Question:

How do I motivate to leave my job and pursue my passions?

Answer:

For a while, I was like the girl who cried wolf when it came to crying on to friends about how I was going to quit my high-paying/high-stressing/low-free time Sr. VP ad gig to be a full time writer.

And although I kept saying I was gonna quit, there was a huge part of me that was too afraid -- and not just fearful about the money angle. I was afraid to let go of a lovely fantasy about a parallel universe in which I existed as “Happy-Go-Lucky Author Girl.” I wasn’t sure if I wanted to risk giving up this fantasy.

One of my favorite quotes on fear comes from Chogyam Trungpa, author of “Shambala:The Sacred Path of The Warrior” who wrote: “True fearlessness is not the reduction of fear; but going BEYOND fear…by fear-less we don’t mean ‘less fear’ but ‘beyond fear.’”

So how do we get to this beyond-fear place?

Well, you know how it’s easier to walk a plank that’s on solid ground than one that’s plunked above an alligator-infested lagoon, because the fear of those yapping hungry alligators makes you less focused on what you desire? In one’s career it’s the same thing. The trick: you gotta avoid staring at your career-metaphorical-alligators, and instead stay focused on your supporting plank, which in career land, is (1) what you what you have going for you and (2) what you really want.

When I finally did quit my ad job to become a writer, it was because I finally stopped staring at my career-metaphorical-alligators: "I’ll never be a published book author, heck, I’ve never even written one magazine piece, geez, what will I do for income if I fail – I have a child to support…ME!"

Instead I focused on my supporting plank: my talent for writing, discipline, persistence, resilience, optimism, meeting people, learning quickly, following-through -- plus my past proven successes in the ad biz -- plus my wanting to be a writer in a big way!

The result? I credit my ability to focus on this supporting plank as the reason why I am now able to support myself as a full time writer.

Chances are you presently are fearful about moving careers because you can't stop staring at your career-metaphorical-alligators?

Today decide to start re-focusing on your supporting plank. Make a list of (1) what you have to offer and (2) what you really want, and next time fear strikes, strike back with your list!

Find out more about Karen Salmansohn