Opportunity Knocks: Creative Ways to Make a Living Without A Job What's Keeping You Up at Night? By Valerie Young |  | | Valerie and her rescue dog,
"Cokie Roberts" | The thing that keeps me up at night is not the economy. Don’t get me wrong. My retirement savings have taken the same hit as everyone else’s has. But in worrisome times, I look to successful people to guide me and, financially anyway, who is more successful than billionaire Warren Buffet? Buffet’s rule is, "Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful." In other words, when the time is ripe to increase the odds of success, successful people are ready for it. I am of the firm belief that the down economy actually makes this the ideal time to put a small side business into motion. It’s a simple matter of not putting all of your eggs in one basket. When you have another profit center plate spinning, you are one step closer to taking control of your life instead of leaving it to the whims of the employment picture. The thing that keeps me awake at night is wondering how can I help overworked, under-fulfilled people, stressed out people (like you?) to change course as fast as possible. In other words, what exactly will it take to really accelerate your dream of being able to quit your job and get a life? It's hard for me to believe sometimes that it has been 13 years since I successfully traded in my 90-mile-a-day commute to my job in corporate America for my sunny home office with a view. I can't tell you what a difference it makes being able to get up when you want to, to take vacations when you need to, and to have total control over your life and your time. Take my word for it – once you've reached "the other side" as Barbara Winter likes to put it, you never go back. Changing course always comes down to finding 6 key things: Money, time, courage, information, ideas, and support. The good news is that they are all manageable, if you know where to look. I know because I’ve been studying the process of changing course for over a decade now. I understand your worries because I lived them. In fact, I spent seven years as an employee fretting about where I would find the money, time, and confidence to be my own boss. What finally moved me to action was a painful wake up call. My mother spent the last nine years and seven months of her life toiling at her job as a second shift custodian – a job she took solely to get vested for the retirement benefits. When she died unexpectedly of a heart attack at age 61, just five months before she was to retire, it totally changed how I viewed time (we can choose how we use it), money (things work out), and life (it’s all too short). What Will Be the Driving Force That Gets You To Change Course? Only you can answer that question. I know what the propelling force was for me. Losing my mother at such a young age made me realize that I had spent far too much time agonizing endlessly about what might happen if I changed course and not nearly enough time worrying about what would happen if I DIDN’T. In other words, instead of being afraid of the “unknown risks” that adventure can bring, I should have been equally worried about the “known risks.” The known risk of staying stuck was spending another 25 years dealing with alarm clocks, commuter traffic, office politics, and spending five days a week living the spirit numbing reality that, as it’s been said, “the truth is rarely told between the hours of 9-to-5.” “The big break for me,” quipped Jon Stewart of the Daily Show, “was deciding that this is my life.” I know what he means. For me, the propelling force was finally getting – and I mean really “getting” – that I only had one life to live. And that by not at least trying to create the life I really wanted, in all likelihood I would die with my music still in me. Now THAT was scary! The American editor and author Christopher Morley got it right when he said, “There is only one success... to be able to spend your life in your own way, and not to give others absurd maddening claims upon it.” There are a lot of things to worry about these days. I only wish that more people would worry about what it might look like to actually spend your life “in your own way.” And then do start doing something about it. What can you do this week to be guided less by your fears and more by your dreams? How can you begin to focus less on “what is” and more on “what could be”? The New Year is almost upon us. You may already be thinking about how you want 2009 to be different… how you can make 2009 YOUR YEAR. So, what promise can you make yourself to make that happen? Do You Have 1 Minute to Help Me to Help You to Change Course? Since starting this newsletter in 1995, I've amassed an incredible amount of knowledge, skills, and information about what it takes to create a richer more balanced life doing work you truly love. The real question is what do YOU need to change course? Amazingly, January will mark the 200th issue of the Changing Course Newsletter. I’m already planning all kinds of neat ways to celebrate with you so stay tuned for some big surprises in January. For now, what better time to hear from my 22,000-plus change seekers about how I can better help you reach your goals than this big 200th anniversary. To make it incredibly easy for you to share your thoughts, ideas, and questions, I’ve put together a super short survey about what you need to change course and about ways to make this newsletter even better. Here’s the link:ChangingCourseSurvey.com Judith Campbell said, "When your heart speaks, take good notes." Thanks in advance for sharing your heartfelt thoughts with me. I promise to take good notes! Remember to click the link below to send me your comments. I really appreciate you helping me to better help you! ChangingCourseSurvey.com Add Your Two Cents Want to comment on this article? Click here to hop over to the Changing Course Blog! About the Author "Profiting From Your Passions" expert Valerie Young abandoned her corporate cubicle to become the Dreamer in Residence at ChangingCourse.com, a career change website for people who want be their own boss and work at what they love. Her career tips have been cited in Kiplinger's, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today Weekend, Woman's Day, and elsewhere and on-line at MSN, CareerBuilder, and iVillage.com. An expert on the Impostor Syndrome, Valerie has spoken to over 30k people at such diverse organizations as Chrysler, Boeing, Intel, Harvard University, and American Women in Radio and Television and is the author of an upcoming book on the subject with Crown Publishing. Go to ChangingCourse.com to get your free report at Changing Course on how you can make a career change that lets you work from home or wherever you like. To read more articles about how to work at what you love without a job go to ChangingCourse.com/articles Follow Valerie Online  - www.ValerieYoungTwitter.com 
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