Coffee Talk #204: Making the Leap

It’s Tuesday! Grab your cup and let’s start chattin’.

If we were having coffee together this week, I’d want to talk about HOW it’s been 20 years since Gilmore Girls debuted? I’m beside myself with this — I actively remember what I was doing 20 years ago, as in I’m now old enough to say things like ‘well that was 20 years ago!’ and that’s equal parts terrifying and almost — exciting? I grew up with Rory, we were ‘the same age’ and I absolutely lived for the weekly installment of my Gilmore Girls. Remember when we had to patiently wait for new episodes and seasons? Gilmore Girls got me through some weird times.

If we were having coffee together this week, I’d tell you that another ‘remember this’ post popped up on Facebook last week, reminding me that I did a thing 3 years ago on that day. I woke up and decided to quit my job of 10 years. It rolls off the tongue to say it this way, but of course there was more to it than that. Get the full story from today’s live Coffee Talk chat.

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that this reminder prompted me to share this topic – Making the Leap. So often, we wait until we feel ready to tackle something – a new job, a side hustle, asking for a promotion, etc. but let me share this one piece of really good advice I got from a mentor years ago:

If you wait until you’re ready, it’s already too late.

POWERFUL. I’m guilty of overthinking, of challenging my intuition, of letting my brain create excuses. But on that day 3 years ago, I decided to DO something about my daily unhappiness with my current job situation. But I wasn’t ‘ready.’ I didn’t have an alternate plan. I just knew that I’d had enough and that I wanted–deserved–to feel good.

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that YOU DESERVE TO FEEL GOOD. The thing that you want but aren’t pursuing because you think 1) not good enough 2) not qualified 3)but what about my obligations — I’m telling you to just do the thing. This is your chance to be in charge of your life. Take it. Grab it. Make that Leap.

Need a little help? Here are my top tips to Make the Leap.

1. Trust your gut – your body feels vibes and energy. You can read the room, whether you realize this or not. Often, we have to convince our mind to catch-up with our gut. Feeling low energy? Lots of headaches and body aches that you can’t get answers for/not related to a medical condition? This is your body telling you that something’s not right.

You deserve to feel good every single day. I woke up for 6 straight weeks not wanting to go to work. My body and mind suffered. It’s not worth it!

2. Know your WHY. How do you want to spend your time? What is the ‘perfect’ way you’d like to spend your day? Think about YOU first – eliminate things like time, money, obligations to family. It’s ok to be selfish to think about this. Really question how you’d like to spend your day and compare it to how you actually spend your day. Do these things align? Do you want them to align? Can you take one small step to make it more of a reality?

3. Don’t wait for ‘ready’. You will NEVER be ready to take that step – THE step. You have to just do it. Your brain will catch up to your gut. If we wait until we are ready, we will never do the thing.

4. Review your résumé. You have amazing skills and you bring so much to the table. Take the time to review and record your skills and accomplishments. I love the job search process – I love reviewing skills, talking about my accomplishments, and that you always learn something new about yourself during job interviews. Take the time to review what you have done. You might be surprised by how much you do and how much you know.

5. Ask someone in the industry. I wanted to say ‘find a mentor’ but that seems hard or confusing if you’ve never sought a mentor. This doesn’t have to be Mr. Miyagi. This could be a co-worker, a neighbor, Bob that you met at that BBQ one time who works in the field that you desire. Find someone who is DOING the thing that you want to do and ask them for advice. People LOVE to talk about themselves!

Go forth and take that next step TODAY.