Five things to do before you kick your day job's ass to the curb

Five things to do before
you kick your day job’s
ass to the curb.

http://thrivecreativecoaching.com
alexia@thrivecreativecoaching.com

You’re tired of your soul-sucking day job.

Tired of selling your brain and not doing the kick-ass
creative work you were meant to do.

You often drift off daydreaming about what it would be
like to say “Shove it” and drive off into the sunset...

But you’re afraid. Artists don’t make money, right?
Writers are drunks & borderline homeless, and forget it
if you’re a musician. You’re destined for destitution and a
very short life.


It’s OK to be scared.

But the starving artist?

The tortured, destitute, starving, bleary-eyed artist?

You don’t need to be one.

In fact, it’s your duty NOT to be one.


Think about it: you were given these awesome creative
gifts for a reason. If you don’t use them then what good
are they?

You must create.

But you also must make a living.

Easy to say. Not easy to do.


I know the fear & uncertainty. I am intimately familiar
with the the “oh shit” moments. And I know how it
feels to be in a soul-sucking day job.

Because of that, I created this book for you.

Here are 5 things you should do before changing up
your life and taking control of your career:


Declare Your Independence

Create a Vision

Steal Time

Hatch Your Escape Plan

Start Now, Dammit!


Thing 1:
Declare your Independence



There’s something about saying it out
loud that makes your dream to chuck
the day job real.

Think about all the things you’re not
going to put up with anymore:

The long commutes.
The micromanaging bosses.
The endless meetings.
The prostitution of your
time and soul.



Then think about the things you want:

Freedom to spend your time as you will.

Opportunity to follow your creative whims.

Truly making it on your own.



Shout it
Write it
Paint it
Sing it
And hold on to it.


Thing 2:
Create a Vision


Create a Vision

This chapter could be called “What do you want and Why do you want it?” But that would be
too long...

In order to get somewhere you need to know where
you’re going.

Once you ﬁgure that out, all you need are directions
and you’re off.

Life is like a road trip.

But let’s skip the lengthy analogy...


Create a Vision

If you have no destination then anywhere is ﬁne, right?

Onward!


Create a Vision


Create a Vision

Here’s a typical story of someone who had no direction
or vision:

Young gal fresh out of college with an English degree.

She starts working for Corporation X because they’re
the only ones who responded to her job applications,
and because that’s what you’re supposed to do.

Ten years later and she’s still a desk jockey fulﬁlling
someone else’s dream and bored out of her skull.


Create a Vision

Sad, huh?

Unfortunately it’s where the majority of us ﬁnd
ourselves. It’s really not our fault.

No one told us there’s another way.

No one taught us to be independent.

No one showed us to think for ourselves.

And no one ever told us an artist can be successful.


Create a Vision

It’s time for you to take back your brain.

Take back your time.

And go after what you want.

Not what everyone else says you’re supposed to want.


Create a Vision

Time to put your dreams on paper.

Make them real.

What do you want out of leaving your day job?

What will it do for you?

What is your dream?


Thing 3:
Steal Time


Steal Time

Do you have time to paint or draw?

Play your music?

Write your novel?

Follow your dreams?

No? Why not?
(I’ll give you a few seconds to come up with your answer....)


Steal Time

Bullshit.

Steal Time

That’s right. I don’t believe you.

You have time.

You’re just choosing to be a couch potato instead of
making your dreams happen.

Stop making excuses.

So if you want to steal time to work on your dream....


Steal Time

Stop Watching TV.

In fact, cancel cable, quit the dish,
trash your antenna.


Steal Time

Stop Wasting Your Lunch Hour
playing Farmville on Facebook.


Steal Time

Stop staying up ‘till 3am
correcting entries on Wikipedia.


Steal Time

Find your time sinks.

Beat the ever loving
shit out of them and
steal back your time.


Steal Time

Because it’s your time.

You only have a limited amount.

Why waste it watching LOST when you could ﬁnally:

...write that novel
...ﬁnish that record
...paint your masterpiece
...launch your new life?


Thing 4:



Now that you’ve declared your independence, you have
a direction, and you’ve taken back the time you’ve
naively given over to stuff not in line with your dreams,
it’s time to plan.

Plans aren’t evil. I thought they were until I realized I
was getting nowhere even with a vision.

Vision without action is pointless.

You can dream & “manifest” all you want. If you don’t
do anything, nothing happens.



Plans don’t have to be long, drawn-out, complicated
things.They can look something like this:

Save money
Figure out how to make money.
Go and do it.

You can ﬁll in the blanks as you go, but this is an OK
place to start.



Or your plan can look like this!



Still not sure about planning?

What’s the very next thing you can do (in less than
20 minutes) that can get you moving in the direction of
your dreams?

When you’re done with that, what’s the next very
next thing?

Keep at it.

Lots of small steps add up to some really big stuff.



Once you have a plan, or at least the very next step...


Thing 5:
Start NOW, Dammit!


Start Now, Dammit!

What are you waiting for?


Do you want to quit your soul-sucking day job?

If you’re itching for more, or if you just want to ﬁnd out more about me, please visit
thrivecreativecoaching.com.

I can help you get from where you are—in a soul-sucking day job—to where you want
to be—fully expressing your creative gifts and making money at the same time.

And because you’re absolutely freakin’ cool and downloaded this ebook, I offer you the
next step: Sign up for my 10-week email series answering 10 of the most-asked
questions from creatives regarding the self-employed life.

I’ll answer questions like:

What if I’m not good enough?
What if I hate marketing?
What if I just sit around all day and watch TV?

If this sounds like a good deal, go to http://thrivecreativecoaching.com/subscribe


About Alexia...
Hi, I’m Alexia Petrakos & I’m the Thriving Artist Coach.
After quite a few years floundering in web development while secretly
nurturing dreams of art and finally becoming that superhero I always wanted
to be, I decided to follow my own path.
Not too long ago (early 2007) I left my last full-time job, which I held for millennia (actually, 2.5
years – it just seemed that way) and I haven’t looked back. Things aren’t quite as boring as they
were before. However, there are three main things I wish I would have known before I left my last
job :

How to sort through and evaluate all the bright & shiny ideas I had
How to set goals and follow through
The right support & the right people are essential for independent folks

Through a couple years of floundering and hopping from one thing to the next (crafting, freelance
writing, freelance web development, data entry), reading any “follow your dreams” type book I
could find, and finally finding a coach of my own, I discovered how to do what I love and actually
make some money at it.
I learned how to capture all of my ideas—no matter how silly they seem—and evaluate them
based on how I feel about them, how well they fit with my purpose and how profitable they may
be (that is, if I’m looking for a new business idea).


About Alexia...

I also learned that I need support to get my stuff done. When I started working with a coach and
meeting regularly with people on the same path both on and ofﬂine, things started clicking. I
started moving, making stuff, connecting and actually doing business.
And what you see now is the result. I help other creatives with their overwhelming volume of
awesome ideas create a business that helps ‘em make money doing what they love.
I’m a bit of an eclectic, as you can ﬁnd out on my personal blog and on Twitter.
I love reading everything I can get my hands on, dabbling in any art or craft that catches my fancy,
and I’m also a bit of a geek. I’ve used computers since I was 6 (all the way back in the 80’s) thanks
to my father who always kept up on the latest tech stuff.
I started a blog before there was fancy blogging software back in college where I got my BA in
Psychology, and have been straddling the tech/creative divide in most of my professional life as a
web developer.

Now, if you want to start working on your next life as a successful, thriving creative, go to my
appointment setter where you can sign yourself up for a free mini strategy session.
You’ll have my undivided attention for 20 minutes and we’ll discuss how you can start applying
what’s in this ebook to your life and leave that soul-sucking day job.


Image/Photo Credits & License

Screaming Girl on Page 7: Marek Bernat
Old sheet of paper on Page 10: Przemyslaw Szczepanski
Dead End sign on Page 14: Lars Sundström
Bored Girl on Page 16: Christie Merrill
Cow on Page 22: Justus Kindermann
Punch on Page 27: Sanja Gjenero
Mind Map on Page 33: Jon Gosier

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0
Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite
300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.


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