Death by slow kill: Stuck in a rut? Fight back you candy-ass!

Way to go Van Saint. You just called your readers a candy-ass.

Not true. NOT all the readers. JUST the candy-asses.

Truth is, I should've posted this like several hours ago but decided to play hooky instead and hang out with the family this morning. Gorgeous weather, nice breeze, no stinking allergies, strong coffee - perfect morning for a walk and actually using that patio furniture outside. How can I pass that up?

So anyway, back to the current topic. Being stuck in a rut. What kind of rut? You name it - creative, personal, business, financial, mental, career, relationship. But for the sake of this post, I'm talking about career/financial/creative rut.

In choosing the direction for this blog, I've reflected quite a bit on my situation as well as the people around me (coworkers, family, friends, acquaintances). I would say there's 2 distinct patterns that emerged, better yet, 2 groups of people.

1) Those who currently live in a fulfilled and satisfied state and 2) those who are stuck in their comfort zone - in perpetual routine mode - not really going forward but not exactly falling back either. They're just there. In limbo land. Something's missing in their life which they've figured out but now they're unsure about what to do about it.

A quick side story to set up my point.
So I have this friend who's not happy with her job, her pay, misses doing creative stuff. She desperately wants to get back to making art and trying to make money on the side doing just that and knowing that I've spent a few years freelancing she asked me what I thought.

So I told her what I thought, probably not what she wanted to hear but it's the truth. Working at home had its perks especially doing something you enjoy and love, but that love turned into a chore I dreaded to do with very tight deadlines, extremely long hours, a few very unreasonably demanding clients and an income stream that was feast or famine at times. In saying that, I told her she can absolutely pull it off and I'm willing to lend her a hand with setting up online stuff, marketing, web and print graphics, etc. But it's gonna be a lot of long hours and she has to fully commit to it or not bother at all. Best time to start is while she has a job so there's no stress in creating income. Right now, she's keeping the job and making some noise on her down time. But she's doing something about it.

I think that's a main ingredient (if not THE main ingredient)  for any budding entrepreneurs. You better go all in and fully commit.

Sure, doing what you love is fine and dandy but guess what? That love dwindles after a client delays payment or you've been working 14 hours straight or your significant other is hating your guts cos he or she has seen you less since you've worked at home than when you worked a 9-5. Do what you love turns into what the fuck am I doing?

I'm all for doing what you love but be prepared because it's on!!!

Them's fighting words Van Saint. Step off before you get jacked up.

Settle down. I'm getting to the good stuff.

Death by slow kill -
is a phrase I use in describing that state of mind where a person just goes about their business because it's easy regardless of how much they would rather be doing something else. You can postpone it, deny it, make excuses for it, drown it with your TV - but if you'd rather be somewhere else, doing something else...there's no shaking that away. It's gonna stay there and keep you up at night and pester you throughout the day and the day after that and the day after that.

Don't be a placeholder for the person you really want to be.

There's a lot of self-evaluation involved in making difficult choices and that part is up to you really.

A few things to keep in mind when you make a career switch or decide to start your own business AKA lessons I've learned in the last couple of months.

Identify what's holding you back.  Can't remedy something if you don't know what the problem is.

You better go all in. That unwavering vision of your end goal and beyond will help fuel you during those difficult times when you start questioning your love for the game. Because at that point your love becomes a business and you have to treat it as such.

Plan of attack. You need to map out the necessary steps you need to take to get to the level you want to be in. For example - Keep your day job but dedicate an hour or two before and after work for your pursuit. Keep it simple, specific and give yourself a realistic deadline.

Know how much you can handle. Don't spread yourself thin. If you know you can only handle this much workload then don't take on twice as much your capacity. Just cos you're an amazing cook and a master of propaganda doesn't mean you should start that catering side hustle and go solo as a marketing consultant. Pick one and follow through. If you're some kind of genetically altered freak and/or have superhuman powers with the ability to get by on only 3 hours of sleep and juggle tasks like nobody's business then by all means, do it.

Create a work schedule. Yep, have a system that works. You may have to feel it out in the beginning but determine when and where you're most productive and work during those peak hours. (For me, it's very early in the morning or very late at night)

Get used to failing. It's trial and error. Learn as much as you can, test it out for yourself, and reassess your game plan. Chances are, you will fail. So fail and cope with it. Curl up in a corner and cry. Eat a pint of ice cream. Throw a bitch fit on the interwebs. Whatever. Learn to adapt, let it go and move on.

Have fun for fuck's sake. I choose to do things that are fun and enjoyable to me. If it's not fun, I just drop it. What's the point of creating sites or blogging or starting an online business if you're not getting any enjoyment out of it? I mean seriously, if you're gonna bitch and moan about it then just keep your current job and relax at night or weekends.

So there. My lessons learned, I'm passing it on to you. Apply and remix as needed.
Unless you want to be a candy-ass, that is.

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Nerd lair check-up
Things I've changed:
Banner - I've changed the banner for the site with my main focus included. It's something I've had trouble identifying in the past but is now in full-focus. Elevate your passion. In doing so, I've decided to place all my other posts (fiction, doodles, etc.) in The Hooligans section only. That way, my main blog (the one viewable by non-Hooligan members) is not cluttered and focused on my current goals. Any previous posts will stay there though. =)
Tags - This was a major pain the ass. And I'm still whittling it down.
Closed comments - If you like what you read, I'd much rather have you share it with others for now.

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