Many “motivational speakers” shout at you to quit your job, burn your bridges, and follow your passion.
While this strategy has certain benefits, it’s a dangerous path!
If you have a family, kids, or other serious commitments, I don’t recommend following this advice.
An alternative?
A good enough job.
A good enough job provides a stable income, a job that you don’t hate, and that leaves enough time to spend on building your business.
Please, Don’t Be Desperate
The number one reason you want to have a good enough job is to cover your basic living expenses and those who depend on you. Even if you bring your bills down to the bare minimum, they are still there. As we grow older, with families, kids, and older parents, we can’t just forget about them.
So, unless you have a few years’ worth of savings, you want a good enough job to cover them.
It will give you stability.
It will give you confidence.
It will give you peace of mind and might even save your relationship.
Also,
The struggling coach is the worst type of coach.
If you struggle financially, you run a risk of sounding desperate in your content and during webinars and sales calls. It could also impair your objectivity as a coach.
Finally, you also need cash to cover your business expenses. While you want to keep them minimal, you need to pay for:
- software and tools
- promotion and advertisement
- business coaching and training
These could add up to substantial amounts. You can start from zero, for sure, and use free resources. But with little more than zero, you will fast-track your progress.
Love or Hate?
Neither!
You don’t have to love or even like your good enough job. If you do, great! But if you don’t, that’s okay. However, you don’t want to be in a place you hate e.g. because of the toxic boss or co-workers or hectic working environment.
You can totally be indifferent to your job. Sounds boring?
You want boring.
You want predictable.
You want a job that you can do with your eyes closed.
A job that does not deplete your mental power, emotional energy, and creative battery.
The Perfect Combination
There’s a third element of a good enough job that makes it perfect–it’s time. With the job and the family and any other current commitments that you can’t give up, there must be at least 16 hours a week to spend on building your business.
And it’s not just time, but it’s your most productive time.
So, you want a flexible schedule.
Time-based work.
Or part-time.
Having a good enough job is not as sexy as quitting and shouting it from the top of your lungs.
But it’s responsible.
It’s a way to save you from joining 81% of coaches who give up by year three.
Actions for the week
- Calculate your non-negotiable living costs, if you haven’t done it yet.
- Is there anything you could sacrifice for the next 12 months without significantly dropping the quality of life for you and your family?
- Is your current job satisfied the “good enough job” criteria for money, energy, and time?
- If not, could you negotiate terms that work better?
- If not, what could be such a job? Start looking for such opportunities.
Stay awesome!
Lidia