How I Broke Free From My Day Job To Live A Life Of Freedom
Friend, let me be the first one to say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a day job or a career. I for one am grateful for people who are called to serve in law enforcement, nursing, our judicial system, the waiter who takes my order so I can enjoy a night out with my family and the barista at the coffee shop when I don’t have time to make my own so you will find zero negativity here about a j.o.b. because there is no shame to be found in making a decent living and earning a paycheck to provide for yourself and your family. I too once had a full-time job and I was grateful to have it so don’t ever listen to some of the hyped up and frankly B.S. marketing out there that having a job means you are “broke minded”.
The path I chose for my life was not a result of not being grateful or not feeling worthy to work outside the home, it was because there was something deep down inside of me that was stirring for something more. I wanted something of my own. I wanted to be my own boss, set my own hours, work where I wanted when I wanted to and have the freedom to travel with my husband and two boys.
It wasn’t that my job wasn’t good enough, it was because I had goals for myself that I knew I couldn’t reach with my day job. I didn’t have the upfront capital to invest in a brick and mortar shop and honestly, being tied down to a physical store with overhead like rent and employee salaries didn’t exactly fit my be-the-boss-of-me I had planned. Then I was introduced to the world of network marketing and over the last 8 years, that path has turned into a full-time 5-figure income that has allowed me to travel and experience opportunities I never would have punching a time clock.
If you are like me and find yourself wanting to break free from a j.o.b., I hope to inspire you with these steps on how you can create your own plan and accomplish your own goals.
1. Use Where You Are To Your Advantage
Maybe you are working a full-time job that you love, maybe you despise it. Either way, you will have to stop focusing on the negative aspects of your situation because it’s poison for your mind and attitude. Instead of saying “I hate having to get up every day and go to a job I hate” this is an opportunity for you to start working on growing a positive mindset. “I get to go to a job that brings in the income I need to start building my business"
Building a business whether you are wanting to work it full time or you are trying to build a side hustle to create an additional stream of income, you need cash flow to help you do that. Start seeing your job as a blessing and use it to your advantage.
2. Create A Plan
Yes friend, you need a plan. Maybe it’s your personality to wing it and fly by the seat of your pants and that’s great if that works for your everyday life. As a free spirit myself I totally get it but transitioning from a full-time income where you can depend on a paycheck to building a business where your monetary results are 100% directly tied to the effort you put into it is not for the faint of heart. You need to create a plan and set specific goals for yourself so you know what you are working towards.
For example:
• Setting a date to go part-time in your job or to fire your boss altogether.
• Setting realistic goals to help you get there like how much income you need to be bringing in per month.
• Creating a savings plan to start setting aside your income to build a reserve so you aren’t stressed when you do quit your job.
• Talking to your spouse and family so you have their support.
• Praying about it and seeking God’s wisdom to help guide you.
Write down your goals and create an action plan. It’s helpful to break down your goals and plan into 90-day increments so you know exactly what you need to achieve over a shorter period of time. The path to full-time business ownership is not a quick one (despite what you see and hear on social media). It will take time, consistency, determination and perseverance but when you believe in yourself and in who God created you to be anything is possible!
3. Personal Development
This is huge. Investing in your self-growth is the true path to success. You can’t expect to show up exactly like you do for your job and magically grow into an entrepreneur. You will need to invest in yourself so you can learn and master new skill sets like marketing, leadership and recruiting. This will also take some sacrifice on your part. Maybe you enjoy binge-watching Netflix every night. While you definitely will need to still enjoy the things you love and have downtime, you will also have to discipline yourself to redirect some of that time into personal growth and accomplishing your goals.
Don’t let this process overwhelm but embrace that growth will be an ongoing journey that you will never reach the end of. There is always something new to learn to help you be a better version of you. Start by looking at the plan and goals you created. What do you need to focus on right now over the next 90 days? Maybe you have money mindset issues that you need to work on so you can be more confident in the relationship you have with money and success. Start there and set aside 2-3 nights per week where you read a blog post on how to overcome limiting beliefs about money, spending time journaling or dive into a book on how to change your money mindset.
4. Surround Yourself With A Like-Minded Community
We all have people in our lives that we love dearly like that childhood friend Nancy who can be a little on the pessimistic side and uncle Bob who is wise but so frugal you would think he doesn’t have a penny to his name but they aren’t the best people to start bouncing out of the box business growing ideas off of.
As you pursue a path to break free from your job and live the life of freedom you envision, you will need to start surrounding yourself with a different way of thinking group of people who are on the same path. People who have accomplished their goals and can give you the inspiration to do the same. People who are experiencing the same highs and lows that this journey comes with, who can understand and empathize without trying to bring you down. Who aren’t afraid to give you some tough love advice like it’s okay to lick your wounds but it’s time to dust yourself off and get back at it.
Need a place to start? Join The Bossy Beauty Group! We would love to welcome and support you.
5. Take A Leap Of Faith And Build Your Wings On The Way Down
All the planning and personal growth in the world won’t help you reach your goals if you never take the action. At some point you will have to put your plan into motion and be okay with figuring it out as you go. Look at it this way, when you first start a job, you have skill sets and experience that qualifies you for the job but you still have to learn the specifics of the position you were hired for. There is a certain amount of on-the-job-training that happens until you feel comfortable doing your job. You don’t tell the person who hired you “well I will need to go home and try to learn all I can first before getting started”.
Entrepreneurship is no different. You will need to accept that failing and trying again is part of the road to success. So dig deep and find your brave to take that leap of faith believing that you will build your wings on the way down. Yes it will be scary. Yes it will push your comfort zone. Yes it will challenge you but that doesn’t make it impossible.
I pray these tips from my own experience will inspire you to GO FOR IT and break free from your job and live life by your design. God believes in you and so do I!
Terri Willingham is a free-spirited entrepreneur who enjoys the country life on a Texas ranch with her husband Joe and amazing two boys. She is grounded in faith and family with a deep passion for spreading joy and empowering other women through her Bossy Beauty community to embrace and believe in their own inner free spirit. Learn more HERE