Straight Outta Compensation…

A front seat to my Solopreneur from Scratch journey of leaving the corporate world to starting my own thing. — Edition #1

Somewhere around Google search #2,367 (keywords: How do I do this?) I heard about the idea of sharing the details of your entrepreneurial venture, amongst a select group of people you trust, to act as an added checkpoint and accountability partner..in other words, to help keep you from wussing out.

Naturally, I thought, why not share it within a huge publication to a group of total strangers.

After years of daydreaming on the idea of jumping ship from the corporate world, it finally happened! To be fair, getting off the ship was more of a push than a jump — via layoff — but I had been preparing to jump for some time.

I’ve been at those layoff tables before; everyone’s heads are down, closed mouth smiles, the nods of acceptance, betraying what you feel inside — fear, panic, worry.

Not this time. This time, there was a feeling of peace and exhilaration that rolled over me when my manager delivered the news, and swelled as I dropped off my badge and left the building. I met my husband for lunch and we toasted with an afternoon beer.

This time, I had a plan for leaving a world I never belonged in and entering one which held meaning and purpose.

Within 6 weeks of the layoff I wrote a book, had blog posts in several publications, and began development on my dream — The SoulSeekers Community, an online collective for everything spiritual and personal growth related (launching early Feb.).

There were immediate challenges right out of the gate — time management, web development, social presence, finding my audience, fear of failure…but none were quite as ever present as the struggle around money.

Leaving my healthy six-figure paycheck was something I contended with over and over in my mind; it was certainly the number one thing that kept me tied to jobs I hated for so many years.

As much as I thought I had prepared myself for the gaping hole my that would widen every two weeks, I quickly realized I didn’t give enough credence to how just how distressing it can be to eliminate your safety net.

When I’m fearful, biting my nails in worry that this will never work, stressed about having enough money to survive, I ask myself if the sacrifices I have to make now are worth the pride I feel for standing up for my life. The answer is always a resounding — YES.

The #struggleisreal for sure…but I know it’s just temporary.

I know that life is meant to be lead genuinely, from the heart, and that your life will be richer for choosing a truer path. For that, I believe that this adventure will become a defining event in my life.

In a beautiful commencement address Jim Carrey said the below:

You can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.

If you haven’t seen his commencement address you should take 26 minutes out of your week and watch it here.

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Sincerely,

Jennie Aberle