Why I quit my day job
by Pace on September 13th, 2008 @ 1:07 pm in
Usual Error Project
Yes, I did follow through, although it was more like three hours instead of one hour because my boss was on a really long phone call. It went about as well as could be expected. My boss and coworkers were supportive, even though some of them didn’t really seem to get it.
In case you were hungry for a little more background on why I decided to quit, this post is for you. It seemed like I had the perfect setup, right? Working half time, nice hours, not a lot of pressure, fun and interesting problems to solve, mad amounts of cash? Sounds like a dream job, right? Well, it was my dream job, in fact, for about 6 years. Then I pulled my own rug out from under myself — I changed, and the job stayed the same.
The trigger that caused me to finally up and do it was this post by my friend Marty. Marty is a very talented artist who just quit his job to focus on his art 100%. He considered doing a half time thing as well, but he decided not to, because of the awesomeness that would come from putting his whole heart into it. So I said to myself, “All these things that Marty is saying, you know they apply to you too, right?” and eventually I admitted that yes, they do. So we did a bunch of crazy budgeting and math and business planning and visualization and took the leap. Usual Error Project all the way, baby!
“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back — Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.” –Goethe
 Have you read our book, The Usual Error? It teaches you how to solve communication issues with compassion and understanding, how to get rid of needless conflict from your life, how to make your relationships smoother, and how to generally be happier. Also, the illustrations are super cool. (:You can buy it on Amazon or read it for free online. |
9 Comments!
#2 Posted by 
Tanya on September 14th, 2008 7:00 am | link
Agreed. Completely splavorofablimatimous.
I love ending with “Begin it now”…. beauty.
#3 Posted by 
Naomi Dunford on September 15th, 2008 8:23 pm | link
Absolutely AWESOME! Good for you!
I think the half time thing doesn’t work the way people think it will. The creative energy and dynamism that comes from your whole heart can’t be overstated. It’s like “the sum of the whole is greater than the sum of the parts”. Giving something 100% of you seems to have a greater impact than giving it twice 50%. (Does that even make sense? Cause it totally makes sense in my head.)
Glad I found your blog… yay!
#4 Posted by 
Pace on September 16th, 2008 9:31 am | link
@Megan: Thanks muchly for your splavorofablimatimous comment! (:
@Tanya: That’s one of my favorite quotes of all time. So inspiring, and so true.
@Naomi: Thanks! And yes, that TOTALLY makes sense to me too. And I’m glad I found your blog too! You’re a good writer, and the things you write about are very useful to me. Also, that one post about your son was my favorite of all. It made me tear up like whoa.
#5 Posted by Naomi Dunford on September 16th, 2008 2:25 pm | link
Thank you! It makes me cry every time I read it too, and I’ve read it about fifty times. How pathetic am I!?
#6 Posted by Pace on September 16th, 2008 2:38 pm | link
You’re a pathetically awesome mom, that’s what. (:
#7 Posted by 
Vasa on September 16th, 2008 4:46 pm | link
Goethe believed in the Law of Attraction? Whaddya know.
#8 Posted by Personal Development for Smart People review: Steve Pavlina made me cry | Pace and Kyeli on October 3rd, 2008 10:11 pm | link
[...] Didn’t I just say that myself? Why, I do believe I did, and I may have even quoted Goethe, don’t ya [...]
#9 Posted by 2008 | Pace and Kyeli on November 2nd, 2008 6:17 pm | link
[...] all because Steve Pavlina believed in us. In Pace’s Ice Breaker speech at Toastmasters, she announced that she would be quitting her day job. We played lots of Spore and learned the importance of taking 5-minute breaks. We continued noodling [...]
#1 Posted by
Megan M. on September 13th, 2008 7:12 pm | link
Thiiiiis is an aaaawesome post. The quote is just the whipped cream. Man, that’s fantastic. This is just … I require new English language words to convey my meaning. I choose: SPLAVOROFABLIMATIMOUS!!
Hey, that’s a good one. Splavorofablimatimous. Gonna give supercalifragilisticexpialidocious a run for its money.