I want to quit my job but...

A lot of people come to me saying: “I want to quit my job and start doing what I love, but we live in the real world and that world is not perfect, besides my family depends on me and who would hire me in a time of financial downturn” and the list of excuses is seasonal; it could include political situations, bankrupting industries, age, gender and whatever comes to your mind.

My usual response is a question: “Besides thinking of quitting your job, what are the steps that you are taking in order to be closer to what you love?” and the answer is often a disappointing look on my questioner’s face.

When you want to implement a change in your life, it doesn’t come suddenly and luck has nothing to do with it; it is about being prepared to move into the next step; Preparation meeting opportunity… that is luck, opportunity without preparation is called missing out and not bad luck.

Being proactive is about choosing what you want to achieve instead of letting the society, your family, or your boss choose on your behalf, it is about taking control of your life and start acting on it. The below 4 steps will help you keep on track in your self-discovery journey.

1- Discover your values:

Before deciding on what you want to do, you have to understand who you are, what do you believe in, and what are the important things for you. Once you come up with your values, put them to the test and make sure that they are not only there because they sound good but because those are your genuine values.

2- Differentiate between a hobby and a career:

When you find your driving force and decide on what you want to be doing, make sure that you differentiate hobbies from careers. Anything that you love and doesn’t make you any money is a hobby and any other thing that you love and provides enough money to cover up your needs is a career.

3- Take it one step at a time:

If you want to jump in the new venture without preparation, there is a big chance that you will be quitting at the beginning. Think about your long term goals, divide the goals into yearly chunks and then schedule them weekly. Doing that, will ensure a smooth transition from your current state to your desired state.

4- Be persistent

The common observed behavior between Sir Richard Branson, Nicolas Hayek, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Oprah is that they didn’t quit at the first difficult challenge, and as a matter of fact the ride was not easy for them. With the recurring persistence, they have managed to keep on track and achieved what they were meant to be achieving.

So next time you think of a change, look for what you can do and what you can influence and not what concerns you.

Camil Khoury is the Chief Vision Officer of ideas group and author of “Do what you Love, Love what you do” www.ideasgrp.com