Today’s shared story comes from California-based designer Gina Morrison who took the leap and set up her own business selling hair jewellery and bridal accessories.
I always thought a paycheck would be enough. Then I realised I wanted a bigger paycheck. That is what I thought I needed. The big paycheck would make any boring job worth it because I would have a lot of money, right?
Wrong. No matter how big the paycheck, I found that if I still had to drag myself to the hated job, then the money wasn’t enough.
This is where I was at a year ago. I had a great paycheck and a low stress, steady job. I knew a lot of people looking for work who would have jumped at the chance to have my job and this made me feel selfish.
I felt bad for complaining about the job and I felt bad for wanting something more. For the first time in my life, I realised that “something more” which I wanted wasn’t about money.
Sure, I would love a lot of money because money gives you options. And options are a nice thing to have. However, somewhere in between a college degree and a few mindless jobs I figured out that I needed a purpose.
A purpose won’t buy me a new laptop or allow me to fly first-class, but it does more. A purpose won’t allow me to sleep. It creates an excitement that makes every day a day I want to live.
About a year ago I decided that to leave behind the string of mind numbing jobs that promised no more than money. Due to my day job boredom, I dreamt up a little company – Acute Designs – and started it as a hobby.
After a week of my new hobby, I realised this needed to be my career.
I worked nights and weekends – creating, saving, and scheming for the right time to break free from my day job. Somewhere along the line I realised that there would never be a perfect time. I would never be making full time money working part time on my company.
I just had to take the plunge.
So, I set my last day of work for four days before my 30th birthday. I felt like it was as close to perfect as any time would ever be. It was a new decade in my life and a new chapter in my career.
Every single day since I left my job has been fun or exciting or stressful. I will confess that I do miss the money and sometimes I find myself stressing over it, but I don’t miss the sinking feeling I would get as Sunday night closed in and Monday morning loomed. I know that the money will come and I have learned to live with less {which is an amazing lesson to learn at any age!}.
For once in my life I never have a day I dread. I am not working for the weekend and I don’t have a case of the “Mondays.” I used to live for the weekends and now I live for each day. No big paycheck could have ever given me that.
[All images: ae martin photography]
To find out more about Gina visit her website Acute Designs, her blog or her Etsy shop, or connect via Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
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