It’s easy to convince yourself to stay at a job you’re starting to hate.
I know this from experience. Many of us do. How?
(aka The Broke excuse)
With the guilt born from so many expectations, that come with taking on job responsibilities that no one else wants any part of.
(aka The “But, they need me” excuse)
The comradery that exists between you and those in the trenches with you, cracking jokes, and keeping each other from going postal. Your work husband/wife/bff…
(aka The water cooler social network excuse)
I knew what my dream job was, but I just couldn’t justify leaving what was slowly becoming the job from hell.
My compromise? “Just do what you love on the side”.
And that is how my voice-over side hustle was born.
Early every morning, before “work” work, I would send out auditions. When I did book a job (after doing a happy dance) I would have to figure out when, and how, to record after a stressful long day. Needing to record during the work day meant “doctor appointments”, or taking an extended lunch break (Thank goodness for my quick commute).
Doing this side hustle, that I loved, was starting to feel like I was doing something bad, or at least my actions made it feel that way. I was treating my dream job like an illicit affair during an unhappy marriage. Still, my enthusiasm kept me motivated, while friends and coworkers cheered me on, and had my back.
I stayed hopeful. I mean, where there’s a will there’s a way, right?
Then one day, I received the greatest mixed blessing ever.
I was “liberated” from my job…
As traumatizing as an abrupt change like being “let go” can be, there is also a sense of freedom that I felt instantly. That was the moment I decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to turn my side hustle into my full-time front hustle.
I should also mention that I booked a voice-over job that same day, from a past audition, which I took as a good luck omen. Operation front hustle was a go!
Did I know how? Not exactly. I did have the motivation to learn, a supportive group of artist friends keeping me inspired, some rainy day savings, and the internet. The more I worked toward this supposedly elusive dream job, the more I realized it was actually becoming my reality. It’s amazing how everything seemed to support my new career once I truly and seriously started supporting my new career myself.
It’s been an awesome journey so far, with zero regrets.
Today, it feels really good to know that…
Whenever I mention what I do for a living, there’s always someone who admits that it’s their dream job too, and I resist the urge to perform this speech in its entirety… *cues up Shia*
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