How to Earn Money and Satisfy Your Heart’s Desire

What can you do if your heart wants you to follow a new occupation but your bank balance suggests that you may need to stay in your current job?

First of all, don’t give up your day job – at least not immediately – but do start taking some kind of action towards your dream occupation. Maybe there is a course you can take, perhaps you can start putting your business together while you are still working or maybe you can do your day job part-time so that you have the best of both worlds.

Often, when we are unhappy with our life we blame our job and think that everything would be okay if only we were doing something else. This is not necessarily the case. My advice is to see if there is an activity you can undertake which will give you a flavour of your chosen occupation while still enjoying the security and familiarity of your current employment.

For example, if you work as a lawyer but deep down you want to be a teacher it may be possible for you to have a taste of teaching by volunteering to mentor a young person who is having difficulty with their lessons at school. You may find that this satisfies your teaching urge and makes your life feel more rounded; then you can continue volunteering and earning your lawyer’s salary at the same time.

Alternatively if the volunteering does convince you that teaching would be a wonderful move for you, then you can continue to pursue this path safe in the knowledge that you’re not making a terrible mistake.

Keeping your job, at least for the time being, can have many other advantages. Your employer might run some interesting charity schemes or you might be able to opt for a career break or take some unpaid leave. Many people who make the move to self employment also find that their employer and/or their colleagues become their first clients. Your employment provides you with a large network of people who know, like and trust you, so find ways to use this to its best potential.

If you do decide to change career and your new occupation is not as well paid, don’t despair. Being unhappy at work can be an expensive business because you end up treating yourself with retail therapy or an endless amount of must-have gadgets.

If your work becomes more fulfilling then you might find that you don’t really need as many designer clothes or technological gizmos. There may also be other ways you can downsize your expenses such as moving to a different geographic area, taking in a lodger or having a cull on subscriptions such as the gym membership you hardly use or the television package which has more channels than you ever watch.

Finally, don’t be afraid to dream big. If you only achieve half of your dreams then that’s a lot more fulfilling than not dreaming and staying boxed into a miserable life!

Cali Bird is a life coach, writer and speaker. Cali specialises in working with people to excavate their long lost goals and desires. She then helps them find a way to get started on these dreams whilst fulfilling their current responsibilities. To download a free ebook “Top Ten Tips To Lead The Life You Want To Lead” go to http://www.leadthelife.net/

You can hear interviews with Cali Bird on PASSION for the PLANET

How to stay motivated after redundancy

We tend to think of our job primarily as a source income so if we are made redundant then it is easy to surmise that money is the only thing we are missing out on. However the daily routine of going to work also provides our life with other important ingredients such as discipline and human contact. When these factors are removed because a job is lost then motivational problems can set it.

It’s quite ironic that when we have a job we can spend a lot of time wishing we didn’t have to work but when it is gone we overlook all the different benefits that it adds to our life!

Therefore, in order to keep motivated when no longer working you need find other ways of building a disciplined routine and getting sufficient human contact.

When you are out of work it is very easy to get into a routine of going to bed late and getting up late. In the short term this might be fun and a welcome opportunity to rest and relax but eventually it can lead to a sense of despondency, lack of drive and even depression. It is essential to build a new daily routine to avoid this downside.

I’m not suggesting that you continue to drag yourself out of bed at 6am as if you were still at work and run out of the house a few minutes later clutching a piece of half-eaten toast. Instead, consider the ideas below:

• Decide to get up between 8am and 9am everyday and ensure that you are in bed by midnight.

• Arrange to meet up with a friend a couple of mornings a week so that you are forced to get up and out at a reasonable time. If you know other people who have been made redundant then you can all help each other to stay motivated.

• Decide on a time period each day that you will spend investigating the job market and making applications.

• Find ways to be around people even if you are not in direct conversation with them. When I first started working at home I really missed human contact. However I found that working in a café for an hour, or a public space, satisfied this craving for human company. This need not be an expensive pursuit. For example, spending an hour reading the newspaper in your local library every morning won’t cost a penny.

• Make sure that you are active as this will benefit you both mentally and physically. For example, you might decide to go out for a one hour walk before midday or perhaps you could dust down your old push bike and explore your local area on two wheels. Again, exercise does not have to cost money – fresh air is free!

There are also advantages to having a period of not working. Now you can take up that new hobby to which you previously never had the time to commit or you can resurrect an old hobby that you just hadn’t got around to for years. You can have more quality time with your family, watch your children grow up and have more time to pay attention to their needs. You can also contribute to your community; spending an hour or so having tea and cake with an elderly neighbour will be of great benefit to both of you.

This period of unemployment is a great opportunity to reclaim neglected aspects of your life. Then, when you do find a new job you can look back on this episode with fondness rather than despair. You might even find that you enjoyed taking time to smell the roses and determine to carry this principle into your new working life.

Cali Bird is a life coach, writer and speaker. Cali specialises in working with people to excavate their long lost goals and desires. She then helps them find a way to get started on these dreams whilst fulfilling their current responsibilities. To download a free ebook “Top Ten Tips To Lead The Life You Want To Lead” go to Cali's website.