March Challenge - Day 7: Quit a six-figure job? I do what I want!

Recently, I was forwarded a hilarious video called "Honey Badger don't give a shit" - one of the funniest lines is that "it does what it wants."

I recently read an article in Toronto Life about how five Bay St. types quit their six-figure jobs and started to do what they want. One was a lawyer turned chocolatier, another was a developer turned yoga instructor and studio owner, another was a software salesman turned movie producer and finally an investment banker and her lawyer friend turned organic butchers. The common thread - they walked away from successful, high-paying careers in the corporate world and pursued opening their own business, doing something that they loved.

Several of my peers from my HBA class made the switch last year too - from working in a corporate environment to starting up their own business. The change in their attitude is obvious - they are happy, they are challenged, they are eager to wake up every morning and work on their business. It is very refreshing to see.

Then there are the rest of us, weary of making that big leap. It is reminiscent of the time we all graduated and we pursued careers for the money rather than what we wanted to do. Most of us aren't willing to make the leap into self-employment, having to fight for every piece of revenue coming in and penny-pinching on every expense that goes out. Most of us are not comfortable not knowing if you'll get paid this day or the next. Most of us are comfortable with routine and complaining about how our jobs suck.

I've always wondered where I'll be five or ten years from now. Looking back to five years ago when I started out in advertising, I had pretty ambitious goals to which today, I've satisfied most of them. But I think - while I knew I'd still be in advertising today five years ago, I'm not so sure if that'll be the same five years from now.

Don't get me wrong, I love my job. I work at a great agency where I learn and am challenged daily to deal with new and interesting situations in the world of digital advertising. I work with great people who provide great laughter and comraderie. And I work in an industry that is all about creative expression and digging into human truths and insights, something much more fun to talk about at dinner parties than projected forecasts of oil futures (sorry finance folks, you know I still love you).

However, I see the entrepreneureal spirit of my classmates and the people featured in these articles and say, I can be like them too. I just need some more courage (like the Lion in the Wizard of Oz). And an idea of what business I would go into if I did leave the world of advertising...give me some time to think about that...