I remember my first job at 15. I wasn’t a great babysitter so I got a job in a restaurant as a salad girl. When I chose this job, I wasn’t thinking about my future and where I wanted to go in a career. It was just money and experience.
There are different reasons and motivations around why we work. There are some people who just work for money. Their focus is on something else. Their job pays the bills so they can do this other thing that they love. They have skills that make them money.
When I got back into film production I was thinking this way.
I needed money and I had a skill that would help me make money.
Once I got reestablished in film production, I was working often and making money.
All of this was fine for a while. But I was getting tired of the crazy schedule, the long commute, and the big egos. But the main thing was my goal. I had a goal to get out of debt with my work in film production and that had happened.
I needed a new goal.
I started to think about what I wanted in my life and how I wanted to live it. I had left film production in the past because I wanted to have control of my schedule, give back to my community and help people. It was time for me to get back to that life. That is when I began my search to find my next path.
The first thing I needed to figure out was what did I want?
- A job to get me to retirement?
- A new career working for someone else?
- Or to start my own business?
Everyone has different motivators.
I know visual artists, writers, and performers that work a job for money. Their main focus is on their art. They work the job to pay the bills so they can live a creative life. Once they get established, sell their art, sign a book deal, commit to their music, the jobs can come and go.
Elizabeth Gilbert talks about this in her book Big Magic. She worked a side job even after her big success with Eat, Pray, Love. She didn’t want to make her passion responsible for her day to day expenses. She felt that would put too much pressure on her writing.
This is a perfect reason to have a job.
A new career is a wonderful option too. I have always been a freelancer or self-employed. At one point, I thought nonprofits would be a good choice because I wanted to help save the world. I got a job as a fundraiser for a nonprofit.
Working in an office was a totally new experience for me. It was completely different than the way I was used to working. I learned a lot during that experience.
That experience helped inform me more about what I wanted for my future work.
After thinking about my options, I decided the best thing for me was to do my own thing.
I had been an entrepreneur in the past. I liked being the boss and making the decisions. I like having my success in my control.
That was the beginning of my discovery process. The first decision was made.