#therachel

All through Middle School, High School and college, on Thursday nights you would find me parked in front of the TV to watch the show of my generation, “Friends.” It wasn’t just Chandler’s dorky jokes or Joey’s adorable dimples (I mean, that didn’t hurt). I was enthralled with the life of Rachel, with her cool New York lifestyle, a creative corner-office job in fashion, killer hair cuts, flawless 90’s style and a fabulous purple apartment. Like any reasonable 18 year-old, when it came time to decide where I was going to go in life, it came down to whatever would get me closer to being like Rachel. In my teenaged naive brain I figured that most New Yorkers worked in business, so, naturally I went to business school…all based on the illusion of a 1500 square foot rent-controlled purple apartment (sorry Mom and Dad!)

Fast forward 10 years, and I found myself at a cubicle, swallowed up by the fluorescent lighting and beige carpeting of my office, staring at a computer screen for 12 hours a day, with no purple apartment in sight.

“Why didn’t you quit and find a job that you loved?” a reasonable person may have asked. Well for many of you, I imagine you know the exact reason… the golden handcuffs of course! My career, despite being chosen for pretty shortsighted reasons, actually paid well. Not to brag or anything, but while my artistic friends with creative soul-fulfilling jobs struggled to pay rent, I was “that girl” who could order the “it costs extra” guacamole on her burritos without thinking twice. My job left me dead inside, I was handcuffed to a keyboard, but I was a true baller… with health insurance and a decent 401K! Hurrah!

Sound like a sell-out? Well yah, kinda. But I like to think that if I had any inclination as to what would make me happier, I might have explored going after it. But I didn’t have a clue what that was or the first idea of how to figure it out. I figured without any insight as to what my life’s purpose was, I might as well have a job that paid me well enough to buy Starbucks without having to check my account balance. So I stayed, for a long time, in a career that did nothing for my soul. Anytime I’d even dream about quitting… you know those days when your boss is being an asshole and if you look at one more spreadsheet you’re gonna start cutting yourself in the bathroom with dull office scissors… my company would give me a raise or a promotion and I’d stick it out.

Sound like you? That’s because this is super common. And employers recognize the soul sucking situation they got going on, so they know how to keep you strung out. Like a drug dealer, they get you hooked on the high of money and job titles and you just can’t quit. “I’ll leave next year! Just one more bonus cycle! I’ll move onto a better job when I make Vice President.” And the next thing you know you’re cutting your retirement cake after a 45 year career and you wonder what the hell happened to to your life. You were simply shackled to a life with stability, comfort and a great dental plan.

So is the moral of the story that in order to live passionately you have to quit your high paying job and become a starving artist? Hell no. I love my lifestyle. I love the comfort of money. I love knowing that I’m saving for my future, and that I do not have to ever decide between a Frappuccino and paying rent.

What I’m saying is, you can have it all. “Whaaat?” you say? Yah, no kidding. You really can.

It boils down to three tracks you can take towards glorious career happiness:

1. Decide to have passion in your current job… yup, I swear. It’s actually a choice.

2. Find passion outside of work. Yes I know, the daily grind can sometime feel like your only true existence, but I promise you there is a big bright shiny world out there just waiting for you to explore when you’re not tethered to your desk.

3. Make your passion a career that also allows you to maintain your lifestyle. This takes a bit of work and lots of bravery but it’s doable and so worth it! Think how great would it be to get paid to do what you love.