“I really want to quit my job, but I just can’t afford it.”

“I need more savings”                 

“I would go it alone but I need more money”

I know the feeling. I said all those things and more.

Don’t get me wrong. Money is important.   Everyone needs it. And most of us would rather have more cash than less of it. I’ll also bet that most of you, at least in one time of your life, had not got enough dough to do what you really wanted to do. 

You’ve got bills to pay, mouths to feed, car to run, secret stash of sweets to maintain (can you get addicted to fruit gums? ) and countless other essentials that quickly add up to  more than you would like to think about.

So when some jerk like me comes around telling you to quit your job and follow your heart, you want to drop everything you’re doing and punch me in the face. Sometimes it ain’t that easy/ practical you know.

I know.

But I also know other things:

 I know what it’s like to want for more.

I know what it’s like to quit a well-paying job with no prospects, a poorly formulated plan, and not enough in savings.

I also know what it’s like to be alright, regardless of all the forces against me, regardless of the odds. I know what it takes to make it happen.

Overcome the obstacles

Surprise surprise. It’s the obstacles in our mind that are the hardest to overcome. Our belief set if you will. These are the only real barriers to achieving the life you want. Everything else you can figure out easily as long as your head is in the right place.

What are you standards? What do you value? Truly.

So much of what determines where you place your priorities depends on what you value. Whatever you value will be what’s most important to you. And that’s where you will pay most attention. What is that? Your job? You bank balance? Your family?

What if you made happiness your top priority? How would your life change if your priority was always on your mental and emotional well-being? How would your decisions change? What would you start doing? What would you stop doing?

Easy to say. Pretty f*****g hard to do. But stick with it. It’s worth it.

Basically it is about forming a habit. After while decisions based on your new set of values become automatic.

Look at it another way.

Think of someone who has had a near death experience. Or who is terminally ill and has months to live.  All of a sudden the things they thought were so important before feel empty and meaningless.

What really changed? Nothing. Only their attitude towards life changed and that’s everything.

Why is it that some people are perfectly happy living in a hut on a beach,  scraping by selling shells and fish while home-schooling their three kids,  while others would be miserable in anything less than an air conditioned apartment , a TV in every room and their own private room? They have two different standards. You can get whatever you want by raising or lowering yours by changing what you value most in life.

How do you get this? Put your happiness and wellbeing before everything. That means put it before ambition, before money and especially before what others will think. Even before the desires of your family and friends.

Don’t just dip your toes! Jump full body first. Make a splash as you go for it!

Don’t go half in. Don’t keep one foot in the door just in case. That implies you have doubts about what you’re doing. Even if you don’t think so, your subconscious might feel differently. You need to be all in. Believe what you are doing completely.

Burn bridges if you want so you can’t turn back.

Truly believing works.

Being uncomfortable.

Like I said before. It won’t be easy. You’ll worry, question the sanity of you decision. You may be scared. This is normal.  Ride it out.  Get comfortable with the uncomfortable decisions. It is worth it.

 Then the magic happens. You finally begin what you always wanted to do. The priorities of your life are clear. You will probably be living exactly the same lifestyle as you had before. But having left so much shit behind, it’s for a fraction of the cost!

The fact of the matter is that the happier you are, the less you need to buy things that will make you happy.

Look at it this way:  If I cut 30% off your income and gave you 30% more time to do what you loved, you would be just fine.

So go for it today. Jump fully in. submerge yourself completely. The higher the stakes, the more likely we are to grow. So don’t be afraid if you don’t yet see the way to the other side – you won’t be able to prevent yourself from making it. And I know you will. After all it’s you.