Client attraction. Business growth. Pretty profits.
Sucker Punched (Who Do You Want To Become?)
When growing up we are often asked by parents, adult relatives and family friends what we want to do when we finish school. Another favourite question is what we want to become.
I always found these questions easy to answer. I wanted to be a pathologist, then a lawyer, followed by a psychologist. Never an accountant or nurse. Secretly I actually wanted to start my own business and make it wildly successful but that of course didn’t fit the obligatory path of get a good job, work hard to pay the mortgage, blah, blah, blah.
Do you remember what you wanted to be? Can you remember how exciting it was to dream about the things you’d do? How you would change the world?
Once school ended university called. Next came the graduate banking job. Not exactly the original plan but safe and well paid.
Until I was sucker punched by boredom.
My clients were fantastic and colleagues a great bunch to work with; but the data entry that consumed each day felt like being repetitively king hit. Knocking the spirit out of a once vibrant and idea-filled chick.
Do you ever feel like this? Please tell me you know what I’m talking about.
I’d love to say I learned my lesson there and then but sometimes we are a bit slow on the uptake. A few more sucker punching jobs passed until finally I found one I loved. It satisfies to a reasonable extent what I want to do.
But here’s the knock out left hook.
Source: Reuters
Knowing and doing what you want isn’t enough.
You have to know who you want to become. What would make you proud to claim your life? (I have to thank Ash Ambirge for teaching me this in ‘You Don’t Need A Job, You Need Guts‘).**
For me, it’s this:
I want to help every single business I come into contact with improve. It can be as massive or minute an improvement possible but it has to happen AND I want it to support the lifestyle I seek. Combining these two elements gives me a life I’m proud to call my own as well as helps business owners to achieve their goals.
My challenge to you.
Identify WHO you want to become. What life would make you proud? The answer will guide you in setting goals for next year and all that follow. Take action.
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Commit by sharing it in the comments. Let’s hold each other accountable!
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Thank you so much for this post.
I remember back to when I was certain what I wanted to be when I grew up. Once I started down that path, however, I HATED it! It was awful. I dreaded going every single day.
I feel so fortunate I had the courage to jump ship without having a plan. Okay, maybe it wasn’t the most brilliant move, but it was better than hating my life. I did have a job within a couple weeks, starting down a different path.
That path also wasn’t what I wanted, but it taught me skills that got me to the next thing.
I like the idea of thinking in terms of what I want to become. That is so much more liberating and flexible than the tight confines of a job. So long as I am moving in that direction, I’m becoming a better me.
Hi Tammy,
So glad you enjoyed this post! Congratulations on having the confidence to jump ships until you got on the path you sought. Confidence held me back for such a long time. Now I think, damn it I’m worth it. I hope people reading the post will enjoy the same revelation.
Thanks so much for your comment!
Caylie
Caylie, great post. I wrote a similar one recently about dusting off my cowboy boots and recovering my creativity. I got sucker punched by my own business and it took me too long to admit it and move on. Now that I have moved on, it has positively impacted not just my life but my whole family!
Oh Minette, I look forward to reading your post. I’m sure many readers can relate to that.
Good on you for recognising the issue and doing something about it!
Great post! I am working on my business plan for next year. I am working on becoming the best person that a beginner scrapbooker can find!
Beth, that’s brilliant! Good on you for being clear on who you want to become. I’d love to hear more about your goals once you’ve set them.
Great post Caylie! A real kick in the butt! I’ve always said that I wanted to be an artist, even since I was itty bitty. But I was also always told I could never make a living at it, and I think I came to believe it. Now, it’s really hard to shake out of that paradigm. I’ve tried going so many different directions and I’m always lead back to art. I know that’s what I want to do, but I now I need to figure out how to make it work financially. I’m starting…starting…the think it can be done. 🙂 Love your wit Caylie…you had me chuckling with that last ** comment.
Hey Kim!
I totally understand where you are coming from and loved the honesty of your recent post. Family and friends used to ridicule my business ideas as a child and teenager. As adults we both know what is true in our hearts but it can be hard to shake negativity of old. All I can say is let’s support each other and kick butt together 🙂
Caylie
Great post Caylie. I’m still in that frustrating position of still working an unenjoyable day job while trying to start a creative business. I completly agree with Kimberly. I too was brought up with the belief that art wasn’t something you could do for a living (unless you were a rare but very lucky one). This belief lead me choose the comercial side of art – graphic design. Although I have been fortunate to have success in this field, it’s just not me. Guess I’m just going to just keep pushing my more creative pursuits harder! With the belief that I have the determination to be one of the lucky ones. (not always an easy task!)
Hey Belinda,
You create the most awesome works of art. Don’t ever doubt that or your ability to make a living from it. It’s a matter of matching your beautiful creations with the right audience and pricing what you are worth. (Remember Megan Auman’s talk at ABC?)
Perhaps yourself and Kim could pair up and support each other. Keep each other accountable and believing in your success.
Actually, how would you feel about a mastermind group focused on taking you from part time to full time? Let me know what you think!
Cheers,
Caylie
Thank you Caylie, and your probably right, it’s about hitting your target audience. I would be very interested in a mastermind group focusing on turning making into a fulltime job, if only to bond with other struggling part time creatives!