Posted by Dan Hulsman
Dec 29, 2013 12:00:00 PM
Earlier this month, I published Part 1 of a collection of 8 epic success stories about awesome individuals who decided that they wanted something different. Things were good for most of them, but something wasn’t quite right. They felt something missing and took a leap of faith that paid off.
The point to all of this is a reminder that if you want to have a different life than you have, the power is yours (name that reference!). Seriously, you can make a change and the world won’t punish you for it. Your family might freak out, or your friends might not understand – that’s OK. If there’s something about your life you want to change than you have the ability and the responsibility to change it. Shape your life until it looks the way you want it to, and to hell with anyone who tells you otherwise.
As another reminder, here are some things that everyone in this post has in common:
- They were following a fairly typical path through life
- They decided that they wanted a different situation
- They took bold action towards changing their situation
- None of them suffered any major negative or irreversible consequences
- All of them increased their happiness and fulfillment
Jason Van Orden: Software engineer becomes a Podcasting powerhouse
Like Jeremy Frandsen in Part 1, I found Jason through Internet Business Mastery – their epic Podcast about internet business, marketing, and living a purposeful life. Before he became an international speaker, author, and co-host of the #1 internet business podcast on iTunes he was walking a different path: software engineer.
In 2002, a gloomy cloud began creeping in on Jason’s world every Sunday morning as the imminent start to the business week came into sight (something he calls the “Sunday dread”). As he tried to see the bright side in the security his job offered him, his company began a round of layoffs and he quickly realized that this sense of security was false.
“For this false sense of security, I am giving up my time and energy to do stuff that other people ask me to do.” – Jason Van Orden.
He wanted to wake up excited to face the day, and after coincidentally stumbling upon Guy Kowasaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad at about the same time as his future business partner, Jeremy, he decided to take control. After dabbling in the world of Real Estate for a bit, he saw an opportunity in an up-and-coming media platform: Podcasting. He cracked the code for success with Podcasting, and authored Promoting Your Podcast – a book that spent time in the #1 spot for its category on Amazon. Between his Podcasting website, personal brand, and Internet Business Mastery Academy he spends his days funneling his passions and strengths into helping others pursue the internet business dream.
Myke Macapinlac: Structural Designer becomes a business consultant and dating expert
If you’ve ever taken a look at Myke on social media, you’ll learn one thing very quickly: Myke is a hustler (not the bad kind). He is always moving, always doing, and always connecting with people. If I ever see a “Just enjoying a lazy afternoon,” post from Myke I’ll probably suspect that someone has hacked his Facebook account. From the way Myke talks and the relationships he develops online, you can tell that he’s having the time of his life. But, like many people, Myke started out by following a very conventional path laid before him by someone else.
“Just like most people, I followed the traditional social path. I went to school, got really good grades and got myself a corporate job. I had everything that society deemed to be successful. Something was wrong though. It didn’t make me happy. “ – Myke Macapinlac
After stumbling upon several inspiring podcasts (read which ones in this post), Myke decided to pursue location independence and a new career working for himself. Between 2006 and 2011, Myke was a structural designer. His work history from 2011 onward looks a bit different: Founder of High Caliber Dating, Digital Marketing Consultant, New Business Consultant, Author of Magnetic Dating. How did he do it? He started freelancing in 2011 and started scaling back on his full time job with the new income. He soon took a leave of absence from work to focus on growing his client base and quit his job 6 weeks later. See what I mean? Hustler.
Jenny Blake: Google employee quits to become an author and entrepreneur
I came across Jenny Blake on the recently-discontinued Podcast, The Rise to the Top, on which she was interviewed on her rise to success after walking away from a dream job at Google. After starting the Life After College blog and eventually authoring a book, Jenny went on sabbatical from Google to promote and focus on promoting her book. As the end-date to her sabbatical loomed nearer, she decided to take a piece of her own advice and “live big” by making her Google career PAUSE into a permanent STOP.
“What was once a side project has become a full-blown love affair, and though I am slightly terrified about how to feed myself in the real world, I am taking my own advice about “living big” and pursuing my passion by making the leap into self-employment.” – Jenny Blake, in her goodbye letter to her Google co-workers.
Her leap of faith paid off. She is now a personal brand to be reckoned with, a best-selling author, a micro-business coach, and an international speaker. Oh, and when she’s not traveling she teaches yoga in NYC because it’s important to her. This isn’t just a story about someone who walked away from a job to start a business – this is a story about someone who walked away from a ‘dream’ job because her dream was bigger and better for her.
Pat Flynn: Laid-off Architect turns into a passive income guru
Pat Flynn is another internet business success story and Podcasting rockstar who, unlike most of the people on this list, was thrust out of his old life unexpectedly when the US economy tanked. He liked his job, but the rug was pulled out from under him back in 2008 and he found himself facing a countdown to unemployment with little to no hope for landing a new architect gig. Instead of taking the opportunity to go back to school like the rest of the world, Pat decided to bet on himself and explore the possibility of working for himself.
Luckily, he had created a blog for himself in 2007 to organize his notes as he prepared for taking the LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) exam. After passing the exam, the blog had outlived its usefulness for Pat (or so he thought) and his attention turned elsewhere until he was laid off.
After enrolling in the Internet Business Mastery Academy (run by the previously-mentioned Jeremy Frandsen & Jason Van Orden), Pat took another look at his LEED exam blog. To his surprise, thousands of people were visiting every single day to learn prepare for the exam! In October of 2008, Pat published an eBook study guide on his website and made about $8,000 in the first month. He never looked back.
He eventually went on to start a blog teaching others to create passive income online as he did, and hosts the popular Smart Passive Income Podcast. Aside from that, he challenges himself with public speaking engagements and released another eBook earlier this year about his journey from unemployment to self-empowerment. You can get Pat’s book, Let Go, on Amazon, Nook, and Snippet.
Conclusion & Next Steps:
If your life is not what you want it to be, it is your responsibility to change it. Take full responsibility for your own happiness and well-being. While you’re at it, take a chance or two – you might be surprised at how well things turn out.
Questions? Comments? I’d love to hear them in the comments below or over in the Twitter-sphere.
Topics: Inspiration
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