How to Be the CEO of Your Own Life

I encounter this a lot in my own work, and believe it or not, it’s not only people who are financially strapped with stories similar to these. No matter the amount of money in a 401k and other savings, any one of us can look up one day to find ourselves decades-deep in a less-than-desirable job situation without a clue for how to escape.

The job landscape is transforming before our eyes, forcing a lot of people to take jobs they don’t love simply to get by financially. Others of us are staying in jobs we don’t like to maintain a lifestyle we were once convinced we wanted, but now all this “just getting by” is making us feel like another drone in the system. 

If you can relate to any of this, it’s time to make a change.

Look at what you can do right now

Don’t put this off until tomorrow, or next week, or in a few months when you hope you’ll have a little more savings and security. Face it today, at this very moment, because transforming your life from something you hate to everything you could dream of might be much simpler than you think. Plus, you’re important enough to pay attention to how you’re feeling.

Think about what you can do right now to improve your situation. It could be asking your boss for projects you would prefer to work on, or if you can have the freedom to draft up a project yourself that might be taken into consideration. It could be monetizing a hobby you love until it grows serious enough to support you. It could simply be adding more things you enjoy to your regular routine, like hiking, beach trips, or more outings with your family.

If you only ever look at the financial side of what you spend your life doing, you’ll miss out on so many other amazing opportunities. Isn’t finances a lot to blame for getting you into your current situation, after all? When we focus only on money, we disconnect ourselves from what we truly want: our dream life. Yes, money is important, but so are so many more things. What are you good at? What do you enjoy? What’s something you’ve always wanted to do but never given yourself the space to do? What if you gave yourself the freedom to deeply explore some of those things?

Nothing is going to change if you don’t first choose to make it change. You have to be proactive for your job situation to improve. This may mean looking at job boards, cold-calling companies you’d be interested in working for, asking friends for recommendations, talking to your boss about switching up your current responsibilities, or whatever else is action for your situation.

You have to start somewhere, try things, and experiment a little. You could end up being dead wrong in what you think you want, but you can’t be sure unless you try. Trying and failing is so much better than sitting, doing nothing, and staying unhappy.

Here’s the truth of things: you probably won’t get out of your situation tomorrow, find yourself the perfect job tomorrow, and only ever chase your dream tomorrow. Some things take time and exploration, but they all start by realizing you need to do some things—even little things—to change your circumstances for the better. I know it may be intimidating at first, even scary. I was terrified when I first opened up my own business. But it only takes a few small steps a day to make a huge, positive difference in your life. 

So start. Take those small steps, and always remember that this is your path, your life, your journey… and it’s your time to become CEO of your own life.