Career Question: How Long Should You Pursue Your Passion?

Here’s another career question. For those of you who are new to Careersthatdontsuck.com, Career Questions come from the minds of our readers, coaching clients and friends. They are meant to spark ideas and to provide guidance.

This week’s question is: How long should you pursue your passion, if you haven’t gotten your big break?

This question comes up often in my coaching sessions, especially among those interested in or currently pursuing career changes. It’s a tough question to answer because the answer depends on your personal situation.

For me, when I was changing careers, I set a time limit at the start. I gave myself one year to get it rolling and to find a way to replace the income I’d earned from my last job.

I also set a budget. I set up a separate bank account and transferred as much money as I felt comfortable investing in my new venture. Comfort is important because you must feel free to pursue your passion. You can’t be held back by financial anxieties. Also, you have to be prepared to “invest” in your new career or business opportunity. For some, that means setting aside enough cash to pay your living expenses while you search for a new job or get your new business off the ground. For others, it means literally investing in things you’ll need for your new business–office furniture, computer equipment, marketing materials, conference fees and/or staff salaries.

Don’t worry if you don’t have large sums of money to invest. There’s no set limit. It’s up to you to decide how long you’ll stay out of work in pursuit of your passion.

For me, one year and X dollars was my limit. When my account was nearly depleted and my time was running short, I invested the last of my funds in the things I thought would give me that final push toward my goal (Hiring a PR expert, purchasing advertising or hiring a salesperson are excellent “final push” investments). I also started work on my fall-back plan, the job I’d take to earn a living while I continued to moonlight.

PAINLESSLY PURSUING YOUR PASSION

TIP 1: Define a very specific goal so you’ll never have to ask yourself “Am I there yet?”. Example: “Have my own AM radio talk show on WKLB”
TIP 2: Create a plan of action, special emphasis on “Action”. Don’t quit your day job before you map out a path to your new career. Failure to do so will leave you aimless, frustrated and broke.

TIP 3: Don’t quit your day job until you have saved enough money to cover your expenses for at least 6 months, more if your passion is high-risk, hard to achieve or low-paying. Also, don’t forget to factor in unemployment payments if you need to; it’s only a little money, but it’s your little money.

TIP 4: Create a separate bank account so that you don’t over-spend and so that you can monitor the health of your efforts. When your “passion account” is running low, that’s your cue to ramp up your efforts or to start looking for a new (paying) job.

TIP 5: Organize a support structure, someone or a group of someones who will be there to cheer you on (and offer you a hot meal from time to time) before you begin your passionate pursuit. My best friend and my mom are the best PCS (personal cheering section) ever.

If you have a career question, contact Careersthatdontsuck.com.