The Great Office Escape

You know the feeling – the feeling you get when you stare out the window to a beautiful summer day from your stressful, dank pit. It’s warm and full of life out there, and you can’t wait to take off all your restrictive office attire and bask yourself in all it’s glory when 5pm finally comes.

This is a common scene played all across the world. Most of us grow to accept our fates as employees and simply fulfilling our duties as hard-working sacrificers. And sacrifice we must, for it’s the only way to make ends meet. The only way we can afford that Prius in our driveways, and our only method to a secure and comfortable life.

But deep down it makes us tired. We want something more. We want to grow and to make something more of our lives. We want to wake up when our bodies tell us to wake up, not have to drug ourselves with coffee and survive our way through stressful mornings.

Sadly, most of us accept our fate. Most of us figure that this is the way it is supposed to be, and that the way to make a secure living, or even the way to live your life) requires 9 hours, 5 days a week of sacrifice.

But not you. You are on your way out of this life, because you’ve made a conscious decision to do something meaningful. Because life is wonderful, and you don’t want to just exist. I’ve written this section for you.

The Third Stage

Since you are reading this, you are probably unhappy with your career (or, perhaps just curious.) You want to be in a better place. Whether you are an overworked and under-appreciated Starbucks Barista, or a stressed-out middle manager tired of dealing with demanding clients, you have a similar feeling. You feel that you are too good to suffer like this, and you want to do something meaningful with your life.

In the Third Stage you have made the commitment to do something better with your life. It’s that simple. If you are confused, here is a list of the goals from a typical person stuck in stage 2, where most people comfortably roost, compared to somebody in stage 3 (someone who has made a promise to follow their new passion to whatever end):

The key difference between the goal of someone in Stage 2 (who is apparently content to be there) and someone in Stage 3, is that the person in Stage 3 has planned on doing better things that don’t involve their current job. The person in Stage 2 has turned a blind eye to dreams and is stuck in a rut. They are content letting their boss and company dictate what they can and cannot do, and are often too stubborn to want to change.

Sometimes people in 9-to-5 life are so deeply entrenched in their realities and unable to see that things can be better that they will have moments of glee at the most inappropriate times, like when they get that 2% annual raise, or when they have an office birthday party thrown in their honor. I actually call this the “good doggie!” complex, because in many ways, this mentality mirrors that of someone who has just received a treat from his owner. “Good boy! You get a little raise that doesn’t keep pace with inflation and a biscuit!”

The Five Stages 

	Stage 1 – Learning to Earn
	Stage 2 – Working for Others
	Stage 3 – Self Connection
	Stage 4 – Building Your World
	Stage 5 – Passionate Living

What are Some Examples of Better Things to do?

Ok, so you have decided that you are sick of your 9-to-5 life and you want out. You want to do something that is meaningful to you. What do you do? Uh… a little help please!

It’s ok. You don’t need to panic!

First, you need to reconnect with yourself. Check out Stage 1 – Learning to Earn for some tips on how to do this. Often you will find that the things you loved so much as a child are still similar to things you would love to do today. Also, take a look at Ten Offbeat and Exciting Careers as a starting place. Some of these careers might give you an idea of what this “better place” may look like.

The important thing is that the path you choose will be uniquely yours! It’s something that will just feel right to you, and only you will know precisely what that is. You may decide that you love computers and the internet, but you are sick of being a translator for the government because of the long hours and work without reward. But you want to keep working with computers without the bureaucracy. So you decide to venture into the world of web design with the long-term goal of establishing your own business and working for yourself!

Perhaps you love kids, but you are tired of working in elementary education, which is heavily regulated, stressful and doesn’t allow you to really get to know the kids on a more personal level. So you decide to teach English to kids in another country! You look up places that you could reasonably do this and take a big risk. Two years later, you are blissfully teaching kindergartners math in Taiwan.

You never know where you’ll end up, but sometimes if it doesn’t work out the way you want, the challenge and the excitement of doing something new can make you believe in yourself.

Through the process of self-connection you will see that it’s possible to do anything you put your mind to – it just takes a bit of risk. The most important part of this process is that you are finally listening and speaking with that inner voice that you’ve ignored for so long while slaving away at a job you hate. And by finally listening to that voice you have stopped making excuses for yourself and actually “walked the walk” of life. And even if you fail at your new endeavor, you will have gained something immensely valuable. You will have learned to value yourself as a creative and powerful person with skills and talents to give to the world.

But What if I Have no Skills?

You are reading this article, right? The ability to speak English is a skill that is useful to millions of people across the globe who can’t. You could teach them.

Being an “expert” at something is not a requisite for teaching others, either. Nobody is a born Maestro (well, perhaps except Beethoven, but even he got better as he practiced!) The point is that if you have an interest, you can commit to learning and getting better. And you don’t have to go to school to do so. If you want to learn how to run a business, I can think of no better way than to actually run a business!

This is the trial by fire approach, which is a wonderful way to live.

Skills and talents will only get you so far. You also have to be willing to learn.

But I promise you this – there are some things that you will be naturally better at than others. Look at those things that you are better at (even if you think you are not that good.) Focus on those. That’s what you should do.

Welcome to stage 3!

You Are in The Third Stage if…

You have made the decision to take a risk and do something more meaningful with your life than waste away at the dead-end career that makes you unhappy. Also, you need to define (clearly) what it is you are going to do to make your Great Office Escape.

The following checklist will give you an idea of general characteristics of somebody in stage 3. If you match all 4 of these characteristics, then you are ready to make your escape!

People in Stage 3 tend to…

• Be completely ready to quit their jobs and try something new
• Know what it is that they are going to pursue (instead of their current job) with total clarity
• Be excited about this new path
• Rather lose their job entirely than sacrifice this potential new path

How to Enter the Fourth Stage

Simple! Make the plunge. Start out on your path and be following this new path whole-heartedly. To enter stage 4 you need to have given up your old life completely and immersed yourself in your new one. It’s time to build your world.

You can do it!

Resources

Here are some articles that will help you if you are in this stage:

• Escaping the Office During a Recession
• Freelancing Your Job
• 10 Offbeat and Exciting Careers
• 5 Freelance Careers

Click Here for the next article in the series: Stage 4 – Building Your World