photo credit: Richo.Fan

It was August 20, 2009. Kristi Coyne was told she would be out of a job as of September 30. Her department of 130 employees would be let go: the county was farming out their mental health services to a private company. It’s a common story these days, but not one that everyone handles the same way.

Kristi had always done everything right. She got good grades in high school, went to college for her Bachelor’s degree, and then went on to get her Master’s in Psychology. She was working for a government-run mental health facility helping the local mental health community instead of pursuing a more lucrative career in private practice. Now she was left with her remaining student loan debt, some letters after her name, and a couple of weeks to figure out what to do — much more than a lot of people get.

The Crossroads

She had an idea that had always been in the back of her mind, but it was not that “right” thing to do. Certainly in this economic downturn going on in America in 2009, it was preposterous. Her work with the mentally ill was rewarding, and she would still be able to practice on the side. But her true passion had always been something else. Like most of us, she was raised being told that such frivolity wasn’t a practical way to make a living. She had always wanted to do something involving fashion. A fan of fabulous clothes of eras past, she had gathered enough of her own to open a store out of her bedroom closet.

Her options were to look for another job, to wait to hear what small percentage of her previous salary this new private company was going to offer to re-hire her, or to make up something else entirely. Messages from her Facebook friends were all encouraging. Her response to it after things had begun to sink in later that day was, “Thanks, guys! Your support has always uplifted me! I’d like to work on creating my own destiny now…”

The Road Unmapped

Two days after she learned that her job was getting outsourced, she looked at retail spaces and found one in an indoor mall in an old train station that she felt would be perfect for a vintage clothing store. The following week, the new company had offered its proposals to some of the laid-off staff. Kristi decided that she could not take the offer, and began a walk down another path.

The sign design was created for Nine Lives Vintage Wears before she even finished her tenure at her old position. She planned to open the doors in the first week of October. This retail store selling vintage clothes, handmade jewelry, and other items made by local artists and craftspeople was opening in a recession. Some people wondered if she was as mentally ill as her prior patients doing something that “crazy” in times like these. Once she convinced them that she was doing it, and at full speed ahead, they got behind her and watched the place take shape quickly. She had been dreaming about this for years, so she had a vision for it already that those people just couldn’t see as clearly.

A New Life

So far the store has done even better than she had hoped, and the people who thought she was doing something frivolous are starting to rethink their own lives. We are often put in situations that test us. Some people choose safety and perceived security, while others feel that would be a form of lifelong torture. The same week she held the grand opening of her store back in October, one of her former co-workers chose a much different path — jumping off of a high bridge to their death.

Kristi chose her path toward happiness and designing the lifestyle she wants. It doesn’t have to be a retail store that makes you happy, but I hope you can find your happy path.

Many people have dealt with layoffs like this. We have mentioned the Lemonade movie before. There are a lot of people out there questioning their worlds right now. Let us know in the comments below if you’ve ever been faced with a decision like this, and how it turned out for you. We’d love to hear your thoughts and story.

Full Disclosure: I don’t get anything if you were to go to Freighthouse Square in Tacoma and shop at Nine Lives Vintage Wears, or become a fan on Facebook, but Kristi’s story is relevant to this blog and my vision for it. It is just a happy coincidence that Kristi is my sister and I am proud of her for being awesome.

Career Outsourcing: Replaced by the Lowest Bidder is a post from: Live Collar Free

If you aren’t yet familiar with Jonathan Mead of Illuminated Mind, now is a good time to start. Jonathan is a Life Coach and popular Personal Development Blogger who quit his “regular job” to live on his own terms.

I originally became aware of him about a year ago after seeing his contributing posts over on Leo Babauta’s popular blog, Zen Habits. I immediately subscribed to his blog Illuminated Mind, and have since talked a bit with Jonathan on his blog, Twitter, and over on the Black Sheep Project forums that he started. He asked me if I wanted to read his book one day and I was happy to get a copy to give a quick read through.

I realized when he sent it over that this was no sloppy ebook thrown together as a quick collection of past blog posts or regurgitated self-help platitudes.

“Reclaim Your Dreams: An Uncommon Guide To Living On Your Own Terms” is written in Mead’s typically eloquent yet blunt style. It only starts by laying out a step-by-step process for accomplishing the goals set out for the reader. But part two leads us through the process of stripping away any limiting beliefs about what we can or should do with the short life we are given, then it gives us the tools to figure out how get to what we want out of life.

“If you’re not enjoying life, you’re failing. It doesn’t matter if you have a yacht, a BMW, or a six-figure income. If you don’t wake up happy on a daily basis, you’re losing at the game of life.”

As I said, it does not just give you a smattering of tips and hints to change your life. It is no easy task to overcome years of the programming we get from the mainstream. Mead doesn’t snap his magic author fingers and heal your woes or tell you how you need to live your life. That’s for you to figure out. You’re the only one living your life, so make sure you are living your best way.

As Jonathan says, the main purpose of the book is to align your heart and mind. Too often we are in conflict. We don’t do what our heart wants for the sake of practicality or safety, leaving us in a constant state of conflict with ourselves.

There are plenty of exercises and tasks to help guide you to work through each section of the process. You aren’t getting through this one by just a quick browse in your dentist’s waiting room. You could just breeze right through it, but you’d only be short-changing yourself. For it to truly be of any benefit to you, you really need to take some action and complete the exercises.

If you are looking for a quick read or are just going to buy it and leave it sitting unread on your hard drive, then save the few bucks. I am a voracious reader and am always looking for quality information to learn. This is one you need to study.

If you are unhappy with the way your life is heading, even if you’ve always done what you were told was the right thing (quite often it really isn’t, you may be figuring out by now), this book will  open your eyes to the possibilities.

Disclosure: Jonathan did give me a copy of the book to read and review. If you buy it, I don’t make affiliate commissions or anything else. He gave it to me a couple of months before this blog was even online. Jonathan gave me a copy for free because he knows I’m awesome. He knows that if I thought his book sucked, I would say so.  So don’t buy it for me, go buy it for yourself here.

Book Review: Reclaim Your Dreams is a post from: Live Collar Free

Want to travel around the world by motorcycle? Wander the Americas living in an RV? Move to a foreign country? Sail around the world? Love your current life, but want more free time with your kids? Think you can’t? People do these things and more every day.

We’re taught to get a good job working 9 to 5 for 5 days a week. In return, we’ll get money to buy stuff, free weekends and a short annual vacation to rest from our busy work life.

Following this model, after 30-40 years of this, we are rewarded with retirement in our 60’s (now 70’s) so we can do what we really want with what’s left of our lives. So long as we’re careful not to spend all the money we saved up in our labor years.

Society defines us by what we do for a living.  White collar jobs. Blue collar jobs. Even green collar jobs. Who really wants to wear a collar? I don’t want to wear a shirt most days, let alone a collar.

There is nothing “wrong” with that norm, if you’re fulfilled by that lifestyle. I believe we should all live a life that is important to us. That deferred living concept just doesn’t work for me. I don’t want to spend 80% of my waking hours doing something I despise, only to hopefully later be able to enjoy life in retirement.

Life is far too short and the clock is ticking.

There Cannot be Only One

Fortunately, I am not the only one bothered by this concept. There are a multitude of ways people are out living their dreams or doing things they actually enjoy, instead of a 9 to 5 “regular job” or even a job at all.

They are out there living and working from wherever they want, for themselves, freelancing for various clients, or even having corporate jobs they work remotely.  They don’t define themselves by the color of their “collar”, but by many other names, such as Digital Nomads, Location Independent Professionals (LIP), Technomads and many others.

They are usually outside the mainstream or otherwise considered unconventional lifestyles. We’ll cover them for you. We’ll introduce you to them. We will bring you the stories, interviews and reviews of these unusual lifestyles, so you can find the life you want to live.

Lifestyle Design Your Way

We are not going to tell you how you must live your life. We can’t tell you what is important to you. There are many ways to create your own ideal lifestyle, and it doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone. You don’t need piles of cash to be successful or happy.

We will show you the ways, and there are many. There are no excuses. There are no limits. You don’t have to live like we’ve been told all these years. You can live however you want. So often people say they’ll do what they dream to do “someday” and they never take another step. That clock just keeps ticking.

Find your passion. Figure out what you want to do and DO IT.

Not “someday”. Not after decades of soul-sapping labor for a company you don’t even like, and that may not even still exist by then.

NOW.

Tick-tock…

Your Invitation to Live Collar Free is a post from: Live Collar Free