to make to really committing to the change and giving myself to the endeavor 100%. For instance, when I decided I was going to teach yoga full-time, I started teaching as much as possible, anywhere and everywhere. I wasn't picky at first, and this allowed me to gain a wide variety of experiences right away, which ultimately, made me a better teacher and allowed me to be picky later on. Similarly, when I started a blog, I decided that if I was going to do it, I needed to post almost every day. I committed, and I did this, and that allowed the blog to grow to a point where I could skip a day or two (the weekends), and not lose all my readers. You have to commit at the beginning in order to make space later on. 

6. Understand that most likely, you will make less money than you did before: No one teaches yoga, sells crafts on Etsy, blogs, or paints because it's a lucrative line of work. Teaching yoga only makes a very select number of people rich (and many of them, in turn, donate that money to those who need it more!), and the same goes for many creative endeavors and small businesses. In order to pursue your dreams, you'll most likely have to take a pay cut (especially at the beginning), and that's just a part of it. If you're quitting for the right reasons, this won't matter to you at all in the long run--but make sure you're ready to give up your daily Starbucks habit or your seasonal shopping sprees in order to pursue your dreams. It can definitely be difficult at first.

7. Do a little svadhyaya (self-study): One of my life mantras is "Wherever you go, there you are" (Jon Kabat-Zinn). If you don't deal with some of your personal issues now, they'll follow you wherever you go. For instance, I'm an overcommitter. I did this in my old life, and I do it (did it) even more in my new one--especially now that I rely on myself for my income. Until I learn how to stop overcommitting, this issue won't be resolved, no matter what passion I'm pursuing. Start to deal with your old patterns now, so that they don't continue to inhibit you when you work for yourself. I've learned this the hard way ;)

8. Find a support system or a community: Get your people involved in your transition. Tell your family, closest friends, partner,  and/or colleagues what you're doing. See a therapist or life coach. Join a group of like-minded people. Make sure you have some sort of team who is supporting you so that when you feel like you're all alone out there, you'll have someone to reach out to and someone to encourage you. This is super important. 

9. Make sure you sleep: You probably know how I feel about sleep by now, but if you don't, know this: I LOVE it. You cannot be energized, organized, excited, inspired, or creative when you are sleep deprived, and you definitely can't pursue your dreams when you're sleep walking through life. Get 8 hours of sleep per night, no matter what. Make it happen. 

10. Set attainable goals: I know this sounds like every other piece of advice you've ever been given, but I promise, it's slightly different. I think that many times when people decide to start something on their own, they expect immediate results. When it comes to making big life changes, patience is everything. Set goals for yourself so that you have something to work towards, and so that you can keep your expectations in check. For instance, if you decide to pursue teaching yoga full-time, set a goal for the number of classes that you need to be teaching per week to quit your job. Or set a goal for the number of classes per week that you need to be teaching to make a decent salary. Give yourself at least 3-4 months to get there, knowing that you'll work as hard as you can in those few months. Once you reach your deadline, check in and re-evaluate. Know what you're working towards but don't expect it to happen right away.

Have you gone through a similar life transition? If so, do you have any advice to add? If so, please share!

I hope this is helpful. You can do it!

Namaste,
Mary Catherine

*PS. All of this talk about quitting and pursuing your dreams is in NO WAY a criticism of anyone who doesn't have urges to do this or who likes their day job. If you're happy where you are, congrats! Yay! You're already living a life that feels meaningful and fulfilling, and that's what we're all trying to do here :) This advice is in response to the many requests that I've gotten for more info about "taking the leap," as lots of my readers seem to have an urge to do so. xoxo