Gayle HYou feel energized. You know you were meant for something different. You get giddy just thinking about your new path. You crave information. You long for experience.
And you are more scared than you have ever been in your life.
It is time for you to take THE LEAP.
Quit your job. Start a business. Sell everything and travel. Write a book. Become a stand-up comic. Whatever your LEAP is, you know the time has come to make it.
But how?
There are many aspects that need to be addressed before leaping. Front and center to most people is overcoming fear. Yes, fear is a biggie. And being able to find ways to release your fear is a key ingredient to making your leap.
Trusting your intuition is another large hurdle that takes time and energy to surmount. There are numerous resources in our world today to help support the emotional element of the leap. Read as many as you can.
But we don’t hear much about the practical side of leaping. You know, the ‘OK, I’m going to do it, now what do I do?’ side of the equation.
I’ve taken a few leaps my life. I quit my job, sold everything, and travelled around the world for a year with my husband when we were thirty-six. Then, at forty-four, I quit my job to start my own business. At forty-six my husband quit his job to start his own business and we wound up in Kauai housesitting for two years.
Each leap has been the best thing I’ve done at that point in my life.
But I am a practical, pragmatic, logical kinda gal. Yes, I’ve experienced exponential personal growth. Yes, I was scared to death. Yes, I have had a heck of a lot of fun. And yes, I have spreadsheets to prove it all.
Transforming a dream into reality requires methodology as much as it requires moxie.
On the verge of your leap? You need a plan.
While planning may feel boring and stifling, done the right way, planning becomes a source of building excitement for your leap. Planning makes things feel real – like they will actually happen, because for the most part, things we’ve planned for in our lives to date, have happened.
Planning also provides a sense of control over a very out of control activity. Taking the leap feels wild, crazy, sometimes senseless, but you know in your gut it’s the right thing to do. Planning helps connect your crazy intuition to your mind’s need to be logical, reduce fear, play things safely.
And once mind and gut are connected, you are unstoppable!
A good planning process will include the following components:
- A financial freedom plan. Some people call this a budget, I prefer to call it your financial freedom plan because the word budget feels like such a downer. And frankly, you are not trying to budget anything – you are trying to figure out how to have the money you need to get what you want.
This financial freedom plan should start with your current expenses grouped into two buckets – wants and needs. You should also take the time to understand all of your current savings vehicles. We sometimes forget how much credit card points, gift cards, miscellaneous savings accounts, and other sources of not salary income can add up. Additionally, scrutinize your want list. That daily cup of Starbucks Coffee with the occasional croissant can add up. (Yes, I realize you may have put that on your needs list. Rethink that decision.)
- Research. When we get to the edge of that leaping precipice, the feeling of needing to jump becomes very overwhelming! We just need to be out. Gone. Moved on.
But chances are good that you are leaping from a regular paycheck to wondering if you will ever see a paycheck again. So take some time to research potential transition approaches from the safe to the unknown.
Bonuses, severance packages, leaves of absence, sabbatical time, retirement accounts – there are a great many sources of support that currently exist in your company’s policy database. After twenty-one years as a human resources director, believe me – there are a lot of good things hidden in that policy database.
Some say a severance package is your exit off the highway. I say it is your onramp to the freeway!
- Timeline. The timeline is where the financial freedom plan and your research intertwine. When are you able to leave behind the safe regular paycheck and go at it on your own?
Don’t stifle your sense of urgency with too much logic, but having a game plan, with day, month, and even yearly goals will keep you moving forward. Let your excitement drive your energy levels, dreams, and vision boards. Use your fear to constructively drive your need for planning and logic. Time bound them both in a healthy balance.
Leaping to a new situation is a life changing event. Feed your desires, follow your gut, but respect the need to have a plan.
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
Gayle H
