When To Jump by Mike Lewis
I am officially a “jumper”! Woah, it has been almost three months since I made the decision to leave a safe and secure corporate job. The strangest thing of this process is that it actually feels like I had that job years ago. The one thing that almost stopped me from taking control of my life was fear, “I truly believe that the best things in life lie on the other side of fear” (p.48). Isn’t it ridiculous that most people will live their entire lives planning and talking about how they wish they could do what they love? I will admit, it is terrifying leaping into the unknown and leaving what’s comfortable. As it was mentioned in the book, “Don’t avoid jumping because of the illusion of a stability you think you have. Because that, too, someday will change” (p.52). Nothing in this life is guaranteed and there are some things that we cannot control, but deciding how we spend our time is something we can definitely control!
What have I been up to since leaving? I started working at two different jobs, one is in Silverlake, which is quite the drive from where I live-yay for podcasts, especially Oprah and Lewis Howes, you guys rock! I am also working in Thousand Oaks, which is a lot closer so that means I have more time to sleep, eat, and do anything else I want! The first week after leaving my job I freaked out, suddenly I started to panic about money and how I was going to be able to make a living. I focused so much on that stress that I started to forget why I made my decision in the first place. Not to mention, seeing many of my friends married, engaged, or with secure jobs made me second guess where I was in life. How insane is that? Comparing my success based on how much my peers are living their lives? Not cool! This quote sums it up “I knew a lot of people who were successful and miserable” (p.33). Also,I am still young, I mean I am getting close to 30, but I still have time to figure out my life before I take on more responsibilities. I am slowly learning to navigate this transition by working on improving myself and skills. This is how it all started, with reading books and having discussions with my former coworker. She also made the jump and is now discovering her own journey....Go Jen!! “It takes a village to make a jump. Plan and hustle. Hustling is often overlooked but you need to put yourself in positions where you hustle and meet people”, no matter what work you decide to do you must hustle and continue to work on improving yourself. You must also appreciate and seek out advice from other people. Jen has allowed me to see that we all have a journey and that we must live before we die, not the other way around.
If I could leave you with the biggest lesson I learned in the book it would be that “you create your own luck and that you have to put yourself in a situation where you get lucky” (p.175). Growing up my dad often told me that “there is no such thing as having too much luck, we tend to create our own luck”. I did not fully understand what my dad was trying to tell me but it is finally starting to become more clear what he meant. “Doing what you love is a reward for being willing to take that sacrifice. So leap into that hard choice. From there, you may just find your own luck” (p.213). The choices you make and the willingness to face your fears create opportunities that end up changing your life. I have experienced instances where things seem to be a “coincidence” but I think it’s that I was able to put myself in a situation where I was able to get lucky. Learning and becoming more aware of this phenomenon is new to me, I am finally starting to explore what this means and how I am going to continue to face my fears. I will leave you with this beautiful quote from the book “Don’t lose sight on why you jump. Many will ask and assure you the safe route is the best one, but you need to stay true to yourself. You will attract the people who vibe the same as you. Being your authentic self will bring your tribe. Don’t worry about not finding someone, focus on what you love and it will happen”, now go out there and face your fears!