Since I lost my job I’ve done stuff I never thought I would have, or could have done. This is all stuff I’ve wanted to do but never got around to doing it.
Tonight I was thinking about WHY I have done this stuff since I lost my job, and not before (when I was working). I think I’ve figured it out: When I was working I was “Jason the ________.” Whether it was IT Manager, CIO, VP, General Manager… whatever my title was at the time, I identified myself with that title.
IT Managers, CIOs VPs and General Managers spent time, at work and outside fo work, thinking about work. You don’t take much time to pursue personal endeavors. The people I knew in these positions did stuff with their personal time that would advance their careers – not necessarily stuff they could have been passionate about.
I say “could have been passionate about” because I didn’t know I would have been passionate about stuff outside of my career back then.
But tonight something happened. I got the craziest idea while watching a play with my kids. It was so crazy I’m not even going to share what it was (yet), but as I was at the play I started planning out how I would execute on this crazy idea.
It has nothing to do with my current work. It is so far from my current work that people who know me would scratch their heads in wonder (“is he that crazy?”).
And that’s when I started thinking about it – four years ago I would NOT have pursued this. I was tied up being General Manager, worried about board meetings and revenue goals. I was trapped.
Today, I choose what I spend my time on. I am not bound by anything (kind of)… Since I started working for myself I’ve realized I can do what I want.
I still have to figure out how to pay the bills, of course, but I’m not as tied down as I was when I had a job.
Think about that power of that – whether you have a job, are unemployed, own your own business, or whatever, can you – DO YOU – pursue things that you really want to?
I hope you do.
I didn’t for years.
Now I do. And I love the freedom. It’s been there all the time, I just never recognized it before.
