Inspiration with a touch of action to help you on your way to your dream life.
Maybe you hate your job, or your boss, or heck, both can go to hell! Whatever the reason, making the jump from the "corporate" 9-5 world to consulting is Scary with a capital S.
These four tips were originally meant for the consultant wannabes. Inspiration with a touch of action to help you on your way to your dream life.
But really, these tips are applicable whether you're slowly dying in your current gig or just looking to be a better, more badass version of your current self...
1. Set Some Dang Goals
Without goals, we’re basically just sacks of organs drifting through life, bouncing around and reacting to the opportunities that float our way.
We wake up, do some things well, do some things not so well, go to bed and then wake up and do it all over again the next day.
Goals though, goals are the magic sauce.
In order to make a realistic game plan for how to get to where you want to go, you got to know where you’re going.
Goals help you decipher the profitable actions from the resource wasters.
My goals help me decide which projects I take and those I say, "No, thank you."
They stop me from buying my 100th pair of jeans and help me justify a bottle of wine - "it's a business expense!"
Make your goals HUGE and make them something that gets you out of bed in the morning.
2. Start Small & Get Hustlin’, Fool
On a scale of 1 being scaredy cat and 10 being Alex Honnold, I’m probably sitting at like a 7. I don’t necessarily cannonball right into the pool but I’m not a toe dipper-inner either. If the idea of quitting your 9-5 scares the shit out of you, good. That’s some hard core, uncomfortable, scary shit man! So instead of trust falling and breaking a hip, start small.
I was unbelievably lucky to have been introduced to a boutique consulting business owner who allowed me to dip my toesies in the “freelance” waters before I went out and bought a dang wetsuit.
Don’t have a pimp lady knocking on your door? Here are two ideas to get hustlin’:
- Join Upwork:
Upwork is a site where freelancers can find one-off project work or longer term gigs. You can get a profile up and running in less than 10 minutes and bid on some jobs in the time it takes to cook bacon. There are literally millions of companies and solopreneurs looking for just about anything. What’s better is that most of them are short terms projects. So you can get your hustle on after work (or during, we won't tell), make a little extra cash AND start building up your confidence for getting the F out of your sucky ass 9-5 job. (Note: If you are someone who lives in a place where the cost of living is super cheap, and therefore your rates are lower, you're going to have better luck here. In my experience, people are under charging like a mo-fo on this platform which hurts people with a lot of experience (read: higher rates). Plus, they take a large cut of the mulla which, I get it, it's a business, but smh.)
- Ask your friends (shamelessly and often):
The universe will provide if you put out the vibe.
As soon as I made the switch to the consulting world and let people know, folks came out of the woodworks. This person needed a website, that person needed a blogger, this other person needed a brand logo and identity.
It was as if the universe was like “Guuuuurl, what took you so long. I’m just going to leave all these opportunities right here…”
You just need to start somewhere and then when you start knocking things out of the park, your 2 on the risk scale will slowly inch towards climbing El Capitan, barefoot.
3. Get Inspired by Fellow Doers & Dreamers
You’ve got some goals, you’re putting out the vibe, now you’ve got to keep your frequency HIGH.
Here are my favorite ways to get inspired:
- Read "You are a Badass"
I had Jen Sincero's "You are a Badass" for 3 years before I read it. For THREE YEARS it acted as a prop on my desk. I bought it because I liked the title (hehe). But then when I was down in the dumps about my job and life, I read it and 2 weeks later I quit my job.
Tip:
Can't fathom an entire book? Snag the daily calendar for a quick dose of badass super juice!
- Listen to a Podcast
NPR's How I Built This: Love me some Guy Raz. Hear from some of the biggest doers and dreamers in the game from inspiring brands like Whole Foods, Lululemon, SoulCycle, and Peloton.
Second Life: This chick interviews badass women who started down one path (maybe a lawyer) and then and said "PLOT TWIST!" and started their own company, brand, or category. Check out her interview with CEO of Outdoor Voices, Ty Haney. She annoyed the crap out of me initially, but then I determined it was solely due to my jealousy and rage of not thinking of the idea first.
Side Hustle School: These 10-20 minute mini-sodes are stories of people who started hustling and fell into (sometimes) brilliant gigs. It’s a good place to just see how there’s literally a million ways to make a buck in this world if you just try!
4. Find Your People
During this process you are going to doubt yourself like crazy. "I can't do this! I don’t know what the F I'm doing and I am a complete fraud!"
This is when your tribe comes in clutch. They’ll tell you the opposite of whatever bogus claim you’ve made about yourself and remind you that you’ve totally got this.
Find your people, your cheerleaders, and hold on to them for dear life.
******
I don't know much about much but I can tell you this: I did these 4 things and now I'm famous and rich and my life is perfect.
OK, not even close BUT I'm my own boss, I actually love what I do, and I have achieved a work/life balance I never thought possible.
It's uncomfortable, it's hard, and it's totally worth it. So be brave, start small, and kick 'em in the balls!
About the Author: Founder. Dreamer. Master of None. It's been 9 years since Jules has been paying off her Masters Degree in Social Work—zero of which have involved doing actual Social Work. Instead, she's built a career decoding the puzzle that is the internet and digital marketing. Experienced. Humble. Often burned by auto-correct. Jules created Rolling Hills Media so she could write her own rules and to help brands do the same.