In November 2002, I had it all.
From the outside, looking in, I was a guy who had it all.
I had a business.
I had employees. Offices. Clients.
I was a businessman.
A successful, busy businessman.
Funny though.
Because from where I sat,
From the inside, looking out.
It didn’t feel like I had it all.
In fact, in November 2002, I knew it was over.
I knew my business wasn’t cutting it anymore.
It wasn’t meaningful.
It wasn’t fun.
It wasn’t me.
So I began putting plans in place,
Plans that would allow me to make the leap,
From an uninspiring business,
And into a Net Present Value lifestyle.
In July 2003, I took the leap.
And jumped from a familiar but boring career.
Into an exciting but, still, uncertain vocation.
All I knew, back then, was that I wanted to write and I wanted to teach.
All I knew was, if I could pull it off, if I could find a way to make a living at writing and teaching,
Then I’d be living a Net Present Value lifesyle.
Now, seven years later.
Having accomplished my goal,
People often ask me,
How can I do that?
How can I make the leap and live a Net Present Value lifestyle?
The initial step, first and foremost, is that you must take stock of where things stand.
You must decide whether your current situation is, indeed, one you want to change.
And if you decide that it is,
Then start by reminding yourself, every day, that it is possible.
It is possible to make positive and powerful changes.
I’d also like you to read this post on Cause and Effect.
Because of its importance, I’ll write more on Cause and Effect soon.
In the meantime let me leave you with a quote,
One that inspired me—all those years ago—to wonder whether I could make the leap.
The quote’s by W.H. Murray and it goes like this.
“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.
Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth,
The ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans:
That the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too.
A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance,
Which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.”
Ideas? Suggestions? Questions? Please leave a comment.
I am ready to Make the Leap! what suggestions do you have for a first-time jumper?
I have 2 photo books which I would love to have published. I know it might sounds silly to you but I would highly appreciate if you give me helpful advice to to make it happen. You can see my books on Blurb. I would love to have them listed with Amazon and in Barns and Noble. Thank you in advance.
http://www.blurb.com/my/book/detail/1471366
Stephen,
I had a look at your Digital Canvas photobook. It’s beautiful! Congratulations on producing such great work.
If you don’t mind, let me break your question into two parts.
First off, I gather when you refer to Making the Leap, you’re talking about doing photography full time?. While there’s no one strategy for making it happen, I believe the key ingredients are strong doses of belief and commitment. If you’re looking for something more specific, I’ve seen many people start part-time, or by volunteering, etc. Then there are factors such as, “what are you willing to give up?” and “how much money do you really need to live on?” They all come into play, and they’re all topics that I’ll touch on over the next few weeks and months,
As for getting listed on Amazon, have you had a look at createspace.com? It’s a POD service run by amazon. If you publish your book there, I believe you’ll automatically be listed on Amazon’s website.
Thanks for visiting my blog and for taking the time to post a comment.
Regards (and see you on intent.com)
Mike
Mike, thanks so much for your reply. createspace.com looks like a great lead. Do you have any experience with them yourself? Specifically I am wondering what the simplest yet profession means is to get a full-color book into an acceptable format i.e. what software to use. My primary “Leap” is to get published. Right now I have two photography books but I am working on two novels. Ultimately I would like to attract a publisher to pick up any of my titles. I thought self-publishing would be a good place to start. This I can do part-time. I appreciate any and all advice you can send my way. You can continue the thread here or reach me off-line.
Thank you.
Stephen,
For a while, I was looking at self-publishing and, had I gone that route, I would have used createspace. When I weighed their services to those of others, they compared quite well. As it turns out I never got to work with create space and so I can’t say much more than that.
Let’s put it out to anyone reading these comments. If you have experience with createspace could you provide a comment on their service?