How to quit your job and live your dream life
I recently listened to a podcast featuring a guy named Dickie Bush. I don’t follow him or, even still, know anything much about him. But he had a few decent takes that I want to remember.
Note: this whole conversation rests on the premise that you’re building some kind of side business (how else would you expect to quit your day job?) but it also applies in a general sense.
Be careful of your inputs
It’s easy to consume content but you need to separate the education from the entertainment. Podcasts, YouTube, Instagram, the news, TV. Be conscious of the media you put in your brain. If you’re consuming to learn something, then take notes and define how you will put those new lessons into practice. If you don’t take the time to do that, if you consume, then say “cool!” and simply move on, you’re gaining nothing. In those cases you’re being entertained not educated. And that’s all fine, but don’t fool yourself into thinking that because you listened to a podcast about screenwriting that you’re automatically a better screenwriter.
Ask yourself:
Is this information going to help me create more?
Will this information help me remove a bottleneck in my business or personal life?
Learn something with intention and then define how you are going to apply it to your own situation. Defining the purpose for the new knowledge is the most important part.
Specific action: If the title of a piece of content includes a dollar amount, skip it. Ex: “Start a $1million dollar business in a weekend.”
It’s going to be 10x harder than you currently think
I’m quoting this one directly because it resonates as a blind-spot I have: “the amount of effort and intensity it takes to take something from zero to enough to quit your full-time job is likely 10 times more than you currently think and that is going to mean sacrificing things now for the ability to unlock them in the future”
Stop asking: Why would anyone want to hear from me?
First, you’re underestimating the scale of the internet. A tiny fraction of that many people can still be a significant number. In that vastness there are people who will connect with what you have to say.
Second, you’re underestimating the scale and value of your own experience. Every decision, action, and hour of your life you’ve spent getting to where you are now can be hugely valuable for other people
Third, you rule. Like, totally rule!
Don’t quite your job until your side projects earn 2x your current paycheck
I don’t totally agree with this but I’m putting it down because of the sentiment and a few follow up points. The gist is: you need to prove to yourself that you’re capable of focusing on the work required right now. If you can’t focus and dedicate time in a way that builds something in small increments, having more time will only reveal your inefficiencies. More time does not ensure more results.
If you quit your job you’ll have more time to fill with non-essential things. When time is limited you think differently and focus only on things that will move you forward based on your goals
People think having more time will change everything, but it's just going to expose and amplify your bad behaviors. So if you are inefficient and not energized to do enough of the work now, when you have the full day to work on that thing you're still not going to be able to do what you think you're going to.
Other points
There are only two problems you can have with making progress, either:
1: You don’t know what you need to do.
Fix: educate yourself and figure out what action comes next
2. You know what you need to do but are NOT doing it.
This is more than likely your biggest problem. We all generally know what we should be doing. But doing those things is hard.
Fix: do the thing!!
Having limited time forces you (at least it should) to focus your efforts on what matters the most to moving you forward: “I have 3 hours before I have to go sell my soul again, what am I going to work on that’s going to help me escape this?”
Things you can always share that will be helpful to people:
Share what you know so that people 2-years behind you on the same journey can learn from you. Where did you go wrong? Where did you get it right? What surprises did you encounter?
People will be grateful that you’re distilling your knowledge and sharing it with them
You may have encountered similar problems as other people, but your personal experience with those problems is unique to you.
TBH: I’m a little embarrassed to put a link to the video podcast because this video itself goes against a lot of advice in the text above:
Don’t consume content with titles making financial claims
Beware “productivity” content
Stop consuming content and start doing the things you should be working on instead
Anyway, it was an overall good conversation with some helpful advice. So that’s worth remembering.