Love Your Work or Don't Work at All (Blog)

[Savage]

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Steve Pavlina's blog:

Love Your Work or Don't Work at All

[Honeywith4bees]

I don't love my work. I work because I want the paycheck and the self esteem that I get from knowing that I don't need to be a "welfare mom". Every thing that I LOVE doing are hobbies, they wouldn't allow me to support four kids. Welfare wouldn't allow me to support four kids either. And I don't get child support. I understand that I am wasting my potential here at a job I don't love, but until my kids are grown, I don't feel like I really have a choice!

[mjukr]

"Why is it that so many people are willing to tolerate work they don’t enjoy for the sake of a paycheck? "

In the US at least, I think it's often for the sake of insurance more than a paycheck in many cases. If you've got mouths to feed and medical problems to attend to, dropping everything and chasing a dream isn't just crazy it's also irresponsible. If we had some sort of basic universal health coverage and protection, I think people would be less fearful. But everyone is scared to death and I don't blame them!

[Dan.Linehan]

Great post. Very controversial.

I think a lot of the harm we see in our society would be remedied if people would just stop working for certain industries. The weapons industry, the insurance industry, the tobacco industry, do nothing government jobs, etc.

All those people would find better, more positive things to do. Our fears keep us from growing.

[Honeywith4bees]

I work for a non profit community music school. We provide a great value to the community and have a large financial aid program for people who need it. We serve a growing population of people of all ages with mental health issues who's lives are greatly enriched through music, as well as many other people of all ages and capabilities. However, much of our budget comes from grants and donations. Over the years our base of donors is shifting. The older generation is dying and the younger generation seems to care more for the second house than to give to charitable organizations. Because of all these factors, I earn a paltry paycheck. (Not enough to buy organic fiji apples from Whole Foods, anyway!)

[Love]

I don't know about this. When is changing your work for something you love just quitting a difficult task? The work I am doing, should ideally accomplish my heart's desire: Guidance education. However, it's so hard with my kids that there are days when I actually do hate my job and do think it sucks. I thought about quitting more than once, and taking a nice job in a suburb where I might enjoy coming to work each day. Is that embodying the notion of doing what you love or the notion of quitting what's hard? How do you tell the difference?

[Raymond Fernando]

It seems like you can't put one solution into action and change the whole world. The information and vibe I seem to get from Steve's website is that we are all unique human beings. Everyone is valuable! Even though every human looks different, we are all one human race. Everyone contributing can help the world.

It feels as if every human has to question its society more in depth. Who gains from my work at (so and so) company? What if the owners of (so and so) company fund another company to make bombs to destroy your community?

Who is running things in this world. Who is profiting? Who is losing (money)? Who is controlling people? Who funds the companies that profit from societies ills? Which people gain by not funding education?

If everyone in America stops working in the jobs they don't like, who will clean our toilets? Who will supply materials to build things? Who will do the dirty jobs? What about the sudden rush of many people wanting to do the same duties in society?

What is the real function of our money (US dollar)? Who owns the Federal Reserve? How do they control the money in our society? What are the goals of the Federal Reserve?

I like to ask questions to get myself to critically think about things and take action. I don't know the answers to all the questions, but I am motivated to find out. I run into a lot of these questions (scenarios) every day, and they seem to have a huge effect on our society.

This is not really an answer to a response, but more an inquiry to get a better understanding of where I stand in a human conscious and community.

[Love]

Originally Posted by Honeywith4bees

I don't love my work. I work because I want the paycheck and the self esteem that I get from knowing that I don't need to be a "welfare mom". Every thing that I LOVE doing are hobbies, they wouldn't allow me to support four kids. Welfare wouldn't allow me to support four kids either. And I don't get child support. I understand that I am wasting my potential here at a job I don't love, but until my kids are grown, I don't feel like I really have a choice!

Hi, Honey.
I know my father lost his job and then refused to do anything that was "beneath" him. He hasn't worked since. I never appreciated the fact that he wouldn't work at the grocery store or drive a bus for the sake of his children. He didn't give my mom child support, either, and I always thought that was wrong. So I can certainly understand where you're coming from, Honey. You don't want your children's well-being to be compromised.

However, on the other hand, I wouldn't have wanted my father to be stuck at a paycheck job he hated for years on end. I would assume that that could have affected us as children as well. I guess the ideal situation would be to do your paycheck job while building the skills and/or client base to do what you want. How you would do that depends upon what your specific situation is, and what those hobbies of yours are.

At any rate, if your kids are old enough to understand the kind of work you do for them, they'll heartily appreciate your effort, Honey.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

Meet your needs by asking for hand-outs if you must

So you're saying it's better to be a moocher then to work in something you don't absolutely love?

Hmmmm. Lots of people in the world are on welfare....you're suggesting we increase that number?

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

Why is it that so many people are willing to tolerate work they don’t enjoy for the sake of a paycheck? I think it’s because most of them simply don’t know what it’s really like to be in love with their work.

Or because maybe they want to be able to stay alive and live without being moochers?

[wolfgang]

I wonder how many people up and quit after reading that. Actually someone in my work place left. The report was that she just said, "I'll be right back" and left and hasn't come back in a week.

Then I wonder if all the workers grumbling about being a bus driver or trash pick person, that if they quit and looked for handouts, as Steve suggests is better, - what kind of trash heap would we be living in?

Or I think of work of doing chores around the house. If I stopped doing the chores that I don't like doing - what would the house look like?

If you cannot work in a state of joy, don’t work at all.

What about all the Law of Attraction and IM stuff that says something about dealing with what is in front of you? If you look at your work and judge it as not worthy of your attention and joy and run away from that. You will get that lesson again until you can take care of what it is right now, whats' on your plate - no matter how you got there the way out is through it or dealing with why it's low joy for you.

Or what happened to the ideals from Steve's web site about accepting and finding joy from the inside? That it doesnt ultimately matter what you are doing, it's your approach or attitude that needs work - not jumping to the preceived greener side of the fence.

[CeciL]

Generally if you aren't a family / woman with young children or disabled you're probably not going to get much help in terms of welfare.

I would much rather have people on welfare trying to find their purpose vs the typical milkers or life give uppers. The people finding a purpose will eventually grow out of the system and even past the typical working person.

Honeywith4bees: "I don't feel like I really have a choice!" Then you don't and you will live with that until you give yourself one.

After I read the article I thought the same exact thing Wolfgang. I wonder how many people quit today. lol, best thing for em...

If anyone did or is thinking about it, just do NOT stagnate and become comfortable. You're either moving up or moving down...

[Subscreet]

I think it's interesting to consider Steve's background in the context of this post. For someone who has admittedly only held a single job as an employee once, I think he really lacks the perspective to make such a claim. I agree that people shouldn't work at jobs they absolutely hate, but working at a job you don't absolutely love is fairly benign. Handouts aren't available to everybody and depending on them while you take time to "find yourself" certainly isn't the epitome of conscious living. I'm interested in hearing how Steve, for someone who didn't hold a job throughout high school and most of college, managed to subsist during all those years.

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

He was self-employed. Right now, I'm afraid to give up my steady paycheck to pursue what I can see is more in line with my purpose, but I don't think that negates what Steve is saying. I don't think he's literally suggesting you just mooch off welfare, but that you take active steps to have a life/job you love rather than loathe. Your toxic contribution to the workplace is no better than being a beggar -- in that it's not putting any positive contribution into the world. Even though I am not ready or willing to sever the connection I have to a decent paycheck, I can certainly see what he's saying and I think it's very true.

I could be misunderstanding what Steve's saying, but I think most people who are commenting are as well. I got a really positive, empowering message from this post. I didn't once think he meant for me to live off the government while I flit about "finding myself".

[Savage]

Originally Posted by Honeywith4bees

(Not enough to buy organic fiji apples from Whole Foods, anyway!)

I just bought a 12-pack of very large organic Fuji apples for $9 at Costco. Is that still too much?

[Lola]

Anyone feel up to a trek through the convoluted maze I call a brain? Allow me to think (type?) out loud for a moment...

And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.

It strikes me that many read this and see "go do a job you love or none at all" while the part that jumps out at me is "work with love."

IMO, working with love isn't a gratification that must be delayed until you've landed your ideal dream job. (That entails something that is a frequent topic on these forums - looking outside of yourself for joy and fulfillment). I think that working with love can mean choosing to do whatever you're doing with a spirit of love.

It reminds me of a Bible verse my grandma was fond of quoting, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might," which she said meant to always do your best, be your best at whatever you're doing whether you like the task or not.

Choosing to work with love can apply to any and every job there is. Choosing to work with love can be the difference between tolerating a job because it provides a steady paycheck with great benefits that provides for your family and loving that job for the same reasons. You can choose to work with love in the position you're now in as it's funding your reach for your ideal.

Does that make sense?

And a side note about what would happen if everyone in the world up and quit their *crappy* jobs, where would we be then? I think it's important to remember that what you might consider an intolerable job, might be a source of great happiness to someone else. Even trash hauling or toilet cleaning.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by seeker5

So you're saying it's better to be a moocher then to work in something you don't absolutely love?

Hmmmm. Lots of people in the world are on welfare....you're suggesting we increase that number?



Or because maybe they want to be able to stay alive and live without being moochers?

Which is worse? Being a moocher or being a poisoner?

What would you prefer the cells of your own body do in a pinch? Request handouts from the healthy cells to stay alive... or start manufacturing toxins in order to feel needed?

[Subscreet]

I don't think he's literally suggesting you just mooch off welfare, but that you take active steps to have a life/job you love rather than loathe. Your toxic contribution to the workplace is no better than being a beggar -- in that it's not putting any positive contribution into the world.

Yeah, I guess I just extended that to jobs that are near the middle of the love/hate spectrum. In the short-term I don't think it's unacceptable to hold a job that one doesn't necessarily love.

[wolfgang]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

Which is worse? Being a moocher or being a poisoner?

What would you prefer the cells of your own body do in a pinch? Request handouts from the healthy cells to stay alive... or start releasing toxins?

This asusmes the only other choice of being a posiner is to become a moocher. What about the approach of not becoming a moocher but realizing what is making the poison from the inside. What happened to the ideas of change yourself and the world outside of you changes? Which is to say it's not a matter to run away form the cirsumstatnce that is causing poisoning but to adjust your reaction to it?

[doriette]

But I'm scared.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by Dan.Linehan

I think a lot of the harm we see in our society would be remedied if people would just stop working for certain industries. The weapons industry, the insurance industry, the tobacco industry, do nothing government jobs, etc.

All those people would find better, more positive things to do. Our fears keep us from growing.

If you're doing work you hate, I agree it's good to question whether that work needs to be done at all.

If no one wants to collect the garbage, perhaps we'd have an incentive to stop producing so much of it.

[wolfgang]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

If you're doing work you hate, I agree it's good to question whether that work needs to be done at all.

If no one wants to collect the garbage, perhaps we'd have an incentive to stop producing so much of it.

You know there are pleanty of people happy to have a job at all? And you are advocating leaving a job just because you hate it. The real issue is why the hate is there not that the job itself. It is not the job that needs changing, its the hate. It is almost like, Steve, you haven't been listening to your own blog. Are you not on the side of change yourself and the world reflects back what inner work you do? Why are you not saying: if you hate your job, find a way to change your attitude and the job will change as a reflection? And then the door to possiblitlies opens? If you leave a job all pissed off that you hate, I think there will be less doors out there to walk through - if I believe all the LoA and IM and stuff about inner self reflecting to the outer world in an SR kind of way.

[tekomino]

You can find pleasure and happiness in almost any job you take on if you care to look for it. Quiting is temporary solution to your permanent problem of not enjoying being.

The same problem will be there on another job you take on... It is not the job, its you.

[Dan.Linehan]

Holding onto a belief that everyone "needs to have a job" is a pretty huge assumption. And rather questionable thinking, considering the continued evolution of automation in the food industry and other disciplines.

[LeahWhitehorse]

Nothing is so black and white Steve.

People's lives and situations are unique to them. For some to say "I quit" tomorrow could be the best decision of their lives. For others it could be the worst. You need to be in a good place either financially or emotionally to do such a thing (preferably both).

You recommend taking 'handouts' as an alternative. If this isn't friends or family then it's the State. Here in the UK the State benefits rarely cover the full cost of ordinary bills - often they don't cover the full cost of rent. Along with that you are literally hounded to get another job as fast as possible to continue to get benefits. The merest hint that you aren't actively looking for work means your benefits can be suspended - no benefits means no heat, no light, no food and in the worst case scenario - no home. Certainly not the best space to be in when you are throwing yourself into your new career - whatever that may be.

I've been in a situation about 20 years ago where myself and a friend where scrabbling under a vending machine for enough dropped pennies to get 10p together to get enough to call a friend and ask him to bring us some food. That's how desperate we were. The last thing on my mind at that time was whether I was going to write a song - it was simply "how am I going to eat tomorrow". So I really do know what it's like to experience real poverty.

All that said, I can now live on much less than the majority of my age group does. I don't have any particular drive to buy lots of material goods so being very poor taught me the value of money in that respect.

Whilst I completely understand your sentiment and cheer on those who are in position to just quit, I also strongly suggest that people think before they act. Whilst someone can feel immediate relief from depression/anxiety because of hating their job - the enormity of new problems can send them on a spiral downwards and then they can't cope with what needs to be done - been there, done that.

When it comes down to it we all have to do what's best for us at the right time. I don't want to wait to quit my job before I start doing what I love so I do both.

My sense is that you come from the perspective of the law of attraction. My belief is with this that unconciously held strong beliefs can over-ride any positive thoughts you are actively thinking. I think it's more important to work on these first.

Lastly, I used to do spiritual work and to this day can trust my dreams more than anything else. They have always guided me with Truth - even when I didn't like the truth! My dreams showed me my business was failing and I would not survive if I didn't get a job. I was vehemently against getting a job and hadn't held a proper full-time job for over 10 years. My spiritual teachers took me on a journey in my dreams and showed me how I could change my perspective to aid this process and help me to see that I wasn't selling out or giving in. They showed me I would gain something important from it.

The first week of work I cried every night I came home, I hated it so much but I knew it had to be done and I had to trust my guides. And I'm glad I did!
I feel more free now than I was when I had every hour of every day.

I believe there will come a time in the future when I am ready to take the leap again but only when I am ready emotionally. Whilst it's not an experience I really wanted, it was one I needed - for whatever reason.

In Peaceful Disagreement
Lily x

[impaul99]

I love how Steve writes these posts. Why? Because:

He is self-employed, making money from who? People who have jobs. I would be willing to bet that 99% of the readers on here are people who work for a living, not people like Steve who run their own blog or make money passively. So by telling people to just get up and quit their jobs he does what?

a. Demonstrates to people how they don't have the kahoona's to quit their jobs, saying that they are weaker than him. A statement like "If you don’t have the strength to say, “I quit” to something you clearly don’t want, then consider building that strength sometime before you die. " can clearly make people feel weak. What does this accomplish? Subconsciously establishes Steve's authority. Maybe one day, before we die, we can be as strong as Steve.

b. Creates contraversy, sparking a lot of discussion like this one in the forums.

c. Anyone who does decide to quit and ends up succeeding will come back and thank Steve for pushing them to take action.

d. Anyone who quits and realizes that everything is now screwed up because it wasn't the job that was the problem, but the person himself, will now be a prime candidate for FREE PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, which they will find where? Here of course.

In either case, Steve wins.

It's kind of funny, because I was just reading an old post from Pro Blogger today which led me to a link to another site. I don't know who wrote the post now, but they were talking about how they didn't start getting a lot of traffic on their blog until he started to say contraversial stuff which pissed a lot of people off. When people get pissed off, they start to comment which drives traffic.

I've been writing a series of articles on my site to help people transition to doing what they love, without having to risk bankruptcy, but now I'm starting to think that I might need to get more "Dennis Rodman"'ish with my message. Maybe that's why Steve and John Chow get so much more traffic. They are s&*# disturbers.

[girtbysea]

"You’re here to shine. And if you’re not in a position where you can truly shine today, then simply up and leave. Now."

Well I agree with that. Except the last word: "Now".

That's not practical for many who need money to live and have a work-ethic that says "don't freeload".

My approach is to make a gradual change. I am building skills, experience and income in my non-day-job-time. This takes all the risk and fear out of it. It is just slower. Works for me.

Some other comments:

Perhaps the reason people react strongly to this is that they secretly know that internal voice is right?

You can turn your hobbies into money makers. I think that's the whole point. Love your hobby? then make it a business and love your work!

Finally... some people like cleaning toilets. It can be very zen.

[Dive Bomb]

I think when Steve is referring to quitting, he means you should quit the mindset that the job you hate is the only thing out there and that you have no power to change. Remember, this is personal development for smart people. It wouldn't be very smart to quit a job with no solid financial resources to find or do something else. That would be like jumping out of a plane without a parachute.

Once you make the decision to quit and go after the career choice you want, than you can work toward leaving your current situation. That may mean working at the job you 'currently' hate in order to prepare yourself, but I think your attitude would be different knowing there is light at the end of tunnel. That is what I believe Steve is getting at. You won't become a poison. You'll still do the work you have to do but you'll do it with some sort of meaning, knowing you will find a way out of there. Things aren't hopeless anymore. In the words of the joker to the thief, "there must be some kind of way out of here."

[Bruce Achterberg]

Heh, this thread is gold. I expected it would get this response after reading the article, hehe.

Originally Posted by Seeker5

So you're saying it's better to be a moocher then to work in something you don't absolutely love?

Hmmmm. Lots of people in the world are on welfare....you're suggesting we increase that number?

Steve has already replied to you, but I'll add something...


Interpreting Steve’s writing effectively
_________________________________________


This article (ie. the one we're discussing) is an example of Steve doing what he does best. He's not directly trying to tell you what to do, although for a lot of people it would certainly not hurt to take Steve's advice. What Steve is really doing is trying to shake you up a bit, get people out of an apathetic, fear based state, and raise their awareness so that they can start making decisions consciously.

If you read every article Steve writes as something you must listen to, I'm pretty sure you'd go nuts. That doesn't mean that Steve's advice is bad. Rather, what it does mean is that largely you aren't Steve, and you don't have the same knowledge as Steve, the same background, experience, preferences, goals, dreams, etc. I once fell into the trap of "listening to Steve because he must be right", but not even he advocates that, and I too soon learned it was a dead end. To quote Steve in a Q&A he did:

Why should I believe anything you say?

I don’t recommend that you do.

Learning when and how to trust yourself
_________________________________________


I've since developed a new paradigm for Steve's writing. Now I see Steve as someone who sets a brilliant example -- an example that greatly inspires me -- but I always check in with my “internal compass” before I charge ahead with something Steve’s said or recommended. If the specific info he provides is useful relative to me, I'll make use of it, but if not, I simply leave it be and continue along my path, even if I'm not 100% clear if I'm on the right path or where I am heading.

Learning to trust myself enough to give myself the benefit of the doubt when I feel what I'm doing is right has been tremendously valuable, and while I don't have much external success, I can't help but feel as if all the internal resources I've been cultivating will soon begin to reflect in the external world.

You see you can follow Steve's advice all you want, but if you're merely following it instead of consciously deciding whether or not it's right for you, you're doing exactly what Steve is attempting to stop you from doing.

Want proof? Well, if you do something that Steve recommends with the belief that, "yes, Steve's right, I should listen to him" when deep down you know that you're really just following the advice to cop out of facing the difficult aspects of your life (whether they be external circumstances or internal emotions, thoughts, feelings, etc), if you follow his advice and hit a snag (whether it's big, small, or potentially life threatening), saying, "but I was just listening to Steve! He said this is what I should do!!!" will provide you no solace.

The only solace you will get is when you learn to start trusting yourself and making decisions that are congruent with who you are deep down, because when you do that, I think you’ll find that even if you do make mistakes, you knew you were doing your very best.

What if you weren’t doing your best? Well then you get to learn that you weren’t staying as true to yourself as you thought you were, and while such lessons can often be painful/uncomfortable, they are important “battle scars” that teach you that staying true to yourself is not just an option, but a necessity and something that you don’t want to ever settle on. Do try your best to avoid “flesh wounds” wherever possible, though. Those smart pretty bad.


Bringing this down to earth – how I interpreted Steve’s article
_________________________________________


I always talk about very high level, general concepts that aren’t very concrete when I make posts, so I’ll share how Steve’s article influenced me to give some further depth to what I’ve already written.

The main message I see behind Steve’s article is not the specific words or advice, but the message of “living the way you yearn to live is possible, and you deserve to do whatever it takes to make it so”. While Steve gives a specific call to action in the article (ie. “quit your job, go do what you love and survive on handouts if you have to), I see past his extremely good and highly effective strategy of taking a heavily polarised stance to raise awareness. Steve’s specific advice is something I considered only briefly, momentarily checking in with my internal compass to say, “should I quit my job, or would that be off course for me?”.

It didn’t take long for me to know what was right for me as I’ve developed a good sense for what resonates with my true self and my desires/preference, and while I decided not to take Steve’s advice (at least not immediately), I did take something away from the article.

You see I'm in a situation where I do about 85% of what I love to do (which includes figuring out what I love to do and working towards it), 15% of work and other stuff that I don't love to do. Steve’s article gave me just that little bit more of reinforcement when it comes to believing in myself instead of listening to the pity party around me that is so eager to have me join them, and it also strengthens my resolve when it comes to making my website, something I’ve recently decided to go ahead with even though I’m very unclear of exactly what to do or what I’ll even use it for specifically. The whole experience is so attractive to me that I don’t care about the details, and I just want to go ahead with it and enjoy exploring the deliciousness of the manifestation. (Apparently I’ve been listening to too much Abraham-Hicks. )

Internally I can feel bad-feeling emotional as thoughts of “is this the right decision? Maybe I should listen to Steve...”, and while I used to indulge that voice, it lead to nothing but dead-ends. Only yesterday I succumbed to that voice, indulging it and it’s trickery, paying no attention to my state of awareness and the negative emotions that were signaling I was moving upstream and off course. But I’ve gone down that route enough to know where it leads, and when I recognised what I was doing, I snapped myself out of it, regained my composure by listening to some empowering, positive personal development audio, and pushing on ahead with a new resolve.

If it was up to that voice, right now I’d probably still be trying to figure out what to do with my website, reacting out of fear of what people will think of me, doubting my abilities, and buying into the limiting belief that I don’t have anything of value to offer, which will become a reality if that’s what I focus on. But I choose to be inspired by imaginary wonders rather then imaginary fears. Just talking about it, I feel the strong pull that compels me to fall into the black hole of disempowerment, but that is the voice of fear, doubt, and disbelief in yourself, and it runs contrary to the very essence of your true self.


What do you want to experience: ego or awareness?
_________________________________________


Sure, what the voice of fear asks may be an intelligent question, but unfortunately it’s packaged in a toxic parcel that is designed to draw you into its trap with it’s sirens song of “reason” and “intelligence” and pull you back out of a state of awareness and into a state of fear that is designed to perpetuate and protect a mental sense of self that has no real existence in reality. The intelligent external package is just bait that covers something much more sinister; something that is designed to take control of you without you even knowing it.

If you are following the path of a lightworker (ie. being true to your “best self”), this is not the route you want to take. Awareness is essential. It is the sword that cuts through the quagmire of doubt, disbelief, and fear, and gives you the power to forge ahead and carve out your own path in life.


Recommended reading
_________________________________________

• StevePavlina.com - Trust Yourself Not the Experts
• StevePavlina.com - What will other people think of you?

[Bruce Achterberg]

Originally Posted by Dive Bomb

I think when Steve is referring to quitting, he means you should quit the mindset that the job you hate is the only thing out there and that you have no power to change. Remember, this is personal development for smart people. It wouldn't be very smart to quit a job with no solid financial resources to find or do something else. That would be like jumping out of a plane without a parachute.

Once you make the decision to quit and go after the career choice you want, than you can work toward leaving your current situation. That may mean working at the job you 'currently' hate in order to prepare yourself, but I think your attitude would be different knowing there is light at the end of tunnel. That is what I believe Steve is getting at. You won't become a poison. You'll still do the work you have to do but you'll do it with some sort of meaning, knowing you will find a way out of there. Things aren't hopeless anymore. In the words of the joker to the thief, "there must be some kind of way out of here."

This post I quoted above is what you should be reading if you didn't read my lengthy rambling in the post above this one. Dive Bomb managed to say pretty much exactly what I was saying... just in 2 paragraphs instead of 16.

Dive Bomb: A++ post, would read again.

[Brigid]

First, IMPAUL...........your breakdown of Steves triumphs, and actually the triumphs of any human spirit in this 'win-win' layout has me chuckling the chuckle of 'i hear truth.' Any way you look at the suggestions or arguments, its all about choices and personal development..its a life long journey.

INterestingly enough, I quit my job two months ago. There are many details and circumstances involved in the decision, but suffice to say, I had to make a choice. It was the hardest work I had ever done, It was brutal work taken on because of false promises by the employer. It took me months to pull it together, I did it well, it didn't pay me enough to cover the bills, but I stayed, until one day.....after months of insomnia, and practicing ACIM, they offered me an opportunity to quit by 'demoting me'.....beleive me, there was no lower rung at this job than the one I was already on, but due to their "family business", sis was moving in so someone had to be "demoted". So I quit. Called their game, negotiated a small severance package because they knew I was on to their game..and left.

Now, I really beleived I was gong to start my own company in the next 3 weeks. I had no savings. I set myself up to get er going...I had it all in place.....and guess what? I discovered I had a fear in me. Of success or failure, I still don't know, but I froze in my tracks, took my focus off my goals and plans, and saw only the bills piling up and doom and gloom.............. adn found myself putting all my time and energy into sending out resumes and have spent the last 5 weeks, working at two nine dollar an hour jobs 7 days a week...and I am too tired to work on my dream.........oh yeah, I was also forced by my FEAR to move in with my 89 year old failing parents.....guess where all my energy is now.....oh yeah, I am a single parent as well.


So what am I saying???? I think I made the right decision,quitting. but I panicked!! I let all those lines from the world, all the common sense fear based stuff I have been raised with, into my mind. HAd I kept my focus, kept my positive energy and moved with it.............I think it would have been a different story.

Now, after chickening out half way into the hen house, I still can't pay the bills and I have twice as much responsibiilty!! But really, you know, our ultimate responsibility is to OURSELVES first...
Next time, when that 'fear' comes into me, driven by the voices of the masses sense of right and wrong, and responsible and irresponsible...I am going to keep looking and moving forward, toward my dream, to the beat of my own drummer..... And I won't look back lest I turn into a final pillar of salt.


sorry for the length of this rant.
I hope it was worth it to someone.

Brigid