Not another job. Not another title. Not another city. Not another country.
Look for a corner. Look for where your piece fits into the puzzle of life.
Make it a corner piece.
Yesterday the below came in from the Just Quit Survey:
“It takes a great deal of courage to step off the hamster wheel of being a slave for others, to bear everyone’s concern, pity & ideas about how things are & how things can’t be changed because that’s the way everything has been done.”
It reminded me of all the people afraid to step off the hamster wheel, even once in their lives, to find where they fit. To search for it. To have the courage to pursue it.
Just once.
It made me know that if people from all corners of the world had a place (even if it’s a corner) they could go to help them find where they fit, what they are good at, and what contribution they could make to the world, people wouldn’t be so miserable. I don’t care how many people I see who “look” happy, pretend to be happy — they aren’t.
So I’m into FIVE years of this blog, which blows my mind. It’s like my infant is now a teenager getting ready to graduate. There are over 7,000 survey responses from over 100 countries. They come in everyday by the tens, at all hours of the day and night. I read them and visualize the person behind the response. I empathize. I feel the pain. I can feel it as real as I felt it myself almost fifteen years ago. I read them and know I must do more. I MUST do more.
This year I have this aggressive step-by-step plan to develop a service. To go from blog to book to business. First, thanks to those who have purchased the book. I know you can’t ‘tell nobody’ or write an Amazon review. I get that, so thanks. I find it amazing too that folks find this blog, buy the book and money shows up in my bank account each month. A year of my life writing the book was worth it. I know that others can do this. Others can come up with something they are passionate about and make money doing it. It’s not effortless, you have to put in a lot of time and effort, but it’s a work of love instead of just work.
I envisioned a place called Corners in all the world locations that this blog reaches, staffed with people who know the struggle of those who don’t want to settle, don’t want to “do time” at a “job” for 30 years, don’t want to just pay bills until they die, don’t want to go from job-to-job-to job working for someone else. More than half of those who end up on this blog want to own or do their own thing, but just need help, a push and encouragement to get there. Many talk about their creative interests. For now this blog and this post is my start of Corners.
It’s a place where you turn the corner from hoping, wishing, and praying to doing, being, and the action it takes to design a life that’s worth living.
It’s a place you can pursue your hobbies and passions and learn about new hobbies that you can try. I can see Corners in every bookstore of the world. Gotta love bookstores!
A place where you don’t have to wonder anymore, but you can discover where you fit in.
For now, I’ll go back to my step-by-step laborious plan working on analyzing the qualitative research that I am discovering from the world-wide survey on this blog. For now…until…there are physical Corners around the world to help people discover and pursue their interests (and make money at doing it).
P.S. This is my first blog post with several links to books that I’ve read (or listened to), books in my personal library, or books that I recommend reading. Full Disclosure: It’s another revenue stream because the links are tied to the Amazon Affiliate Program.