Change careers like Tarzan

It´s the same as with a start-up; better to not quit until the new business is supporting you than quitting your previous without knowing whether the new venture will work.

That's how I did it. I would add one thing: like Tarzan, make sure you don't lose your momentum :)
Brilliant! Love it. Wish I'd thought of that. In fact, I'll update the blog post with it now, if that's OK. Thank you! ☺ — Derek

Sounds like very good advice to me. In my case I've been in the music field all my life just different tangents. So the ropes are always there.

Thank you so much for this wise advice! So generous of you to give us so much wisdom!!

I'm holding the same vine for some time now, waiting for the right time to let it go. It's hard but it's better. Great tip, Derek!!

Such good advice...I've done this multiple times through my career.

Thanks Derek.

P.S. It was such a pleasure meeting you at Seth's a few years ago. One of the highlights of my SAMBA experience. Keep up the amazing work.

Thanks Derek. Good analogy. I started my biz four years ago (promoting a roster of Indies) while still teaching. Still teaching with one more year to go. Then I'll do the new biz full time. Have used the four years to build relationships and get the word out before I plunge in full time.

Yes, interesting book. I recommend, too.

Definitely stealing this!

My wife has MS and we were planning to retire to The Canary Islands in 6 years time... Looking back at the progression of the passed six years we decided to "go for it" this year instead... Unfortunately the next vine is still hanging just out of reach, so I have created a buffer by realizing some cash which will support us for about two years if needed... Because of the move I had to release the old vine before catching the new one... I am blogging my experience here http://timdowd.wordpress.com the next blog will be when the contracts are signed for selling the house... Then again in May where we will rent an apartment... The move is set for June... Wish us luck...!

Simple and to the point. Being someone who wants to own his own business eventually I've had a hard time trying to "go all in" and "doing it on the side until it's fruitful". No problem building things up on the side until you can finally make that leap.

Like i said before. All of us most of. Us following your instructions on changes that make us happy not the money. On our crest creativ . Way of living our expectations. Like pioneers. Like you. I will buy and support. Any appropriate choices you make. You a great independence thinker like me. Luko. Devine. The best is. To hold on to the one job wich pays. The bills than. Anything eslse keep you eyes. On the prize

Great example, Derek.

Love the analogy!
I had my job eliminated after many years in Broadcasting, and I am looking for a new adventure.
It felt like my next vine was cut, and I lost momentum. I am currently pumping my legs like mad and trying to reach the illusive next " next" vine
I'll get there eventually
By the way, I'll be teaching a class in orchestral recording at Berklee in the Fall
Didn't expect the gig, and am looking forward to its challenges
All the best
Jim

But that's vines, not careers When Tarzan actually did try to change careers, not vines, he did it wholeheartedly, for Jane, and it trashed his life so badly he had to go back to Africa and reclaim his old life.

Derek, your suggestion resonates with another thought I have been considering about trajectory, especially in the creative fields. People will support changes when they are consistent with a continuation of previous knowledge base, passion or skill. Otherwise it might be a case of greener grass, impatience or lack of focus.

Each "vine" is merely a thread woven into the tapestry of ones life...one never really quits...some threads are worn and provide the motivation to weave new ones...of course, Me Jane...you Tarzan! so I may be coming from a different perspective.

Derek, Making the change for IT/Development to Music.. Examples below and comments welcome.

Uploaded a new Ambient Jazz Electronica Track, Titled: New York Jazz, created with some Jazz Swing.

http://www.reverbnation.com/ambientjazzelectronica/song/20471379--new-york-jazz

Check-out my BLUES music here. www.reverbnation.com/tommycarl

All the best, Tommy

Cute metaphor but I disagree with the Tarzan mentality, to a certain degree.

(This is going to sound like I'm promoting myself. However I have no idea how to explain it without displaying my cred.)

I'm a biz and career coach. My metaphor is the trapeze artist.

Imagine swinging on a trapeze, holding on to the bar you've known all your life. Your present state, career, etc. It's comfortable.

There's a moment when you let go, flying through the air, waiting for the next bar to grab a hold of. Scary place.

Your mind has to be in a place, when the time comes to let go, you know it's going to be ok.

In my 12 week process, yup it takes that long (I don't have the "I Dream of Jeannie" solution,) we take a deep dive into that scary place.

We're looking to land on the island of "Authenticity."

Once on the island, we test it, and test it again, making sure this is the perfect next step, career, possibly a new business.

In the end, the client grabs the other bar with confidence of not knowing how it will end. Only, that it will end well.

I hope this helps someone.

Alas, learned this one the hard way: I was in a job that I knew I didn't want to be in the rest of my life (but was still an okay job), and my side business was starting to wane. So I quit my job & went all in on the side business, since that's what I wanted in life & I didn't want to lose the side business... but it continued to wane & I chewed through my runway. I don't entirely regret quitting my job, but gee, the extra income would've been helpful, and I could've used the income to delegate more instead of doing everything myself. Wait until the side business supports you, don't assume that because "now you have to make it work" that you'll be able to!

Thanks. That is very helpful. That is really helpful.

I would also say don't look down because that view is too daunting. Keep your eyes focused forward.

Excellent advice. Moonlight it first. But make sure the new idea/path is unrelated to any present employer's IP. Of course, if the premise is that yo are looking for a completely new challenge then this shouldn't be an issue at all. Cheers!

Clinging to the past while reaching out to the future sounds "fear based" to me. That's like standing right on the edge, looking out into a future filled with endless possibilities, then casting out a "safety net" of fear, judgement and considerations just before you take the leap. Where's the originality? Where's the risk? Where's the confidence?

And where does our dear Jane fit into all of this? That's part of the overall equation too..

"Don't let go of the old one until the new one is supporting you". Sometimes (read, MOST times) it's impossible to get the 'new one' to support you unless you give it your 'all'... which you can't do while doing the old one...so there's always a leap of faith - and

"make sure you don't lose momentum"....NOTHING's sure in life... even when you're changing gears (career/job changes are like a vehicular stick-shift, or 'manual', in Brit-speak) there's a lull between - and ANYthing can, and usually does, happen.... so, there's NO 'making sure'.

There is trying.

Good point. It's kind of like not burning bridges. If you don't get frustrated and keep your eyes on your goal making adjustments along the way, you increase your odd of success. It's just about improving your odds and never getting frustrated or giving up.

Great advice

A very important concept, as simple as it may sound.
And great advice to those who recently entered the workforce.

Thanks!

Good advice, Derek... although some times it worth to risk a little bit!

Thank you so much Derek. Truly. This email almost made me cry, as I find it so true and timely. I am finishing my schooling and have started practicum, working with kids. It's great! I get great feedback from them..it's all positive. But my heart is..mission as you say is in the songs and exactly as stated I am working through the work to master my skill. I have many songs ahead to look forward to creating. I just have to. It is my privaledge to have this gift entrusted and I seek to master it.
Thank you so much Derek:-) A true friend.
Rachel

Nothing wrong with holding on with a firm grip from where you've been to then be able to firmly grasp where you're going. Note, before the grasp and the release of the grip, is the reach. I've used an intended difference between grip and grasp. Makes me think of the Thomas Aquinas quote "A man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?

Good one! My wife is trying to find a new gig, and this (and your notes below "So Good They Can't Ignore You") will be alternately affirming and inspiring. Thanks as always Derek.

I agree - but I think this idea must always be modified by your own inner voice. I am particularly aware of this by my own procrastination - of implementing my "art only" metier, vs. my practical employment as support. I think that as we move forward in the direction of our dreams, we must finally put our lives on the the line for what we wish. If we do not, it will NOT manifest; and the longer we put it off, the longer we procrastinate, because the habit becomes a "leader" in our consciousness by the strength of its repetition.

So, here's one person now stepping out "broke" in the eyes of the world. And if I don't succeed - the the eyes of the world - at least I will not leave this plane with my music still unsung.

It's also good to know why you don't like the job - is the commuting, office politics, dependency on others to do a task, boss, salaried pay, meetings, etc? I learned that I like control because I like to do a good job so when I don't have requirements/specs I get frustrated due to the dependency on other people. For subsequent contracts I made sure they had the specs and I just did the code from home. Much more enjoyable and less stress.

One thing I did in the IT world was go from commuting every day in a city as an employee to moving to the country and only doing remote contracts from home. Also don't get into debt and pay off everything so that you are empowered to make changes and not accept every job that comes along. I haven't worked since May by choice but now I am going to take a 1 day a week contract at a pretty nice hourly rate so I can spend the rest of the time helping people via YouTube videos, blog and other social media, while increasing income via digital products, and Amazon affiliate links.

Speaking of affiliate marketing, it's also good to know yourself so you can realize what you are actually looking for - ie. freedom/lifestyle - if you want to actually create products, do customer service, support, ship the products or if you want someone else to handle all that stuff? So before you jump ship really think about what you like and don't like and why, so you don't repeat the same mistakes. The choice of lifestyle can determine what careers make sense - if you want to live anywhere and even in the country or small town then maybe more of an internet-based career makes sense.

Tarzan also had a wild yell that he'd unleash to make sure people/animals knew of his arrival and to attract a crowd...

Derek - I love the metaphor but I also observe that a whole lot of people just can't make the new venture work until:
 they let go of the old one
 the old one has been unexpectedly taken away
 they feed the new one and starve the old one
Sometimes even unwelcome change is the fuel to get a new idea off the ground

I have always said the same thing, but with a different analogy. I call it the "wing walker principle." Wing walkers, like Tarzan, would be in big trouble if when walking across the wing of a plane, they were to let go of one cable before having firmly grasped the next one.

Brilliant. The power dynamic of not needing a job makes one more desirable to prospective employers.

Well said! :-) Also, I think to ensure that you are feeling very aligned with what you are doing. In other words, does it feel"right" and does it "feel good" to you. I know when I worked in corporate for a number of years, it never felt right or good and I didn't enjoy it. I think the first thing to also consider is if you really enjoy what you are doing, if it feels purposeful and meaningful to YOU (not eeerrrrybody else else) ;-) AND if you can see yourself doing what you propose for a long time. Rarely do people stick with what they "hate or don't enjoy".

And never run FROM a Job; Run TO a Job!

Momentum, persistance and strength are hard to beat.

Exactly what I'm doing. Driving back from my first college booking conference right now, booked 15 shows, enough to be a great stepping stone and to add income, but not enough to require leaving my current job.
Had I left my current job to pursue this I wouldn't have been able to afford this conference at all.

I from a tree as a child. When my dad saw i was ok, he told me...and i'll never forget it as it has the same implications as your analogy:
"NEVER let go with your hands until your feet are on something solid!"

Thought the next vine supported me, let go of the old one...and then my hands slipped on the new vine.....Luckily (my) Jane was there to pick me up!

Completely agree... I cringe when people blindly tell people to quit their job and go at it 100%. When it's time to go 100%, you'll know, but one of the best things an entrepreneur can have is some foolproof income coming in. The cliche that it takes money to make money has some truth to it, a little monthly nut can make/break a new idea.

Agreed - book is awesome. I am interviewing Cal tomorrow for my Business Builders radio show.

In other words: don't quit your day job . . . yet.

Excellent advice. Something I repeat often to acquaintances with big ideas. I've been told that I am "not trusting the Universe" I need to "have Faith that the Universe will catch me"

I have a great deal of Faith in the Universe. It is governed by very consistent principles. Gravity is relatively constant on our planet. If I step off a cliff, I don't have to wonder what will happen. I have absolute Faith in the principles of the Universe. Those principles can be depended on. It can be an unforgiving world- but if you keep in mind the law of gravity etc. you can do marvelous things. It can be excellent to leap- but leap with eyes wide open and a hellofalot of preparation so that you minimize your risk and increase the likelihood of success. The Universe is kinder to those who respect it.

This advice is a bit late, for someone who hasn't done that (me), and is out there in new territories unconnected to his previous "vines".

Oh well, there you go. :)

The only real momentum I've found, in not doing it the Tarzan way, is by keeping true to your values and letting these carry you, even when it's hard.

As always, an interesting perspective Derek.

My approach would be that it depends on what you can afford to lose (afford covering both financial and time resources). How far you can afford to fall depends on personal circumstances and degree of risk aversion.

Yep . . . am doing it right now! So very good Derek! :)

Hi Derek - great timing, as usual. We are slowly transitioning into full time sailing/cruising, and we've been working on this change for the past 7yrs. We'll be on our regular jobs for the next 3yrs, the last one leaving aboard. All our kids will be out of college then.

Next step, check, we signed the P&S on our house this week.

We intend to give our next phase the best possible chance of success. If you are dreaming about it, it is worth all the extra parallel work.

We'll sail to the the Canarys on the way to Spain at some point.

Ramon
PS May be not this URL, but as soon as I opened it, AVG reported detecting a trojan hose. I can send you a screen shot of it it. False positive?

I would add that pausing in silence, resting, for a period of time may appear as a loss of momentum, but only to those outside the process. When no vine (or more than one vine) presents itself, I need to be clear that the thoughts I think others are thinking, regarding my perceived inaction, are my thoughts, not theirs. Those thoughts can keep me swinging for the sake of swinging without direction. In other words, I want to be careful about what I label as inaction.

This reminds me of watching my boys swinging on the monkey bar at the playground. Strategically speaking, this is a good idea -- to hang on to the old vine, so that we don't fall to the ground. But we need to execute by letting go of the old vine to catch the new one and use our body's momentum to swing forward. If we don't let go of the old vine, we end up hanging on to it and eventually lose momentum, lose strength and fall to the ground. It may not be the end of the world, though. We get up, think of what happened, climb up the monkey bar and swing again until we get to the other end.

I totally agree, a bird in the hand...

I would leap with both arms from one vine to the other with all the vigour, excitement and determination I could muster. Because passion is what separates the successful entrepreneur from the failed one... (And like Tarzan, just may sure the ground beneath you is soft and cushy in case you fall:)

Derek:
Another timely and sage piece of advice. It is so much easier just to quit and jump on the front end, but natural law dictates, that if you pick up one end of the stick you must pick up the other. Thanks again for writing.

I think sometimes the old vine is so unstable or unpleasant that one needs to leap when a new vine even appears to be heading their way. Probably good to do that over water (friends and family). :)

Wise advice

Sometimes Tarzan makes the leap of faith hoping there is a vine to catch. Some artists spend a bunch of time in free fall looking for another vine. Some days need lot's of climbing up high enough to get a great view.

If you could include tips on the approach of changing career, that would be great too. :-)

That's a good thought to keep, and a good things to do.

Thanks man!
while is not ethical doing it in relationships it's great for career building. I'm doing it in this days, I think under the influence of one of your previous posts.
:·)

Not every career is tolerant of someone who is building another career elsewhere.

There has to be the 'faith' moment too. Believing is powerful... at least for me.

Thanks for taking the time. Great stuff. I have been making a living playing music my whole life because I so love it. I take any gig I am available to do. Even when it doesn't pay sometimes. I have added dj and. Karaoke to my world the last 2 years. What a great way to learn what's going on in music today. My point. Make sure thAt u really love what u do and it doesn't define who we are. And it will feed you. Mark kaye

Great advice...better to leap with faith & intelligence - not on pure emotion!
Thank you

And remember, Tarzan didn't look back.

Great advice! - what it's really about for me is trying to stay balanced. Swinging with a hand on *each* rope can help with that.

Great advice, Derek, I'm slowly making the transition now and am very close from making that final leap. Wish me luck!

Well i may be repeating myself but i had to let go of rope before i "awakened" to my nee "role"...it took a major near death experience to get spirit to spread its eternal wings!

...and create animation like Hanna-Barbera. :-)

Very wise. Sometimes in our zeal do something new or desperation to leave something dysfunctional, we impoverish our selves and everything slows down and we fall...we then may end up selling off treasures, old guitars, and forced to live more frugally, sometimes dampening our social lives.

Thank you Derek, yes this is helpful. I was going to quit my teaching job and did to focus on music fully. In hindsight this was not the best of plans, many lessons learnt, so what will I be doing now is teach a bit, perform a bit, whilst chipping away at the bigger musical ideas. Lesson learnt? ease into it......

Yes, this is very logical. The corollary to this is that savings is the other alternative. With savings you can buy your life back.

The one rub is you need to be skillful in protecting your savings from the myriad of threats to it, price inflation being a very serious one.

Like Steve Borek's (trapeze analogy) and the Tarzan one as well. Both are valid depending on one's positions in life, timing of change and where the new path lies.

The Tarzan example is very good and how...

It's sound advice, love the metaphor, but what about when the thing you're holding onto is taking too much of your time to get the thing you're moving towards to support you. Hope that makes sense :-)

"Never take two steps to leap a chasm."

Thanks Derek. You always offer News I Can Use!

Derek, your advice is spot on! I would add, though, that if you find that your budding career is what you want, make the transition to a 100% change as soon as you feel comfortable. You have to define "comfortable". but, go for it! Tarzan was comfortable riding Simba overland once he had run out of vines. So, change careers like Tarzan! (If Derek will let me borrow the phrase!)

I think most people will have a hard time starting a new business while working at their old job. At some point you have a to take a leap of faith. You can wait until the new business is supporting you to let go of that vine behind you, but that's no guarantee the new venture won't fail. Almost all accomplishments require some level of risk and if you're not willing to take them you'll be stuck hanging by two vines.

Boy can I ever attest to this. A few years ago, when an old boss found out I had interviewed and subsequently had received a verbal offer, he asked for my resignation. The only problem was, the new employer had just given me a verbal offer and it took them 3 months to produce a written offer. So I was unemployed for that span. While, it was a mixed experienced; got to be a stay at home dad for those 3 months and helping me bond with my daughter, mixed in with an extreme amount of stress and anxiety as we were coming to the last of our funds.

So yes, make sure you're solid with your new offer before letting anything slip.

Great advise!!

Hey Derek,
I feel like I really went the wrong way with my college major and pigeonholed myself in a career direction I ultimately don't want. (Thank you self actualization for kicking in after college ;).

I have been working through Code Academy and math on Khan Academy. If I like coding, what approach would you recommend for getting in this industry. The end goal is location independent income.

Yes if you can be a Tarzan and hold on until you grab on to the new thats great, but not all of us have good muscles in the arms.
For some, new door will not open, nor re-appear until you fully close the previous. I guess we all need to listen to its heart and go with the gut instinct. if the move must be made without finding the new, then that is how it is.

the deeper understanding though is usually you will have the vine of the known in one hand and the vine of the unknown in the other and have to let go before you know if the unknown will support you. There's always a point when the leap of faith must be made when between the two worlds/vines.

We agree with that somewhat. When we came here, we threw caution to the breeze at the beginning. We went out to Harvard Square in Cambridge, MA and played for crowds of people who'd never seen a person from the Andes mountains or heard a pan flute. We were the first Inca band in the Northeast. And the music seemed to catch on, though we weren't totally sure our tapes (lol) would sell and we'd need to go back to our day jobs, which weren't all that great, anyway, most of us were laborers, still learning the language. So there was also a risk element involved, fueled by our passion for music and our commitment to making it in the land of Dreams.

And this is inline with thinking of your career as long term with smaller 5 to 10 yer shorter careers.

Thanks Derek Sivers, well said you really have good advice, when you see the picture it's clear.

Whenever you're in Holland let me know I'll buy you dinner!
Your energy can fuel me for days

Whenever you're in Holland let me know I'll buy you dinner!
Your energy can fuel me for days

I think this speaks to a fundamental urge to believe in the fantasy of the "grass is always greener". What ends up happening when we let go of the vine that supports us is that we become frantic in trying to make ends meet, or even to sustain our existing lifestyle, and that's when desperation begins to wreak havoc on our best laid plans. I've changed careers recently, and while I did a bit of a Tarzan-in-free-fall for a bit because I didn't stay connected to the vine that I had been holding on to, things worked out in the end and I have to say that I was lucky. Still, I never considered going back to what I had left behind, pursuing it more as an area of interest, and attempting to focus on what was really on my plate in my current career. This is certainly sound advice, but every now and then, and as mentioned in a few comments that I happened to read, sometimes the vine gets cut for you, and all you can do is keep an eye out for the next one to grab on to. To each her/his own, right? :) Thank you for sharing your wisdom Derek, as always.

Dear Derek: I truly look forward to receiving these emails and advice from you. You're The BEST!!
thank you so much,
Nazy

Good point...we just have to hang in there...and keep moving forward...Thanks Derek...Take care...

So Good hits the nail on the head - anyone can think they're michael angelo but the lack of gigs like he got alone should at the very least hint at caution!

And we can always go about things differently and do much better. "Thinking outside the box" is actually a natural function of the brain.

All the entrepreneurs I've met going off and doing something else found they at first lost ALL social interaction, at least personal - we're replacing more in our lives than just the way bread hits the table.

Spent a lot of time looking at cross-training and learning itself, there's a principle of "extreme programming" or "art brut" or "craftsmen mindset" (articifers?) that simply says apply the same principle the brain does - have an efficient way to do what you're doing, be able in that field to work on the fly, alone if necessary, arriving at a solution to each and every problem - being readily adaptable to any situation is vital. Learning to spot and avoid pitfalls and "work smarter" - the brain laps that up!

A job someone else has put together for you that you merely occupy is very different from that world much of the time, and it is very easy to get complacent. It's also importantly, emotionally, automatically not "you". But what is "you" may well not pay, as you say for possibly 10 years of skilling-up.

In terms of resourcefulness or getting ahead in a new career or field - it helps to think of yourself as naive again, but unlike a newborn baby you have the resourcefulness and life experience necessary to apply one solution to a different problem and build your own work-flows/procedures for doing things.

Knowing how the brain functions, simply, helps. We all start life knowing nothing aside from inate behaviour (being able to swallow etc) but the brain constantly absorbs patterns, and where necessary... guesses. Wrong guesses proved wrong lead to 'correction'. Hide half an apple you still know it's an apple, hear the surname name of a friend who's first name you forgot and maybe their hobby and this pattern completion kicks in and you know it's Bob or Mary. There may well have been a time we were not even able to do that! The brain is not hard to operate at all - one half is learn by rote and correct when guessing wrong, the other is resourcefulness and probably just trying something that worked in a different context.

Anything new does not yet have a place - anything beyond learning OF something day 1 is a waste of a teacher's efforts in some ways. You know the shape first maybe. The name for it and what it is, those go straight in but something further based on that doesn't really take, until a person has turned that over and made that knowledge their own thought and feeling.

So then you sort of know something, vaguely, and WANT to be able to extrapolate from that how to do the next thing - we either learn by trial and error or are told and try to remember THEN learn very very slowly the same way, and any need for correction has to be acknowledged and as if by magic the right answer becomes a part of you (or your knowledge). And that same basic pattern-matching or filling in the blank in a pattern itself becomes a skill we've acquired.

Studied how we learn from a computer programmer's perspective and tried to create language-learning software that adjusts your set of vocab based on answers, worked great! I knew 500 words of Hungarian yet could not speak the language - you can "learn by rote" to a certain degree but without USING IT you lose it. Speaking French or Welsh while learning it, needing to, wanting to, those proved to be the only way - and if you really really really want bread or a kebab in a far off land you pick up your favourite foodstuff's name there PDQ!

Noone teaches us this but we actually each individually teach ourselves how to do everything we do. Noone can explain to a different creature which of the billions of nerve-endings has to light up to move one limb or how to stand up - we all can so in my view we're all potential geniuses - someone can teach you but everyone does things their own way.

And that is "Work-flow" - the only way to survive in whatever we do in life!

But the same principle has been second nature since we got bored with learning to stand and tried speaking. Since we can all speak I'd say none of us is thick! The only trick to learning and trying new things is to not for one second believe you can't! Then if that's wrong you quickly hit the wall and HAVE TO step back.

The brain does this "TRAINING" or retraining too, but really it's still trial-and-error - a feature of your loverly brain!

Love "So Good" and what the artificer or deep-end approach teaches us - CHEERS!

Makes perfect sense when your hanging by a rope!

Then there is George....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaXWy-HQefc

Best wishes.

Mmmmm like all things everything has its variability. I dont believe there is ever a standard proceedure that fits every situation. However there is always a basic one that fits lots of situations. Yea playing safe is great however playing too safe can win or lose. If one partner keeps his or her job while the other gets new things going that can be a help. Some savings behind you can help. If you have a great set of skills and work experience to drop straight back into a job if the new one goes down can be a great help to. I totaly changed my life but I feel I was lucky and definatly took some big risks.

Hey Derek, it's been a while since I've gotten an update from your blog.

About this topic, I will say that I've gone through this many times, even as I'm writing you, I'm going through that process where I will have to decide to either be "Tarzan" or be the dumb fool who will jump to another rope without the old rope's support.

I knew you first when I began my journey as an independent musician. I never went to school or studied music, but music just got to me, and I charged myself into making music. That's when I found CDBaby.com 11yrs ago. Just because I became a musician, I never quit my job or my other hobbies to make this one my number one because my music career did not bring enough support for me to let go of all the others.

Now, I've also embarked into the author journey. I just published my first book, EVER, called "The True and Pure Religion: Care for the Poor and Shut Up", online and it was a great feeling. But just because I've got a book now doesn't mean I will have to quit my job and just sit on my ass waiting for the success to come in. Patience is important when building something that has potential.

All the wise people I know in my life or have met have always told me to be a man of all traits because you never know which one will open doors to great success. That is why it is good to experience a lot of things, but always being wise to lean back to what is bringing in the dough for your basic needs. If I would have found success with my music career, I would have quit school long time ago, but I didn't, so I went on to get my Bachelor in arts and technology.

Looking forward for more advices from a great and experienced entrepreneur like yourself. :D

Thank you Derek!!

Charis D.
P.S: Would it be possible for you to review my book? It would be awesome to get some feedback from those who like a good read. It's my first book, so any review will be appreciated so I can be more ready for the upcoming ones.

Another tip, like Tarzan. Do not settle. Keep moving.

I've long given similar advice to those who asked except that my metaphor was a lily pond and I was a frog. I jumped around quite a lot and had an interesting if not über lucrative "career."

When I was sitting on top of the pad, basking in my glory or, more likely just the day's sunlight, I was never unaware that there were creatures below me ready to snap off the lily pad's stem at any moment, thus sending me to an early grave.

So I never, ever, stopped triangulating my next hop ... just in case. At the same time I used some of that time in the sun to hone my intuitive senses about the political landscape in the "pond." I was good enough at it to know well in advance of HAVING to make a jump.

I suppose I was lucky, but my hops were usually to something much better and always of my own choosing.

I was never without work and never fell in the pond.

Hmmm, whilst I agree that's a valid approach, everyone has a different way of working, and a different approach to dealing with risk - some may prefer to have, and work best with, that "safety net" of the previous job/career; others may prefer to embrace the risk and go for it

Good advice Derek. Perhaps I would have benefited from it some years ago. Instead i took the plunge -- quit my construction job and went to school to be (of all things) a computer programmer.I thought I would be good at it and knew I would work my butt off. It worked out very well for me. I hadn't burned any bridges -- I could have had a job back at any time so maybe that was my next vine. With many things in life if you wait for them to be perfect and safe you'll wait long past the moment. I spent a grueling 2 and a half years to complete my course -- got divorced, spent my savings -- came out really employable but with not much else left. Got a job, new wife and life and never looked back. "When tasting life, take big bites"
Derek -- I love your posts and have taken much from them and thank you for that!
Cheers,
Doug

... ESPECIALLY if your career change is to a multi-level marketing "opportunity."

Love the Tarzan metaphor. As you know from your experience, the best way to have a continually changing career is to own a business that constantly needs to be reinvented. That's truly a challenge!

Hi Derek !

Couldn't agree more with Derek, for everything I have done I always brought my toolbox of experiences with me to the new one. One thing that I always come back to is working with my hands and solving problem just like I did when I was a kid with Lego, long before they had motors and gears (used broken toys and rubber band) Finding pleasure in ones work is the best of feeling and if you can make a living at it you are golden.
Kent

also known as the first law of wing walking - don't let go of what you have until you have a firm grasp on something else
ummm, now it doesn't always work out that way - :)

Agree with the basic idea, but some food for thought...

1. What happens when you lose momentum before the next vine appears?

2. From my experience, most people won't budge if something is too comfortable, so it takes losing some momentum to get them to do anything.

Good analogy!

Excellent reminder Derek - Thank you!

Well said. It typically takes a shift in mindset to be willing to switch careers, so when someone has made this shift without good support structures in place, often they don't realize that there are important nuances they may be missing in this world of new possibility.

In general, nuance is something that people tend to be either under or over-aware of. You start off as a kid getting brought up in some sort of system with some sorts of rules, and then when you realize that this system has flaws and you try to get out, the way out is often with a simple philosophy. Reality truly is complex, and to function in it gracefully, your new system will need a certain level of complexity and robustness or at least appropriate safeguards. Thus, leveling can be quite tricky, as different things are needed at different stages, and you need to be able to flow with changes that are often quite dramatic to get to high heights.

Do you think that there may be the need to differentiate between a career and a job?

Hey Derek David Royal an old Cdbaby.com artist with Cdbaby.com . Good luck man ! 4life

I think it can be done both ways. Sometimes it has to be. My last job was so brutal I had to fire them in self defense. It was causing me anxiety and heart palpitations and insomnia. It was literally violating my human rights to life, liberty, and happiness. I had nothing lined up, but after I gave my 2 weeks notice, I fired up the job search engine and landed a contract gig before I was even done with the old job. Sometimes you have to jump off the cliff to get motivated to spread your wings and find something new. Sometimes you don't expand to your full potential when you are stuck in something that is tolerable, but unfun. When you force yourself out of the comfort zone, you have no choice but to act. The job prior to this last shitty one, I did the Tarzan thing and it took me two years to find a new job. When I disenfranchised the last one from my life, I had a new job in 2 weeks. The pay is about the same, although I now have to buy my own Obamacare, which sucks, because I live in Wisconsin where Scott Walker has screwed us all on the exchanges, so we are paying double. But I am off topic. Ciao! http://joescoffeefix.blogspot.com

Thank You Derek

Very Very helpful advice. Usually we go for It not thinking about the consecuencias

Keep sending advices, pensamientos , ideas

This is fertile ground

Marcelo Abaroa. San Luis Potosí
México
52 444 870 71 50

Subtle, yet truly profound. Totally agree. Burning bridges sounds glamorous but gives a lot of heartburn!

Hi


Its easier said then done. Rockets need great momentum to get into the orbit. Similarly any new venture needs a lot of a effort. Doing 2 things together would be possible to do full justice to both ?... Of course you need to be practical about stuff managing your finances , expenses etc ... Its easier if you are swinging from a job to a startup but difficult if you are swinging between business's which are doing good... :) .. My 0.02 cents

If you are able to "tarzan" it out its awesome... for which i think you need to a)hard working b) excellent time manager / delegator c) would help if you have good team members d) Able to maintain ZEN like calm in face of multiple storms ( job 1 , startup 2 , wife, kids etc :)) ..

Hi


Its easier said then done. Rockets need great momentum to get into the orbit. Similarly any new venture needs a lot of a effort. Doing 2 things together would be possible to do full justice to both ?... Of course you need to be practical about stuff managing your finances , expenses etc ...

If you are able to "tarzan" it out its awesome... for which i think you need to a)hard working b) excellent time manager / delegator c) would help if you have good team members d) Able to maintain ZEN like calm in face of multiple storms ( job 1 , startup 2 , wife, kids etc :)) .. Its easier if you are swinging from a job to a startup but difficult if you are swinging between business's which are doing good... :) .. My 0.02 cents

Small article with a big impact... Love it!

I immediately thought of a great yoga teacher who kept telling me not to use my momentum to swing my leg forward between my hands but rather to use my breath and core, which allows for a little more control. I think there is a balance between the momentum and the just jump approach. Sooner or later Tarzan has to cross a river or something.

Love this. I have an alternative: it's about the trapeze artist. Unlike Tarzan, he does indeed let go, before the next swing is ready to take his weight. He makes it most of the time, but if he doesn't, there is the safety net.

Real Trapeze artists don't perform live with safety nets, but privately they always do. And so it is with the career change. Prepare in private, build your safety net somewhere hidden away, and when the moment feels right, jump for all you're worth. Eventually the safety net wears out, but at a certain moment you won't need it any more.

I would have a different answer now than I did 20 years ago on back. Back then, if you had any talent at all, you could begin by playing little hole in the wall bars, and as you progressed, you would get into better venues. Well, these days, with the music business as we knew it having been destroyed by the Powers That Be, I wouldn't advise even thinking of being in the music business for a living - because it's just not a feasable venture. Best to do it on the side, write, collaborate, record, try to get your music out through the internet - unless of course you just don't have it - then I'd advise you to just leave it alone. Not everyone is a musician. Sorry, just a fact of life.

Keep swinging, and everything will work out vine.

Why so much fear, Derek? If letting go of something would make us deeply happier, then we should simply let it go. We can not apply only one rule on everybody. Every individual has a different growth path.

Wanting to be like Tarzan means having a very cautious mind. Having a very cautious mind means being attached to things. Being attached to things means having lots of fear. Having lots of fear means stopping ourselves from growing.

Tarzan can not swing from this vine to that vine for ever. He needs to walk, eat, drink, play, climb, sleep ...

If a certain carrier doesn't make us happy anymore, and if we feel deeply that it's the end of the road for us, then we make a change, we make a new start, all fresh, building up from zero... One needs to be courages to want to start from scratch. After all, it's not about money, it's about growth.

Wonderful advice! Jumping from vine to vine is a little less scary than a sheer cliff.

Hey Derek,

Awesome to hear from you again.

Last time I hear from you, you still were speaking at conventions. This one speaks so true to my heart but sometimes you just have to leap with both hands to the new venture making sure that you have a good support fund.
Burning bridges behind has a rush factor while if you're not used to swinging in vines (or jobs) you end up not wanting to let go of the old vine.
I understand what you are saying but I used to be in that situation. I was an IT consultant by day and a spare free time freelancer by night. Only when the threat of cutbacks reached me, did I finally go through to going freelancer full time. My spare time was definitely not enough to support us both, me and my wife, and we had a child coming to the world.
However we planned things through and we burned all our bridges. We moved to a different town, renting a house. My wife quit her job and started a staying at home mom occupation. So I was the only one providing money in the house.
That was planned and it was SOOO scary that I HAD really to get money in the house.
The entitlement (severance payment) was enough to provide us a safety net while I concentrated on getting new freelancing customers. The thought of not being able to provide was so much to bear that I couldn't sleep right. I just thought of getting work. That, I believe, is the main reason I think things work - when you just can't even sleep.
Right now I have a network of 6 more freelancers working for me. I still haven't reached that level where I all I need to do is manage my team - which is a whole lot of work on itself - but I am getting closer.

This was made in less than 2 years. I am making enough to keep us well provided.

So, while I was dangling vines for a long while, it wasn't until I launched myself to the farthest vine, did I achieved my goal.

Stay true.

Hugs,
Ed

Thanks Derek,

best regards
Jan

Great advice.

Makes good sense, and I have done that before.--Thanks for sending.

Fully agree, unless the previous "vine" let you go first would be irresponsible to just change careers without something to fall back (just in case).
Sometime is not the carrer, but the workplace (boss, co-workers, line of business, company size, growth)

When I made the decision that I do not perform my work with money as the main objective my life became much easier. This gave me amazing fluidity to transition and allowed me to employee a radically different (for me) value system. Your offerings have been a strong support to this change in my life, thank you.

I love the metaphor. I would add that we should remain cognizant of the fact no one makes it through the jungle alone. The way we interact with people in jobs along the way forms safety nets (or snares!) that help catch us when we fall (or hold us down!). Sometimes it takes decades to realize these connections.

...and don't lose your loin cloth in the process.

Thanks, I feel
1. Less guilty that I took early retirement as Music $ increased (and showed steady income for 2 years before doing so)
2. Less guilty that I was a sissy for not "being a ballsy artist that believes in himself and should abandon all logic and follow the R brained gamble and whim to quit". That's the way to believe in the universe.

Thanks Derek for refraining from saying "do it" and instead, being a bit contrarian, and advising people to think twice from jumping without a safety net.

I found Michael Masteron's book "The Reluctant Entrepreneur" a nice, short book on helping people think this through.

Great post,fun and to the point,I'm a leaper,personally,and once Ive picked myself up from falling,I make a steady climb back up.

Good to keep in mind, but also good to know that life is ever-changing and often out of our control. Sometimes you're forced to end one opportunity/let a vine go, and although you had no intention of losing momentum, life happened. It's most important to keep taking steps forward. Even if it's just by doing a ton of reading, researching, etc. - the loss of momentum is not failure. It's just another page in your story.

This is the best advice and well put Derek! Thanks for sharing my friend!

Trey:)
itunes.com/WhiskeyChild
itunes.com/HillsRolling
youtube.com/WhiskeyChildRecords

Great advice. In 1976 I left a teaching job with the Department of Defense Schools in Germany to return to the U.S. without having another job waiting. This was a big mistake. I couldn't find a job and because I told the unemployment people, "I quit to come back to the U.S." and not "My contract ran out" was unable to collect a check. After working several odd jobs for two years, I finally got a job at a bakery delivering bread. I working six days a week from 4 am until anywhere from 2 -3 pm. I worked this job for three months and was finally able to get another teaching job overseas in Saudi Arabia. This experience taught me that you should never quit one job unless you have been hired for another. This is the same principal as your "Tarzan" article.

That is the advice that every wise person in my life has always given. Thanks for the reminder, oh wise one!

I do agree. Having said that, last year, the circumstance were right for me to take some major risks and move to a new city with no job and no place to live right off the bat. When I did that, I was able to attract everything I wanted to me in a matter of weeks because I was forced to show up for myself every day and make my life happen.

I think there are pros and cons to both approaches, but generally speaking, I would agree with your position, Derek. At the very least, have a plan of some kind that details how your career shift will support you so that you don't lose everything at the drop of a hat.

I agree with your caution Derek but I'm radical this way. I'll quit if it doesn't suit me then challenge myself to find another job, usually teaching. It's not easy but I have no children to feed so...My life has been an adventure that way and I keep my self-honesty at a premium.

I tried that once. The next vine snapped unexpectedly. Life has many variables, including the character capacity of those we depend on. As people can be fickle and fearful, there are no certainties in any situation. Each new experience introduces new achievements and new challenges. We never arrive at the perfect place or with the perfect associates. We have to choose which battles we feel capable of fighting. Sometimes we don't know our true strengths and find ourselves in a situation that is beneath our capabilities (because we underestimated ourselves) or face arising challenges that are over our heads, simply because we didn't have a memory bank to draw from in a given situation.

However, I love the concept and there is a great wisdom here.

Love it. So true so true! After having done this the wrong way before, i totally understand the importance of doing this the right way. I'm at that place again and no matter how much i want to, i will not let go of the current slimy slippery vine until i have a firm grip on the next one.

If you lose momentium you are just hanging around. If you are just hanging around you have lost momentium.

I like these thoughts, inspent my early woking life making sure I had enough money to always afford a new stereo if the old one broke down or got stolen.
Now I have around £50k enough to relax and not worry about money. The same applies to my civil service job. I am happy. Now I have to learn how to enjoy my life relaxing and not running around like everyone else. I now stop and look around and listen to everything and everyone who has something to say.

My point being sometimes in life you find yourself and make friends.

a very keen observation and great advice!

Thought about these 4 "conversation starters" all day. Thanks, Derek.
Money and attention...the only "goods" of a society that worships capitalism. Focusing on a good life is subjective. Years ago, youth rebelled and wanted to be free of authority. Can't run off an join the circus anymore. When everyone is tattooed, has dyed hair, is addicted to something, wearing what they want, what's to rebel against? Reminds me of the child of one of the Beatles who rebelled by attending military academy. Also reminds me of a Dr. Phil show where the guests were "living their lives". They could also be described as obsessed, eccentric, under-achieving, and in need of help. Which is it? Often who decides is the one with the most money and attention...unless a law is broken.
The musician who is growing tired of touring...how interesting that popular music has become just another job with humdrum occupational hazards. Being a musician used to be like running off to join the circus. Adventure, seeing the world...rebelling in hopes of finding the good life.
So what is the good life? The balance? I have my answers, but few are interested. Hope a better reception for you. Be sure not to offend or preach. Plant those good seeds and get the heck out of there. You wrote that book about how to get everything you want, so this should be interesting. Good luck!
Finally, when leaving a job, its ideal to have one lined up. Life doesn't operate like this. Job seekers have to be open to new fields, often paying less. That's when having "good life" skills can be crucial.

Great advice for the most part. But in my case my switch is due to me not physically capable to perform my blue-collar type of work, so switching became a neccesity. Currently attending college so that I can "rejoin" the workforce. Should have done this many moons ago. But like everything else, it's survival of the fittest.
Les

Hi Derek, for once I am going to disagree with you

While it is important to do as much as you can before letting go of the old vine, sometimes you have to get your hands free for the new one before you can really grab it.

I recently had a successful entrepreneur who moved from employment to business advise me "you can always go back and get another job"

Meanwhile I have been struggling to work and start a business on the side as per the normal advice.

I really like and lean toward the "craftsman" idea. But just watched the movie Artois the Goat. Watch it if you haven't seen it. Really gets into the subject. Great movie!

Sometimes you need to make that leap of faith without support. Many times if you have a fall back position you WILL fall back. There is something to be said for the motivation of terror!

Thank you...This message was right on time. ;)

I quite agree, Derek. Throughout my career, I've never gone from one gig to another without being sure that the next was secure. It's far too easy to end up in quick sand.

My father is a preacher and storyteller. He never had another job lined up when he decided he was ready to leave the one he was currently in. He had the faith to leap out and trust that whatever was next would be there, and it always was. The problem with waiting till you have the next vine in hand is that most people never let go of the vine they're swinging on. They spend their whole lives looking for that next vine, and they are paralyzed. I'm a musician, and I had lots of talented friends who picked other careers to "fall back on" in case the music thing didn't work out. Guess what? They've spent their whole lives on the fall back job, and most of them can barely play music any more. I know everyone who reads this blog doesn't believe in God, but without faith, it's impossible to please Him. Faith is a bit like letting go of the vine when you can't see any other vines to grab. Indiana Jones couldn't cross the chasm to get to the Holy Grail till he jumped out into thin air. If all we ever trust are things we can see with our eyes, life will be very boring, indeed. Back and forth and back and forth on the same vine day after day after day. . .

This is great advice! It helps to manage the risks when exploring new ideas.

Brilliant and insightful as always, without a hint of didacticism.

The "Going for broke" philosophy is a form of self-delusion - sometimes it works on sheer will but mostly it fails mercilessly.

You want to keep moving but without losing your footing; on other words, you can't afford to lose momentum but you can't afford to lose your bottom, either.

Thanks for your invariably honest opinions!

Somewhere along the way reading your stuff, and I have been reading quite a lot, I think I read that if something was not working out in your life, no matter how hard you tried, then it was not meant to be. This is the equivalent of saying that you could do anything you wanted to do as long as it was natural for you.

Could't agree more if you have a choice. If you don't have a choice then I would add two pieces of advice - keep your new idea as simple as possible and move much faster to make it happen

Interesting use of words to exclaim a sense of awareness each and every one of us should have in the first place.

Good advice, really excellent! The book "So Good They Can't Ignore You" gets even better when you reach page 135 and read about a wise man who in essence said, "Do what people are willing to pay for". Although changing jobs like Tarzan is the #1 way to go, a few times I've inadvertently let go of the "vine" a time or two. Then I had to rely on what Kobi Yamada said, "Sometimes you just have to take the leap and build your wings on the way down"...but that works better when you're needing to get out of a bad relationship or a bad part of town. You make us think, Derek, and you use powerful metaphors and time-tested analogies.

That is sage advice...much easier to find something new when you don't have the pressure of having a gap in between.

Don't grab or hold onto a vine that's not taking you anywhere!

[great analogy, Derek!]

Great thought. Thanks as always forr sharing.

"So Good They Can't Ignore You" totally changed my way of viewing my career change plans. I never planned to totally drop a vine before grabbing hold of the next one, but I did think about making a bold, and probably stupid, leap into some totally new venture. "So Good They Can't Ignore You" not only helped me gain insight on how to look for a career re-direction, but also made me feel better about my current situation.

Thanks for sharing this, Derek.

I've heard several entrepreneurs encourage budding entrepreneurs (employees with a side hustle) to quit their jobs and focus on building their business, even before they start making money. To me it sounds like romanticizing entrepreneurship, where taking risks is seen as a virtue, even if the risk can be avoided.

Totally and agree and understand that why leave something. For nothing ! You got to hang on there one vine to another.

Great article as always, and relevant to me at this point in my life!

Very good advice. I'll add something else: Tarzan doesn't rip down the vines he's letting go of, either... So make sure you don't burn bridges when you make the switch.

This is the advice I have given to many young ones in the past. Experience is a good teacher.

Absolutely brilliant Derek! We need discipline in our thinking when it gets all to hard. I will share this with others.

Buenisimo tu consejo Derek, lo voy a compartir!!!

I disagree on one point.

While it's very preferable to only let go when you have another solid job lined up (or have taken a few months holiday and proven your business venture is going to be profitable), there is one situation where you just have to let go and hope for the best.

An abusive workplace.

I absolutely agree that you should hold on as long as you possibly can and save every cent. But if you're looking to leave, it's not always something as trivial as wanting better conditions and better pay. Some workplaces are soul-destroying, and you have to leave a little earlier than anticipated.

When you're sitting in a cubicle (luxury!) for 8 hours a day wanting to kill yourself, how exactly are you expected to wow your next employer with your enthusiasm?

It's funny the reaction I received when I told people I was leaving, after holding out as long as I possibly could. Until I would stare at poles on the drive home and want to ram into them. Until I couldn't sleep each night thinking about the horrors of the next day. Until my stomach churned and I felt constantly sick, my nights and weekends robbed from me.

"How can it be so bad? Just stick it out until you get another job." As if humans are meant to be able to tolerate ANY amount of pain, no matter how inescapable, excruciating and soul-destroying it is.

So, yes. Get another job, if you can. If you can't, hold on as long as you can. And if you can't, let go and hope for the best. If you're in the last category the last thing you need is someone looking down on you for doing what you need to do to survive - quitting.

Wise information Derek. Don't let go of the old vine until you have a new one supporting you. The key is to have patience and allow your vision to unfold itself. Rarely our we given the whole picture at once. It takes courage to do a 360 in life. Plan on a steep learning curve as well!

Hi Derek,
I'm hanging in there! My plan ends human starvation and malnutrition by a certain date within five years. The profound benefits include:
1. Population Growth Stabilizes
2. AIDS, Malaria, Cancers become unraveled, easily solved
3. Wars, Terrorism, and Nuclear weapons go by the wayside, becoming obsolete

View the plan on www.thecount.org
Thank you,
Steven Bruce

I always do the Tarzan yell during job interviews.

And smile.

Excellent advice. I can say from personal experience that big changes take a lot longer to gain momentum than you think when you're looking at it from the outside and if you leap without any income net, you're going to break some bones in the fall… even if you get back up and catch the next rope.

excellent advise or what i did was built a nest egg,quit my job, took two days to read "what color is my parachute" then spent the next two weeks lazer focused on getting my dream job and within the two weeks i had it But i knew my limitations and knew which companies where likely to hire me with them and went for it. :)

I used to use this metaphor for the way some people do dating.

Right, Derek…one of my old buddy’s described that like watching the mushrooms growing up & watering those which getting bigger in size. While still putting the new seeds just in case…
We musician/producers will never give up enjoying to spending time around our instrument of choice. And me myself still recording, playing, producing & giving lessons, but seriously…today’s reality is mind blowing. I think that it’s very good idea to get quickly educated about how financial/investment business works. And I don’t mean music related at all. Why? Because we need to get paid for whatever we do/produce/live for…& that is changing right now…very quickly…
Shortly: fiat currencies are in big fight for survival & most of them are not gonna make it, including USD…please, don’t let this train leave the station before you’re on it.
Following this for many years & it’s never been hotter then today…

www.cdbaby.com/alexguitar4

check this out if interested: www.zerohedge.com

This really a wonderful advice, Derek!
I love it...

I'm a guy want to change my career too...
Your advice is a smart stuff...

Thank so much
Thong Huu

Wow~ Thanks for the short, simple, impactful lesson. I'm going to remember this and spread the message

Very apropos timing...

I am reminded of the traveling rings in gym class. Soaring across the gymnasium like a monkey through the jungle, one would definitely not want to simply let go...

What a great post. At times i felt like my position was something that anyone could do. However, once i began to understand that so many soft skills go into my duties, i realized that my assets were transferable. I grasp this concept and seek the next vine with my hand on the current vine.

Couldn't agree more. I always recommend starting your next company - collecting future clients and employees - while you are still at your current day job.

Once again your words of wisdom come at a time they are much needed. Thank you Derek.

Another Tarzan concept is - he doesn't jump too far to get to the next vine. Switching careers may be more of a little movement to another direction but in still somehow related - perhaps the next tree's branch.

For example, instead of a trucker becoming a golfer, maybe you become a trucker who has a great schedule that allows you to golf.

I love this! The hardest thing to do is bridle your passion and saddle your dreams. Leaping is fake courage. Patience and planning take real courage. Thanks Derek!

Feel blessed to have "found" your list; or did it find me?

Always learn a lot not only from you, but the comments below.

I've had my own business for 30 years; have not been passionate about the business in a while. Then my 24 yr old nephew, and 23 yr old son, joined an affiliate program of an international wellness company (which means they have proprietary formula of mangosteen & minerals in a liquid form that they include in a growing array of products including A-Energy B- Weight Loss C- Tea D- Coffee etc all loaded with anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatories) and much to my surprise, they are still doing it 3 years later. My nephew is a rockstar in the business and will earn well over $1 million this year; my son, who has been doing it pretty hard for 2 years, will earn over $200,000 this year.

So, I joined the Team and am using the formula to build my team. It is a fascinating industry, and you can truly change peoples lives.

The reason I bring this up is that astute trainers/teachers/guru's say exactly what you are saying: Don't leave your job until you are at least earning in your part time business what you earn in your regular business.

However, and here is where complexities of knowledge come into play, it seems many success, business coaches adhere to the notion of "BURNING YOUR BRIDGES".... (like Steve Borek and his trapeze metaphor states letting go and flying.)

Now I recall my Unlimited Firewalk Experience with Tony Robbins and the ahaa moment he gave me when he talked about conflicting cliches..... like: "he who hesitates is lost".....ok.... but we also have heard: "Look before you leap!" OY !@! what to do. PS shameless plug for those who are interested in their HEALTH, and if they want to earn some extra money if it doesn't have to interere with what they are doing now.... here is a 30 second video on the HEALTHY energy drink. www.NoCrashNrg.com

You always make good sense. Hope your doing good. Peace Dave Thrift

Practical advice. I like it. Glad I decided to click a link or two or ten.

Uhm, vines grow from the ground up so the Disney version of Tarzan swinging wouldn't have actually worked.

Doh! Sorry to wreck the analogy. ;o)

you may be interested in listening to the latest Bulletproof podcast with Peter Sage who used this Tarzan analogy but then added that true entrepreneurs wouldn't hang on to the vine at all :)
Graveyards are filled with sad people that wouldn't hang on to a vine. We never hear their tale. But the occasional daredevil does it successfully, then won't shut up about it. — Derek

TOO LATE!

Sometimes you wrote clearly and articly what I experiensed.


That's what I did these days.
I used to go to the university and made sure my way but now I changed the situation so I don't go to the uni now. I'm ready for going to Philippines to teach Japanese as teacher.

I think generally I'm pushing me up by myself and your article often give me opportunities to change. Thx

Great advice first up. Very short, very realistic and very relate-able.

It was Dorothy Parker who said, (from memory)

Sweet's the air
with curly smoke
from all my burning bridges.

what do you think do cash savings represent a vine too? Can't buy momentum but...