003: How to Chase a Dream without Quitting Your Job [Podcast]
Ever struggled to chase a dream without flaking out on your friends? Or wanted to pursue a passion but you were worried about getting fired? Welcome to the tension.
Ever struggled to chase a dream without flaking out on your friends? Or wanted to pursue a passion but you were worried about getting fired? Welcome to the tension.
Photo Credit: kevinschoenmakers via Compfight cc
It's one thing to talk about quitting your job to go do what you love and quite another to walk out the process in real life.
In this episode of the Portfolio Life podcast, I debunk the myths of pursuing a passion and share what it really takes.
I also answer listener questions about how to hustle on a side project while still holding down a day job, why work-life balance is a myth, and what I advocate instead.
Plus some more fun stuff...
Click to listen
[powerpress]
How to chase a dream without quitting
Pablo Ellsworth asked this question on my Facebook page:
How do you hustle when you have a family or full-time job?
Having held down a full-time job for two years while chasing a dream on the side, I can empathize with this struggle. It can feel downright impossible to balance your work life with your family while pursuing a passion. But it is possible.
Here's how:
Acknowledge the season you're in. There's a difference between a 55-year-old empty-nester building a business and a young entrepreneur trying to raise a family. Wherever you are, don't compare what you're trying to do with what someone else has already done. Give yourself grace and acknowledge the season of life you're in.
Adjust your mindset. Most people think that if they could balance everything — work, family, personal time — then it would all work out. Let me be the bearer of bad news: balance is a myth. Sometimes, you will work more than you play or spend more time at the office than at the dinner table. These things happen. What's important is to have a series of buckets you regularly fill without giving too much attention to just one thing.
Do the work. Don't make your greatest supporters your worst enemies. In other words, build a community of people to come alongside in the journey. Make sure you practice in public. If you're a writer, start a blog. If a musician, take up street performing. Do something generous that will get your work noticed and force you to grow.
How do you actually do this? I mean, all of this? Slowly and intentionally.
Frequency is more important than quantity. Small steps add up to something substantial over time. Put the hours in, trust the process, and the results will come... eventually.
Remember that life is a process of managing tension. That's what a portfolio life is all about: not focusing too much on one thing and recognizing your many gifts and opportunities.
Just don't forget to breathe every once in a while.
Resources
Wrecked (my first trade book)
Got a question?
In this episode of the podcast, we also talked about why you need an email list, what it takes to build one, and how to get started with email marketing (which is the best way to reach more people, in my experience).
Over the next several months, I intend to answer more questions from listeners, so if you have any send me an email with "Podcast Question" in the subject line.
And if you are enjoying the podcast so far, please be so kind as to leave a review on iTunes (which helps more people find out about it).
What tensions are you currently managing? Share in the comments.