Comments on: What’s Your Balance?

By: mike

mike — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:31:19 +0000

hey i use to enjoy ur blog… what happen you havnt posted anything since february?

By: Laura

Laura — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 09:57:47 +0000

Hi, nice post. I can relate to a lot of the concepts you spoke about…mostly thanks to horrible retail jobs while I was studying so that I can now do what I love to do as a job.

I was quite lucky to fall into a course, and eventually a job, that I love to do without actually putting too much thought into it. I just picked subjects that I loved and went with it. Potentially a recipe for disaster but I’ve come out the other side all the better for it.

Sometimes you just gotta go with your heart, and this is often easier to do the younger you are, because you have less to lose.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:52:17 +0000

Nice post, and I have preached a lot of your concepts myself. I was lucky enough to build myself a ‘day job’ that only requires a few hours of work a week, so I can get on with doing other things I actually want to do.

By: George Huff

George Huff — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:08:05 +0000

@philthelove – I think there is a “chip-away” strategy you can leverage, versus “all-in.” Ultimately it comes to energy, do you have the energy to chip-away? Your choices you make with free time will eventually snowball into one big choice of career. Good luck with that!

@simulacra09 – thanks man, had no idea it was his birthday. Should have renamed it /happy birthday MJ!

By: simulacra09

simulacra09 — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:02:20 +0000

Hey – nice one. Ironic that it’s Michael Jordan’s birthday today…

By: philthelove

philthelove — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 23:54:53 +0000

My narcissistic side really enjoyed this post (yay for pictures of me!), but the other sides of me did, too. More frequently I’ve been hearing this type of advice, and I can’t help but feel like the universe is speaking to me. I’m definitely one of those in the “do-what-you-have-to-do-so-you-can-do-what-you-want-to-do-in-your-free-time” group. I’ve been internally deliberating exactly how I can break free to join the other side, and through my deliberation arrived at two conclusions:

(Dear Journal,)

1) Although I feel that I’m a creative and passionate person, for some reason I haven’t been able to decide “what it is that I WANT to do”. This is nothing new…it’s a question that has plagued me since I was first asked as an 18 year old college freshman being told to pick a major, and like so many people who have been unable to answer, I’ve found my self in a job that while not misery-inducing, is far from inspiring or fulfilling on the more cerebral level that I seek. The one thing encouraging me here, is that I’m even having these thoughts at all. So many people become complacent and don’t examine their path. So, I guess I’m hoping that as long as the introspection continues, an answer will come.

2) I have “the fear”. Didn’t think I did, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that what I’m dealing with is essentially fear. Mine, though, is a specific type: Financial Loss of Control. When you bury yourself in debt and other financial obligations and are living just within your means, how do you make a complete career change and start at the bottom again? Hard work and sacrifice, I guess, but it’s daunting. Any suggestions?

Interestingly enough, now having written these things down, I can see that list items one and two are intricately woven. If I’m going to go all-in and make moves toward a career change at the ripe old age of 28, I guess I want to be certain that those moves are the right ones, and the gravity of the decision is so heavy that it’s keeping me from being clearly inspired. What to do?