"Are you crazy?"
"I think he's crazy. Guess what he did?"
"He might be crazy."
I have heard all these in the last two months.
I don't think I'm crazy.
Weird, sure.
We're all a little weird if we're honest with ourselves.
I have also heard how "brave" and "courageous" I was to walk away from a corporate job in a thriving business after a decade.
Please save those words for the military, first responders and Oklahoma school teachers.
I mean, sure, it took some guts to walk away from a job that offered decent pay and great benefits, including a bonus.
I wanted to leave it four years ago, but I was a coward. I saw the steady check. The insurance. The 401K.
Less than a year later I went through a divorce and told myself I had to make that money to pay for the house I bought. (It was the perfect time with extreme low interest rates and saved me a few hundred a month. I dream about living in a van instead.)
Long story short, I wasn't happy with what I was doing. It showed in my work. I was going through the motions. There were moments I got inspired, and it showed, but overall I was done.
I was born in the early 80s to two teenage parents. My mom used to say I was Alex P. Keaton from Family Ties. I did wear a lot of collared shirts and want to make money. I loved that show and Cheers, which I'm currently re-watching and will write about soon, I'm sure.
Michael J. Fox as Alex P. Keaton in "Family Ties." I loved this show as a child.
Having a 14-year-old mom and a 17-year-old dad really impacted me. Somewhere very early in life I decided I would not repeat the pattern. By the time I was in junior high, I was taking classes more advanced than their education levels, so I was on my own to learn it.
I had this vision of success.
It was go to college, start a family, buy a home and get a good white-collar job that you go to every day. Then you get a nice car. Maybe a boat. Fly to Disney World. Eat fancy meals. Drink expensive scotch. Dress your son like a sailor.
OK, basically this:
I googled "stereotypical American family" and this was the second image.
When I started college, I planned to be a dentist. I was in love with my high school sweetheart, and cruise control was set as I ventured down the middle of that path to the "stereotypical American family" with no issues.
Slowly the real dream started to form. Professor Hugh Foley told me I should pursue writing. I soon transferred to Oklahoma State and did just that.
As I neared graduation it was my dad, who encouraged me to change from news editorial to a public relations emphasis because he said journalism was dying. (Turns out it was just going through a painful evolution, but the future is bright.) I had worked for the student paper and interned at The Tulsa World, so it made sense. It also steered me back toward that corporate path.
When I graduated from OSU, I applied for one newspaper position. It was in Alaska. All because I loved Jack London. They didn't even give me an interview.
So yeah, for the last 10 years, I did the corporate job. Had a cube. Had a office. Got to travel. Had to dress like a JC Penney model.
According to research, I'm in the generation that's a mix of Gen X and Gen Y. A Xenial. I do have the media tastes of the elder group and many of the social habits of the younger generation. Cool.
I'm also a very creative person. Always have been and always will be.
I'm a procrastinator. I'm not great with organization, but I can tell you what stack it's in.
I believe the 8-5 M-F schedule was created by an evil organization, and somehow it stuck. I've always hated it. I'm proud of the younger generation for pushing this movement of getting away from sitting under fluorescent lights at desks where you near people who clip their nails, eat stinky food or somehow spend six hours a day talking way too loud about their personal life.
The days I got to escape the office, it was to drive down highways to visit a small casino and then drive back. The same places the same days of the weeks for two years. I'm a creature of habit when it comes to certain routines, but it was mental overkill for me.
I like "Me Time." I used to have a rule that if I gave the man eight hours, I should get to enjoy eight hours of my time. So I didn't go to bed till after 1 most nights. Well that and I've never been much of a sleeper until recently. Now I love sleep. That's a different story.
Don't get me wrong, I had a lot of fun at my job. But overall it became a drain.
I felt like I was being held back from doing the things I wanted to do and it created depression, anxiety, more depression. Creative differences exist and aren't just a Hollywood PR excuse when an actor leaves a project.
I had many conversations with friends who told me that if they were in my shoes they'd quit. They talked about their marriages or parenthood that made them feel like they had to stay in their job or career to help make ends meet or provide a future. I don't currently have those responsibilities. (And the more I hear about people talk about the cost of daycare, the less I'll complain about my vet bills.)
It took me 36 years to realize it, but what I thought I was supposed to do in life was a myth. The sad part is I knew it for far too long without doing anything about it.
I've been working since I was around 15 (if you don't count the chores and lawn mowing that started when I was 9). I knew if I ventured out on my own I'd have to hustle. That would be no problem
"Gotta keep hustling" became a mantra the last few months. I still say it daily.
Also never say no to a job.
In the last two months, I have only had four days where I didn't work. Some days have been 14-hour days, others have been three. I love what I'm doing. I'm happy. I'm excited. I'm motivated.
I think it shows in my day-to-day life.
And yeah, I know just a bit ago I mentioned the whole "Me Time" deal, but what I'm currently doing is pretty much all "Me Time."
It was a little over a year ago that I started seriously planning to make my move.
This video and the Youtube creator behind it, really motivated me. I've probably watched this 50 times since it debuted in March 2017. (Casey Neistat's work continues to inspire and motivate me.)
If you didn't watch it, here are my favorite quotes about being a creator:
"If you do it right, you get to quit your day job. Make friends from places you've never been."
"Life moving so fast and so full you won't even have time to process it."
"You don't have to listen to anyone because in this new world no one knows anything."
"The haters, the doubters, are all drinking champagne on the top deck of the Titanic and we are the fucking iceberg!" (This one is my favorite.)
So maybe I was a little crazy to stay at a job where I wasn't happy for so long.
I definitely don't think I'm crazy for doing what I want to do in life.
When someone says "you should find joy in what you do" or "you'll never work a day in your life if you love what you do" they are actually telling the truth.
If you're willing to hustle, you can do whatever you want to find the success you want to achieve. At least that's what I'm telling myself. And so far my quality of life is a hundred times better.
You're stuck with you for the rest of your life, so you might as well enjoy as much time on this beautiful planet as you can.
If you have a dream, make the time to to chase it. I promise you'll be happier than wasting all that time dreaming about doing it.
People may question whether you're crazy. That's OK.