Yesterday I was offered the largest consulting contract of my career. I turned it down because it’s not the work I want to do anymore. Was that the right choice? Definitely. Did it hurt to let it go? Absolutely. I was referred by a former client to organize the annual meeting of a private equity firm. I could have played that role and done the work with no problem, but I’m committed to writing full-time and that gig would take me away from my dream. This is the tough work of commitment, the work no one tells us about. Focus and commitment are not a one and done deal. They requirement constant vigilance; temptation to veer off-course is everywhere. The opportunities you don’t take will be scooped up by other people who want and need them. Do your work. Walk your road.
Sometimes the universe tests your commitment before it decides to back you. It’ll bet on you only after you bet on yourself.
I had just finished a call with my friend, Sheldon, about my decision to carve my own career path when an email popped into my inbox. The startup that offered me a job that I declined emailed me with a new offer that is exactly the role I asked for during the interview process. After I turned down the previous offer, I made the decision to build my own dreams rather build someone else’s. This offer tested my resolve. Without batting an eye, I thanked the startup and told them about my choice to double down on my own ideas and projects. The gut always knows and for the first time, I listened to it unequivocally.
Clarity about our own abilities and the value of our time radically simplifies our decision process. I know the road ahead of me will be rocky. There will be bumps, bangs, and bruises, and I will learn from every single one of them. I’ll be stronger, braver, and more capable for taking this path. I know that my future is safest in my own two hands. Yours is, too. Believe it. Your time is finite; your potential isn’t. Bet on you.
“If you don’t build your dream, someone else will hire you to help them build theirs.” ― Dhirubhai Ambani, Against All Odds: A Story of Courage, Perseverance and Hope
I’ve decided to stop consulting. When I left my corporate job at American Express over 2 years ago, I started my consulting firm, Chasing Down the Muse, to provide my business know-how to help nonprofits and for-profit companies build a better world and to formalize my freelance writing and yoga teaching. The writing and teaching has been phenomenal. The consulting has been a mixed bag. Increasingly, I grew frustrated because I spent most of my time working on my clients’ dreams and not my own.
After much deliberation, I’m pivoting. I’ve decided to complete my consulting work with my current clients and to not take on any additional ones. I did well financially as a consultant, but it’s not the best use of my passions. (For the record, I think consulting is a fine gig; it’s just not the right one for me.) I will continue and expand my freelance writing, content development, voice over work, and teaching. I also plan to continue to advise, partner with, and invest in young businesses.
This pivot is scary, though I’ve learned that the best way to overcome any fear is to do exactly the thing that frightens me. Once we do what frightens us, we’re free from the fear. The best thing I’ve done in the past two years is write, direct, and produce my play, Sing After Storms, at New York City’s Thespis Theater Festival. It reminded me how much I love taking an original idea from concept to launch with a creative, collaborative group of people. I want to get back to this kind of work full-time so I’m taking the leap again and going after exactly the career I want, fear and all!
In the coming days, I’ll be writing about and ramping up each of my new projects. I can’t wait to share the details with you. Are you taking a big leap, too? I’d love to hear about it, and support it!
I wrote the draft of the blog post below over a week before I received an offer from the company I reference. My intuition knew the answer to the offer before I even got it. And I listened. Lesson learned – the gut knows. And so do our dreams.
“I have an amazing career opportunity in front of me: a dream job at a well-funded tech startup with a lot of great people in a city I enjoy that focuses on pet health. Rather, it could look amazing if I really dress it up, see it as a stepping stone only, and believe that within the mess there is opportunity. I’ve taken this action and perspective before, and I found that within the mess lies more mess.
Some people at this startup call it “nimble” and put down larger companies (like the ones I’ve worked for and with) for being “rigid” because the startup is disorganized, lacks charismatic leadership, and doesn’t have an inspiring vision. There’s a lot of finger-pointing between the tech and business teams, and their response to key questions on pricing and go-to-market strategy is “I don’t know. That decision was made before I got here.” In other words, they don’t understand what they’re selling, how it’s priced, or how / why people are going to buy it.
In a senior position, I could drive change and bring order to the chaos. I’ll likely be offered a mid-tier role charged with cleaning up a mess that is growing exponentially. With two months before launch, they still don’t agree on requirements, have no marketing plan, and no customer experience or servicing set-up. Their thought process is that the pet industry is huge (and at $50 billion annually, they’re right) and that if they build it, people will buy it. The problem is no one there has any idea what “it” actually is.
I had been tossing around all this info in my mind, trying to keep a positive frame of mind, and wrestling through ways I could make this work. Then I had a dream that my main contact there quit, moved to San Francisco because all of her friends lived there, and we ended the conversation with “goodbye and let’s stay in touch.” I already know my answer to the offer; this isn’t a dream job. It’s a nightmare dressed up like a dream. So I will politely and professionally decline the role. The paycheck would have been nice, but the headache would have been exhausting from beginning to end. I already have my dream job. I work for me on projects I love and care about. Now I have to get to work on turning those dreams into a healthy paycheck so I can invest in more dreams. That’s the job I want, and have.”
“It’s funny how some distance makes everything seem small…I didn’t know what I could do until I tried.” -Elsa from Frozen
I’ve been away from New York City on an extended holiday to spend time with my family and figure out how I want the rest of my year to take shape. 3 weeks did the trick; I woke up certain and clear of my next few steps. They involve a lot of learning, a bit of traveling, and a boatload of writing, creating, and building. After months of limbo, it feels amazing to have arrived here more sure than ever that this is the way forward for me. Stick around – this is going to be a fun adventure!
A young man wasn’t sure what the next step in his career should be. He went to his mentor to get advice and the mentor said only this, “If you only have a year left of your life to work, what work would you choose to do?” The young man quit his job the next day, moved, and started a new career doing exactly what he wanted to do. Not what others thought he should do, not what he thought he should do. He did what he wanted, what spoke to the very deepest part of his heart. If what you’re doing right now doesn’t make the fibers of your being sing, if you aren’t at least steadily working toward that place, you’re wasting your time. And that’s not something you can afford. Make a change. Take this man’s mentor as your own. Do the work you were meant to do.
No matter what happens in my life, I plan to hustle as long as I have breath. It has nothing to do with being unhappy with what I have. If anything it’s because I’m so grateful for what I have. Hustling keeps me humble. It reminds me that what I have can evaporate in the blink of an eye. The hustle keeps me active and diligent. The hustle shows me that no matter how far I go, there’s always more road ahead.
I tried for a long time to keep my steady paycheck while also progressing on my writing and other creative projects. With a plan B always at the ready, I could only get so far. To really progress, I needed to let go of the comfy ledge I was teetering on for a long time. The path to progress was straight through the eye of discomfort, and though it wasn’t easy I’m glad I didn’t flinch.
I love The Huffington Post‘s Good News section. Yesterday I read this article about a teacher turned artist who gave up her successful and steady career in education to follow her paintbrush and her heart. It lifted me up and I bet it will lift you up, too. Enjoy! Meet Layla Fanucci.
Don’t worry about your competition. It’s not what you do but how you do it that will set you apart. We all have a different method to our madness, so let your own unique brand of madness take flight.
Christa Avampato 