Back when I was working a traditional job, it would take three to six months before I got bored with the job position. I am the type of person that embraces change and cringes at the thought of doing the same thing day in and day out for the rest of my life. I applaud those individuals who been working in the same position two or more years. My hat is off to them!
There does come a time in most people’s lives, especially the Generation Y group where they get bored of their jobs and desire change. This is what I like to think of as the mid-life crisis that the Boomer Generation experienced. Since times have drastically changed growing up for Gen Y, attention spans are shorter and we’d like to believe that we can accomplish more in a shorter period of time than our parents and grandparents.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with thinking this way in my opinion. Look at all the information we have at our fingertips and the technology to get things done in record time. Why should we slave away behind a cubicle wall, doing work that no longer fulfills us? Why? So we can retire on a quarter of our salary and saving accounts that generate less interest than inflation rates. Sorry, I’ll have to pass on that option and encourage Gen X & Gen Y alike to live the lifestyle they dream of. The tools, resources and knowledge is available to anyone with a burning desire, creativity, perseverance, tenacity and courage to live a lifestyle by their design.
4 Steps to Re-creating Your Life
Before you start on any journey it would be a good ideal to know where you are starting. If you had the most accurate map known to man with a clearly placed ‘X‘ indicating where the gold is located, you would still have a tough time finding the gold if you don’t know where you are located on the map.
The first step is to take inventory of your skills and experiences; determine what you are passionate about; know what your current financial state is looking like and any other relevant information that will assist you along this new journey of creating a new lifestyle.
Step two is to begin with the end in mind. In Stephen Covey’s book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, he speaks in detail about this exercise and here is my personal cliff notes version.
Picture your funeral (bare with me on this one). Look around and see who is all there. Imagine everyone that is giving an eulogy and what you’d like to be said about you and your accomplishments. This may sound silly, but notice that eulogy aren’t about how many cars you had in the driveway or what kind of bling you had hanging off your body. Be real with yourself and dig deep. This is a powerful exercise if taken seriously.
Step three is to determine your options. Basically, I see people having two options; 1) they can find another job that will suite them until they get bored again, or 2) start their own business. Search for my post one a few business models that can be started inexpensively.
Step four is to take action! Ideals are worthless unless you take action on them. Do anything no matter how small or insignificant it may seem to you. Getting the ball rolling on your new lifestyle is the key. Read/listen to Think & Grow Rich. Chapter 10 of that book the author speaks about masterminds. Seek out some people who are doing what you’d like to and see if you can pick their brains. Maybe they have a blog or books that you can pick up. The key is to take action now!
You are never too old or too young to begin to create the lifestyle of your dreams. Remember that the life we have lived up to this point is the results of our past thoughts, words and deeds. Change those today and your future will have to change. It’s the law!