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Career Renegade, Jonathan Fields

Wednesday, 04 March 2009

Walk Away from My Nice Corporate Job Now? Are You Nuts?

Is it a ladder or a treadmill? We get the inside story from Career Renegade: Jonathan Fields

Jonathan Fields

"But, here’s the thing. I’ve been asked a bunch of times, lately, how smart it is to walk away from the “safe option” of working for someone else to start your own business or even begin to build some kind of independent career or leveragable reputation on the side in this economy." Jonathan Fields

The number of individuals getting nuked out of their cubicles with little more than a cardboard box and Houdini 401k plan (which evaporated right along with their paycheck) is staggering. Every week in February, more than 600,000 people filed new claims for unemployment insurance. After years of toil and abuse many are finding their last official act as an employee is the humiliating escort out the door routine. If this describes your current situation, perhaps it's time for you, my friend, consider becoming a Career Renegade. Joining us today is the man who wrote the book -- Career Renegade How to Make a Great Living Doing What You Love -- Jonathan Fields.

Welcome to a Career Transitions Channel podcast on Total Picture Radio. Our interview with Jonathan was conduced by producer/host Peter Clayton.

21 Min:

19.5 MB Download Now!

Talking Points

How long has this idea of a Career Renegade been cogitating in your brain?
What's your background?
It's a very catchy title, but how do you define Career Renegade?
So I'm picking up on a recent blog post of yours titled Recession Proof Jobs, Santa Claus And The Easter Bunny. You wrote, "I’ve been asked a bunch of times, lately, how smart it is to walk away from the “safe option” of working for someone else to start your own business or even begin to build some kind of independent career or leveragable reputation on the side in this economy." As your title suggests: Who's safe?
Anyone that's read Michael Gerber's E-Myth Revisited knows just because you're passionate about something does not mean you'll be a successful entrepreneur. A lot more small businesses fail than succeed. So if you are considering a Renegade career path, how do you determine what career choices would be right for you? (Explore and choose one of the revolutionary career renegade paths to passion and prosperity - How?)
Let's talk about some of the strategies you map out in your book:
Tap technology to turn a seemingly moneyless passion into a goldmine - this is sounding like a infomercial - I need a reality check.
Rapidly test and adapt your idea for free, from the comfort of your couch
Cultivate the unstoppable renegade mindset and rally others to your cause - what is a "renegade mindset"?
You recently presented a Career Renegade Workshop at the 92nd St Y in New York. What was that like? Any stories you would like to share?
Other than the "safe option" question, what are you most often asked by career changers?
Jonathan, with so many people getting laid off, and the constant barrage of frightening economic news, what are some steps you suggest to those who've recently lost their jobs
Do you have any techniques to help people stay positive?
What didn't I ask that you feel is important to know about you?

Introduction to Career Renegade:

IT’S FUNNY HOW THE CORPORATE grind gets hold of you.

By the time you graduate college or grad-school, a mountain of debt keeps you locked into a quest to earn as much as possible and pay off your loans. With each year, you earn more and fight your way up the ladder. But, then, an odd thing happens.

You don’t ever get free.

At some point, it dawns on you that the corporate ladder is really more of a treadmill. You run faster, work harder, climb-higher, sweat more blood and push through stifling fatigue. But, in the end, all too often, you’re no freer or happier than the day you began. In fact, for many, as your lifestyle expands to gobble-up nearly every dollar you make, it’s quite the opposite.

The day-to-day stress, relentless posturing, politics, negotiating and hours spent on minutiae increasingly suck the life out of you. Body, mind and spirit, slowly and methodically being sucked dry.

Maybe it would be more tolerable if you actually cared about what you did, if you earned your living doing something you truly loved. But, like millions of others, you’re likely less than inspired by the culture and content of the one thing that consumes half of your waking hours. You’ve got that “same job, different day” itch, where personal fulfillment, passion and mission have long ago taken a backseat to the mad dash for cash.

And, you begin to wonder if there’s a different way.

What if you could actually do what you love for a living without leaving your life behind? What if that madpassion that everyone says can’t make money, done differently, could allow you to make a great living? What if, no matter how entrenched you are in the life you’re leading, it was possible, very possible, to extract yourself from a misery-drenched, life-sucking job and grow a future defined not by your ability to endure suffering, but by taking the opportunity to love what you do, enjoy life today and create an equally secure tomorrow? What if you could really pull this off without blowing apart everything you’ve worked so hard to create? Would you want in? Yes?

Biography:
Jonathan Fields is a writer, marketing and small-biz strategist, serial lifestyle entrepreneur, social media maven and author of Career Renegade: How To Make A Great Living Doing What You Love. His business, social media and lifestyle exploits have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, NBC, CNBC, Fine Living, Entrepreneur.com, Self, Vogue, Fitness, Elle and thousands of other magazines, newspapers and websites.

Jonathan blogs at JonathanFields.com and CareerRenegade.com, contributes to a number of Top-100 blogs and runs entrepreneurship training company, Career Renegade, Inc. and marketing group, Vibe Creative. When not working, you can find him dancing around his living room with his wife and daughter. Occasionally, he sleeps.

Resources:
Jonathan's blog
Career Renegade Blog
Jonathan on Twitter
Jonathan on Facebook
Career Renegade: How to Make a Great Living Doing What You Love (Link to Amazon.com)