One of my best friends who I’ve known since Junior High School was visiting this past weekend and we were talking about happiness. She said that she was “content”, but not really happy. So I asked a few more questions and discovered that since all 3 of her adult children were now moved out on their own, she was now by herself and was perhaps feeling a void in her life. My friend said all she does is work, visit her grandchildren and help her dad take care of her mother who has health problems. We got into a conversation about her work as an Addictions Counselor (which she has done for over 20 years) and she agreed that it wasn’t her “passion”, but it was a “good job” that paid the bills.
It’s not that I’m against good jobs that pay the bills, it’s just that I’m more for finding your passion and getting paid to play!
I’m working on an eBook right now titled “Never Work Again: 6 Secrets to Getting Paid to Play & Doing What You Love!”
For my eBook, I’m interviewing Women who get paid to play and I wanted to share some of those stories with you today to give you inspiration and motivation that if you’re not feeling fulfilled in your career, that there is another way. Here’s a few stories to give you some ideas as well as hope that you too can GET PAID TO PLAY!
KIM PARSELLS TOOK A LEAP OF FAITH AND NEVER LOOKED BACK!
In 1995 I was working full-time as a graphic artist at an advertising agency and found myself completely fascinated by the internet. I loved having all that information almost instantly at my fingertips. I had taken one 2-hour class on website design and strongly believed that the internet would become the new primary advertising medium for businesses to market their products and services. I put together a business plan and submitted it to my boss. He smiled politely. Six months went by and still no action. Eight months after I had submitted my proposal, the agency hired another graphic designer to help produce more print work. I quit that day.
There were some tears… not because I was sad, I was angry. I got my first client the following week and proceeded to build the ugliest website you ever did see. I kept at it, and I was having a blast starting my own business. Everything I needed to learn was on the internet and I studied.
I’ve been building websites for over 15 years now and I still love it! (My work has significantly improved since that first hideous website:) I’m immensely grateful to those people who gave me a chance in the beginning and still do work for them to this day. If you’re going to take a leap of faith, who better to have faith in than yourself? Go for it!
Kim Parsells
Surf’s Up Internet Marketing
Email: kim@surfisup.com
Website: http://www.surfisup.com
*******************************************************************
ANGELA WILLS FOUND HER MOJO!
I remember the day when I said I’d never work again. I was literally INSIDE a gigantic OVEN that was used to cure paint on car bumpers. As I sat there scraping the junk out of the ovens and doing a job I had been told I had no choice to do (even though it was NOT in my job description) I swore to myself that I’d never do this again. I just hated my job and honestly I was a bad employee, because all I really wanted was to be my own boss. I had tried many businesses in the years after my son was born, but they didn’t all work out and so I ended up taking a job that was below my diploma so I could work afternoons and be at home with my son during the day. I spent just about every day at my job thinking about how I was going to make my business work and get home for good.
So I made a plan. I started providing Virtual Assistant services in the summer of 2006 and by May of 2007 I quit that stinky factory job and came home to work full-time on my own terms. It was an amazingly exciting time. As I write this I’m reminded of just how lucky I am to be my own boss, write my own checks and set my own schedule. I’m absolutely unemployable now!
My business has transitioned and transformed over the years and I’m coming up on five years in business next year. One thing I’ve learned is that it’s definitely not always an easy road but it’s worth every up and down. If I had to do it all again I wouldn’t change a thing.
Angela Wills
www.marketersmojo.com
*******************************************************************
MICHELLE MANGEN FOUND A NEW CAREER FROM READING A FICTIONAL BOOK!
In March of 2006 I went to London to visit a friend. The job I had at the time asked me to take the international travel phone so they could call me while I was there if they needed me. With the 6-hour time difference it made venturing out somewhat difficult so I ended up spending most of my vacation reading books and being frustrated that it wasn’t really a vacation if I had to be “on-call” for work.
The main character, in one of the books I was reading was a Virtual Assistant. I had no idea if it was a true profession so I made a mental note to check into it when I got back to the United States. I was actually a little bit surprised when I discovered it was indeed a true profession.
At the time I was living in Wisconsin and driving 99 miles one way to work each day! The winter of 2007/2008 was really brutal with the snowfall and I spent more hours than I care to count commuting back and forth to work. Aside from that, I was becoming incredibly burnt out with what I was doing and wasn’t “happy” being in charge of other people (I’m really not a good manager).
When the snow melted in the Spring of 2008 I went into my bosses and told them they needed to replace me by Thanksgiving. When they asked what I was going to do I told them, “I honestly don’t have a clue.” In July of 2008 I remembered the book I had read back in 2006 and thought it might be worth researching becoming a Virtual Assistant. Considering my strengths and ability to work on my own without external motivation I knew I could pull this off.
While the first year was “lean” I quickly developed relationships with a number of people on Twitter; as a result I obtained clients and a steady amount of referral business as well. As of July 2011, I’ve been in business for 2 ½ years and I am currently on target to gross about $100,000 this year. I’m not saying this to brag, but simply to inspire others to follow their dreams and do what you love to do!
So many well-meaning people thought I was crazy to go solo (as a single mom, no less) in a time when the economy was so bad and projected to get worse. The one thing I held onto was this mantra, “If I can make it when the economy sucks; imagine what it will be like when the economy doesn’t suck.”
My advice to you: Take chances and live!
Michelle Mangen
Your Virtual Assistant
www.thevirtualasst.com
*******************************************************************
I hope these stories have inspired you to really look at how you spend your time — are you in a job that you hate or that simply isn’t your passion? If so, I can help Coach you in creating a “new” life with my monthly Coaching Program. It won’t happen overnight, but if you have a Mentor to guide you, set your intention, and create a plan, like myself and the women in the stories above, you too can be GETTING PAID TO PLAY!
**I’m looking for more stories for my eBook, “Never Work Again”, so if you know of any women who get paid to play, please send them my way. They can email me their story at michelle@becomea6figurewoman.com ~I look forward to adding your story one day to my book!
