The Dream Share Project

Posted by Chip -

I've decided to quit my job to fully pursue the Dream Share project and some of my other passions. Making this decision was extremely difficult and stressful - I am giving up a salary, benefits, & health care to pursue something that I truly believe in (but something that is not guaranteed to be a success). However, when I gave my two weeks notice it was one of the most liberating and heart-lifting experiences in my life. My boss was fully supportive of my efforts and identified with my desire to chase my dreams. I imagine that many other people struggle with decisions like this and I wanted to write a bit about the whole experience and my decision making process in the hope that some of it may be helpful to others." "

Several months ago, I noticed that I had lost all passion for my job. My heart just wasn't in it. I was going through the motions and no longer really cared about any of it. I found myself complaining a lot, which is really out of character for me. Eventually, I realized that it does not do much good to complain about a job unless you clearly define what you want out of a job. Therefore I put together a list of my Career Must-Haves based on an article I found on GreenLightJobs.com:

1-Creativity: The ability to work in an environment that will allow me to be creative and stretch myself to learn and explore new ways of working and creating.

2-Collaboration: Working within an environment of peers and colleagues where we can share ideas and co-create in a meaningful way.

3-Flexibility: Having the ability to work flexible hours so long as the work gets done and is on time.

4- Autonomy: Knowing that others are confident in my work to allow me to be free to work without having someone micro-manage my every move.

5- Pay: Knowing that I am compensated for my work fairly and equitably without having to constantly prove my worth or value to the company or justify my pay against my peers

6-Advancement: Knowing that I am considered a valuable employee and that I have opportunity to advance in my career through promotion, pay, perks, etc

7-Education: Knowing I am encouraged and able to take classes, training and seminars to help further my career and learning so that I am considered a valuable addition to the team.

8-Acknowledgment: Having my peers and superiors openly acknowledge my accomplishments and encourage me with positive feedback.

9-Stability: Having a stable and steady work environment without too much change or uncertainty about reporting relationships, job duties, changing priorities, etc.

10-Communication: Working for a company that has open communication both internal and external and values the views and opinions, suggestions and advice from it's employees.

I put this list together based on what I believed would make me happy and satisfied in a work environment. Maybe you want to try making a list like this too?

As I looked at each item in my list, I realized that my current job does not fully satisfy any of the "must-have" items on my list. I feel like the expectations I've set forth in this list are fairly reasonable and that a job that is right for me should be able to at least satisfy some of them. The fact that hardly any of them are being met, meant that it was time for a change.

I've found that a great exercise when making a decisions like this is to step back from it all and look at the situation from a broader perspective. When I did this, I saw that in the big picture, my current workplace place was not really helping me get to where I wanted to be. I had this nagging feeling that life is passing me by; that I have so much else to do and I've been ignoring the call. Every single second in this life is precious. It can all be over in the blink of an eye. It is a waste of the precious gift of time to do anything less than something you are totally in love with; something you are entirely passionate about. If time is so short and fleeting, why spend it doing something you don't like? Why waste one single second when you know you could be doing better? Instead, throw yourself completely into something that you care about with all of your heart.

I know that I can do something important with the time that is given to me. I know you can too. We all have so many ideas to help the world and we just need the drive to take that leap and pursue our dreams to the fullest; to see them through. If you take the leap, you may find that you grow wings half way through your fall.

When thinking about taking the leap, think it through and listen to advice from others to get as many different.perspectives as possible. Weigh all of your options, but do not let the opinions of others sway you too much. You are the only one who can decide what is the right choice for your future - your heart will tell you what is right for you. Think about a future with your current job vs a future without your current job and then pay attention to how each scenario makes you feel.

As I was about to decide to quite, I realized that my heart was fully ready to move on but the only thing holding me back was money. Then one day it hit me: I think that while money can be important, all of the money in the world could never pay me enough to give up on my dreams.

Therefore, I am going to really go for it with Dream Share and being an entrepreneur. Maybe I will fail, but failing in the attempt to do something you love sounds infinitely more fulfilling that never trying at all. You miss %100 of the shots you don't take.

-Chip