This post is part of a 30-day series called the 30 Steps Program to Financial Independence.
When I could no longer tolerate my job, I began to seriously consider what I wanted to do next. I needed to find work that I loved and that would support the lifestyle of freedom and travel I desired.
I made a list of my passions: traveling, teaching, cooking, and more. Then, I listed jobs related to these interests, like travel writer, cook, chef, and foreign language teacher. I weighed the pros and cons of each option.
I decided against becoming a cook because it involved long hours on my feet for low pay. I also ruled out most other cooking-related jobs. Instead, I started tutoring on the side, and a friend offered to buy my travel articles for his website. Within a few weeks, I had a couple of students and was writing five small articles a day. The income wasn’t huge, but I was genuinely happy to be working.
I mentioned before how I had enjoyed working at McDonald’s for a year because it was the perfect student job at the time. Your ideal job may change as you age, start a family, or for other personal reasons. Whatever your dream job is, there’s usually a way to pursue it. You can go back to med school at 40 with a scholarship, or bartend for the next decade if you really enjoy it. Start it as a side job or hobby, bartend at night, and as demand for your services grows, you’ll earn more money. Eventually, you might be able to quit your day job. This logic applies to any job.
There’s no risk, no “what ifs.” A friend of mine works at a bank. When she got pregnant, she used her time off to bake amazing cakes for friends and family. She posted pictures on Facebook and soon, people were asking her to bake more. Now, she has many customers and bakes at night since returning to work. She loves it so much that I bet she’ll soon leave her banking job to bake full-time.
Twenty years ago, it might have seemed crazy to leave a well-paying job to start a manual trade. But today, we’re all about following our passions. And guess what? After a few years, I’m sure my friend will make more with her cake business than her day job.