Five years ago I quit my engineering job to start a business. Just like millions of employees across the world, I hated my job. The only difference between them and I is that I actually took the leap.
And you know what? It was the best decision of my life. Not only do I have ten times as much freedom as a result, it was an exhilarating experience to actually quit my job. It made me feel alive.
It was fun to tell my boss I quit and people gave me tons of respect.
To this day, whenever I tell somebody the story of me quitting, they’ll say something like “Wow, that’s really admirable. Most people would just stay and be unhappy for their whole lives. You actually did something about it.”
And when I hear this stuff, my ego expands. People give me all kinds of respect and it feels great – like I’m some ultra confident risk taker or something.
But I have a confession to make – that’s not the whole story.
In fact, if you were in my shoes, you’d probably do the same thing without hesitation. I’ll tell you why in a minute, but first let’s talk about…
What It Takes To Make Bold Moves (Like Quitting Your Job)
I think it was in a Tony Robbin’s book where I first learned the concept that human behavior can pretty much be boiled down to two things – avoiding pain and seeking pleasure, with avoiding pain being the stronger influence of the two.
That’s it. There’s nothing else. Just pain and pleasure. If you believe something will bring you pleasure, you’ll probably do it. If you believe something will help you avoid immediate pain, you’ll almost definitely do it.
Of course it’s not always that binary. Sometimes things that bring pleasure also bring pain. Drinking copious amounts of booze is a good example. It feels great at the party, but the next day sucks.
And some actions that are painful bring lots of future pleasure. Exercise is a good example. It might be painful to do heavy back-squats, but you’ll be rewarded with the strength and health later.
When something is both painful and pleasurable, then we make a judgement call about whether or not the pros outweigh the cons, usually on a subconscious, emotional level. This is rarely a rational decision which is why people skip workouts and drink too much all the time.
Even altruistic acts like donating to charity or volunteering fall under this paradigm. If you care about a cause enough to donate your hard earned cash, that’s probably because it actually pains you to see suffering, even to the point where giving away your money makes you feel better. Or, maybe you feel guilty (pain) or just want recognition (pleasure).
In the case of quitting your job (assuming you hate it), you are faced with one of these pain/pleasure dilemmas. You have one painful option – which is to stay at your current job. Then you have another painful option which is to quit your job. This would be great and bring all kinds of pleasure, except the whole fear of the unknown thing.
What if you fail and you’re worse off because of it?
Fear of the unknown almost always overpowers the pain of staying in a job you hate. The small possibility that things could get worse will paralyze most people.
But in some cases like mine, the pain of staying finally overcomes the fear of the unknown and shifts the decision to quitting.
It’s kind of like jumping off a 50′ cliff into a deep lake. That’s just high enough to scare you, but not high enough to hurt you (unless you do a belly flop). Most people won’t jump. But, introduce a hungry lion to the scenario backing you off the cliff, and suddenly they become really fond of taking that leap.
It often takes being backed against to wall for bravery to emerge. Which leads me to…
…The Real Reason I Quit My Job
The truth is that I wanted to quit my job long before I actually did, but the fear of the unknown kept me pinned down.
..until things got worse.
First, I discovered that my house, which I just remodeled had $30,000 of water damage in the crawl space (which insurance wouldn’t cover since it was a pre-existing condition).
Next, my physical health took a nosedive. I don’t know if it was the stress, my diet, or sitting in a desk all day, but I just started getting injured easily.
I’d play basketball and both knees would hurt for weeks. I’d try going for a jog and my ankles would develop tendonitis. I even somehow developed tendonitis in both wrists, making it challenging to type or use a mouse. Since I worked at a desk job, this was a real problem.
At one point, I had chronic pain in both ankles, both knees, both shoulders, and both wrists!
It felt like I was in an 80 year old body, and I was only 28.
As a result of not being able to play basketball, run, jump, or even play the guitar without experiencing pain, I started getting depressed.
All of these things kept piling on, and I felt like the only escape was to quit my job. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do when I quit, but anything looked better than my current situation – even the unknown.
Only at the point where staying in that job finally became more painful than giving up my income was I able to finally quit.
It wasn’t confidence or courage. I quit because I had to. It was a simple pain avoidance move, as basic as removing your hand from a hot stove.
And the reason I’m sharing this is because I believe there’s a valuable lesson here, especially if you want to escape your day job.
The Only Two Ways You’ll Ever Leave That Job You Hate
Assuming this pain/pleasure dynamic is what actually controls our decisions, there are only two ways you’ll ever escape that job.
#1 – Your current situation becomes much worse (like mine did)
or
#2 – Leaving your job becomes less scary/potentially painful
Since we already know you aren’t going to choose option #1, that really only leaves you with one option: to make the idea of quitting less scary.
So how do we do that?
One way would be for me to try and convince you, but based on experience, it’s hard to talk fear out of people. Plus, in some cases that fear is for good reason, like if you have a family to support.
A more effective way would be to find a better job, or my favorite, start a business on the side.
When you have a side income of $1,000 per month or more and you know you can scale it up with more time, leaving your job becomes less risky. You now have a clear path, and fewer unknowns.
So, that leaves me with a question for you…What would have to happen for you to leave your job? Would you need to own a profitable side business? Have a new job lined up? A million dollars in cash under your mattress?
Leave a comment below letting me know. I’d love to hear from you.
P.S.
Want to learn how to turn your skills into a reliable side income – that you can scale into a full time income?
Check out my all new handyman business startup guide…
You’ll learn my proven step-by-step system for starting a profitable side business – and how to scale it up to replace your day job.
Main reason I can’t leave my job is because my side job isn’t fully profitable. The reason I can’t upscale my business is because of my full time maintenance tech job 5 days a week. I work on the side both of my days off and also after work during regular work week. What would you consider I do?
I would focus on increasing my rates if I was you – to the point you are actually profitable. With a handyman business, you should be profitable after just a few jobs each month. If you haven’t already, I’d recommend you give the $100K Handyman a read.
My wife started a home repair business, 6 months ago. It’s only brought in about $3000.00 in total revinue.
Funds are very tight. Would you consider sending us your program for free ? With a pay later contract ?
Best regards
Hoyt
Hoyt,
I share most of my content for free. I would recommend implementing what you learn in blog posts, podcasts, and free reports first. Then, upgrade to my paid material when you’re in a better financial place.
Dan
Dan,
Your article is an inspiration to anyone who is considering taking the leap of faith and opening a business.
I especially enjoyed when you said “But in some cases like mine, the pain of staying finally overcomes the fear of the unknown and shifts the decision to quitting” words of wisdom.
Warm Regards,
Randal DeHart
Thanks Randal!
I’m 53 years old and have been an electrical engineer for 25 years. I’ve pretty much hated about 24 of those years and would love to get out from behind a desk and just go fix stuff, help people, and have time to do the things I love to do. I’m fairly sure I could do well as a handyman, but the one thing that holds me back is the thought of retirement. I have some retirement savings but not as much as I should have at this point. The answer for me is, I need to feel confident that I could sustain a viable handyman business to an age to where I could retire, which would be much older than if I stay in engineering.
So it sounds like you’d need to know you could generate the same income as your current engineering job?
Dan, I love reading your blogs and the inspiration you provide. It keeps me dreaming of the freedom I could have some day. Sounds like Erich and myself have the EXACT (I couldn’t have said it better) same “problem”….except I’m 2 years older. Amazing how much you start to think of retirement when you hit 50 and hate your job!
For me, it’s the fear that I wouldn’t be able to replace my income and the consequence of a financial disaster at this point in my life. If I knew I could replace my income within 2 years, I’d quit tomorrow.
I am also an engineer. I love coordinating engineering work teams, & rose into management over the years. The politics became worse as I rose, and I grew to hate my job. Great pay, crappy job. At age 58 the oil price fell (two years ago) & I could not find work – noone wants to hire an older guy with an impressive salary history. After a year of looking for any job I could find, I started my own handyman business, and I love my job again! I just had to have someone else cut the manacles off!
My advice is, if you make pretty good money as an employee, adjust your living expenses to under $50k/yr. with the understanding that your take-home will likely exceed that at some point in the future. Do it now. Then pull a plan together to rely on generating income on your own with a sense of urgency, as if you will lose your job in 4 weeks. Then execute the plan. At worst, execute the plan when you get laid off – it will happen, eventually.
I’ve read through some of the posts, and am finding many people to identify with.
I’ve been in IT for about 30 years, and have reached the Director level. I have an undergraduate in Computer Engineering, and an MBA. Like others, I have grown to LOATHE the politics and just sheer crap that I have to deal with. Some have told me that I just hate the place I work and not necessarily my job.
However, I like others, want to get rid of the shackles and be free. Replacing my income is an issue, but I am starting my business with the intention of (no later than) 24 months from now, I will be able to hand in my notice as Dan did. And again, like others, I’m older (54) and have financial obligations as well as retirement to consider.
I have to say that much of Dan’s information I have obtained from his $100K Handyman package, as well as his recent Handyman Marketing Machine, has provided some really good information. Some of the info he passes along that he has learned from a practical standpoint I have learned in the past as a part of my MBA, such as narrowing marketing niche’s and services. But it took hearing him say it to make it resonate with my foray into this new business. In the article above, Dan talks about weighting pro’s and con’s in making the decision between pleasure and pain. Dan, that’s called determining your marginal utility of a product or service (in Marketing terms) or determining how much value you receive from a particular choice, and the opportunity cost you expend in making the choice (the opportunity you miss with not choosing something else). Point is, Dan’s practical knowledge and experience is really helping me out. His information is a sound investment that I think will help me accelerate my business.
Lastly, I would very enjoy being able to have a conversation with Dan just to share stories and such!
Thanks Dan, for all of the information you provide. You sound like a guy I would like to know!
-Rodney S
Hi Dan,
I want to thank you for all the information you have put out, it has been a huge help as I was setting up my handyman side business. I have been going for just about 8 months now and I’m starting to look into the details of quitting my day job.
The one major aspect that is keeping me pinned to my day job is the benefits, mainly health insurance. I have a wife and 4yo daughter and going without insurance isn’t really a possibility. I have looked into some of the options to buy it outright and found that it could be around the $16k number! That’s a heavy load to handle on an unknown income, especially with a mortgage and vehicles.
For the time being I am enjoying the extra income and I have found that by building a business that I really enjoy, I am happier at my 9-5. I have met a lot of really nice people and have built up quite the inventory or tools that give me the confidence to take on more jobs!
Thanks again for all your shared wisdom, keep it coming!
Derek
That’s an interesting side effect of starting your business on the side – I’m glad to hear it made you enjoy your 9-5 more.
Although I don’t know what will replace Obamacare, I can tell you that the premium subsidies are very helpful. You will not be paying anywhere near full price unless your MAGI is higher due to other sources of income.
I have been in business full time for 5 years now and six months ago I had a job offer with a local power company and I took it.
Now I am miserable and all I think about is going back to the business. If anything I could say it was learning experience taking this job, I learned more about myself, good and bad things and I see where I could improve my business so that my business doesn’t control me.
Dan I follow you and you are an amazing help to me. I admire what you do.
I think I am going to go back to the business cause if I don’t I don’t think I will ever forgive myself.
Thanks Dan!
Greg
At least you learned quickly. 6 months is nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Hello Dan,
I’d just like to say thanks for all the info you continue to provide. I’ve purchased The 100K Handyman and things are moving along nicely. My current situation is that I still have a day job and have been doing the Handyman work in the evenings and on the weekends. My day job is actually with a great company and is truly a good job. Just not for me! They pay me 80K a year and pretty much leave me alone for the most part. However, I have very little job satisfaction and am ready to get away from sitting at a desk all day. My hope is to quit my day job by 1 March and do only Handyman work from then on. I started the Handyman business a little less than 2 months ago and was fortunate enough to have a connection with a busy real estate team. They have been having me do all the repairs from their home inspections. I think this is a niche I will focus on and try to get connected with a few other real estate teams. Another thing that I have been doing is putting all my earnings from my Handyman work back into the company. I have purchased a cargo trailer and built it out to accommodate all my equipment. I have purchased more tools that I know I will be needing. The reason I’m waiting until 1 March to pull the plug on my day job is so I can start my full time business as a Handyman without needing to make any major purchases. I do have a question for you. Do you know anything about getting leads from a lead generation source called Smithjobs? I’ve been getting pinged left and right and am just a bit leery about getting notifications from a place I didn’t register with.
Thanks for sharing Chad. Never heard of Smithjobs, though. Although I have been tricked out of $100 at one point by a fake lead gen. company.
Hey would you mind showing me what your cargo trailer is set up like .. we’re trying to decide how to go about thT
I’ve have a part time Handyman business for several years and enjoy it very much. I’ve recently read your $100k Handyman and I’m implementing many the great ideas in your book.
I’m reluctant to ramp up my business because of developing consistant work on a regular basis, its feast or famine. I’ve been using lead Services with marginal success. I’m taking steps to develop a web site, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your blog and the many publications you have produced, very helpful.
Not sure I answered your question but I am glad I started my business.
Thanks again,
Paul
Working Hands Handyman Services
Hey Paul, Keep an eye out when I release Handyman Marketing Machine – it will help you go from feast or famine to just feast.
To leave my job today I would need to know that the health insurance I lose could be acquired in another way in order to keep my kids medical needs taken care of. Similar plans to my employer plan are $2k a month with $7k deductibles.
Hi Dan,
After finding your website it has given me the confidence to look at starting up my own handyman buisiness. I’m currently employed and looking to start doing private work on the side. Your experiences in your 9-5 job really struck a chord with me. And your advice is priceless.
I can’t thank you enough. Hopefully this is new and stress free chapter in my life.
I got fired from a 23 year career job in October of 2014, and after working my way to the top of the industry I was in, I could not find work anywhere that would pay the 6 figure income I had gotten used to, so I started my own handyman business and I have become quite successful in the business and could not be happier in life right now. I enjoy reading and receiving all your emails Dan, and I always enjoy reading the information you provide in your blog posts. Congratulations, on your success, and keep up the good work.
I have a side business but building it up is not easy, working on it
Nice article, some food for thought for anyone thinking of taking the leap.
For myself, it was the best decision I ever made.
I am a carpenter by trade, and had been working as an employee for years. I was working for a company doing “handyman” type service repair work. I did well, was promoted to a lead, etc. But wasn’t really happy with the way the company did things and what was asked of us sometimes. It came down to a meeting with the boss, and I choose my dignity over a secure job. Of course, I had wanted to make the jump for some time, and already had nearly all the tools required, as well as a work truck.
I am much happier, enjoy much more flexibility with hours and time off, and am doing much better financially. Sure, it is more work with sending off estimates and invoices in the evenings, taxes, etc. But I would be hard pressed to going back to work for someone else.
As far as saving money before starting- I actually started my business with two weeks work lined up, and in debt. Not ideal. But within six months I was doing better financially, and at time of writing this, this is the first slow couple weeks I’ve had in two years. Usually booked out weeks to months at time.
Sometimes you just have to do it, without risks come no rewards. Just work hard, do a good job with the work and customer service, be professional and get insurance etc.
Great blog, Dan. I had so many jobs I hated that I simply had to take control. I already had experience in the home improvement field and even some inquiries from people wanting me to help with repairs. It was easy to take the leap and start earning at least a limited amount of money for a limited time. The real challenge started when the work ran out. Since then it has been a roller coaster ride. Never steady for long, but never too quiet neither. Overall I’m much happier now and my business and brand is getting established in my city (Edmonton, Alberta). Like you, I enjoy working on my own and find it rewarding to do a job just a bit better than the customer expects, without adding to the cost. I’ve finished a major project last week and have not spent any advertising money in months. I just had two quiet days and now I’m already booked for jobs into next week. It is so much better than the “slavery” of a regular job.
-Jorg
Dan,
I want to thank you for all that you provide from your experience to all the resources. I was in construction years ago then went into insurance for the last 10 years and this last year I was sick of it. I really enjoy fixing things and have a knack for it and then I found your website. Your website and all the insight you provided jump started me into wanting to start my own handyman business ( listened to all your podcasts on the way to my 9-5). I quite my job at the end of June, traveled for most of July, and started full time in August. I am in a network group called BNI and I got set up with the property management and they started sending me work right away. I then got in with 2 other property management companies and business took off. I have also grown my yelp page reviews which has been a great source of leads. There are pros and cons with working with property management but a good thing for someone getting into the business or back into it like me is it helps you see a lot of different things in a short amount of time. By the second month in business I was making the same amount as I was in insurance and have made more each month. I have felt more alive than I have in a long time and have even been able to take my 15 year old son out with me some to start teaching him some hands on stuff. Thanks again for all you provide!
Travis
I have a slightly different story. I’ve had a fairly successful Handyman business for about 3 years now after working in the reno business. I have a few hundred customers, with about 90% of them from a monthly subscription to a home service website here in Canada.
I’m a healthy 53 years old, and weight train 3-4 times per week. In the last few years I developed arthritis in my neck and shoulders, which means I had to drop a lot of overhead work like ceiling repair, ceiling fans, microwave installs etc. This seriously cut into my income. Two weeks ago I pulled my back carrying a toilet, and I’ve been down for that. So now I have to look at possibly offering even less.
I love the work, and there’s nothing like the challenge of going into a house, seeing the problems, and knowing you’re going to have it fixed before you leave. Very satisfying. If you’re wondering – I charge $60/hour, and people constantly tell me what a great rate that is.
I hope I represent a very small percentage of the Handyman population who have the opposite problem, and have to get out of this business. It sucks, but I’m probably not alone.
Hi Dan,
I have left my Project Manager job over four years ago and have been doing well in my full time handyman business. I have built a strong customer base that delivers recurring business as well as new customers weekly from referrals, but have fallen short of the income you claim is possible (100K+). I have tried raising my $40/hr. rate but get complaints that it seems too much. I understand getting it done faster would mean providing the same amount of value in less time and more profit for me, however as you know, there are always unforeseen difficulties on these jobs and they rarely go as planned. Also, there is all the non-billable time spent providing quotes, invoices and gathering materials. Apparently, either I am doing something wrong, according to your methodology, or there really isn’t a way to earn more. As you can see, I am a bit sceptical about this earning potential.
However, I appreciate your efforts to legitimize this business by providing the portal for all of us to share experiences, as well as the tips you provide. But I can’t help wondering how much time you are spending managing this site as well as your business. Or, is the site your business and you are earning a better living from that than doing handyman work? Just curious.
Joe
Hi Dan
I don’t know if its the universe talking to me, or if it is some type of clear message. But every time I have these recurring thoughts about quitting my jobs, you come out with a blog or a post and it hits every point. When I started my business in 2008, I had no idea what I was doing. I joined your Handyman Start up when you first got going and every since then I have grown every year. I am now at a point where I want to jump off that 50 ft building but still haven’t done it. I still have a fear, cause I have a family to support and need to bring home the same amount of income. Your blogs and post give me hope and I know in my mind that being a professional Handyman is only a matter of time Thank you for all of your help.
Dan,
I’ve been reading your blog and others for some time to get a sense of what’s going on out there. For myself the decision to quit my job was easy, major health issues and ultimately an amputation made the decision for me, I have since rebounded to a point where I can manage 4-5 hours a day 3-4 days a week. I have a thriving little handyman business that fills my bank and my free time nicely. I have a construction background so the tools and knowledge were easy, but I started with one Craigslist ad and it has just grown from there. There are basic rules that I have always worked by, that I learned early on from some pretty historic businessmen. “Provide a needed service well and success is guaranteed” and “Always do what you say your going to do when you say your going to do it” of course we need to do good work, manage your time well to provide value to the customer, always be mindful your in someone’s home so stay tidy and polite, remember word of mouth is GOLD. I do not own your book just wondering if you go into some of the basic rules for success in the service business. Mark
looking at starting part time your information has been the best I have found to get started thanks
I, like others, am in a financial bind. While slowly working down debt with a miserable day job where I know I could run their company better than they do. I have a family, so health insurance is very important that an employer might offer. It would take either, a fair paying job with benefits, or my slow going company to shoot off for me to quit right now. No matter how much I bite my tongue. That’s how I feel anyways. Between a rock and a hard place. Thanks Dan.
You have hit on point on every level of my cituation and yes I hate my job emensly and I’m in ascruciating pain from the work I perform and I do worry about my family if thing’s do not work out on my own.
Im a licensed & insured handyman. I’ve got extensive experience in full remodels of older homes which generally require more work. I also work a full time job. How do I do it? Spend my nights and weekends building my business. Is this sustainable? Heck no. But I will be quitting my ‘day job’ because after working hard I’ve built enough clientele to replace and surpass my daily income from my ‘day job’. This website is a great resource for those trying to get started.
Hi Dan’
Great story i have been a maintenance manager for over 20 years i am starting my own HM Businesses as we speak will start PT and my goal is to quit My current Job in the Spring thanks for all you do i read your 100k HM and various other post fantastic you really have given me the courage to take the leap I know I can do this it will be hard no lie when you have a steady income for over 40 years , But Im going to do it i want to enjoy what is left of life Thanks Again Dan for you Inspiration
I think you are forgetting one contributing factor to fear of the unknown and why it is difficult for someone to quit there job that they hate. If your responsibilities become more important than your pleasure at your current job that you don’t like.The responsibilities I am referring to is my wife and kids. When I met my wife I was self employed, I could do what ever I wanted, had money and freedom. We had a child, we moved because our child has health concerns. We both started over, she stays at home and I took a steady job, with people I don’t particularly like, doing something I don’t enjoy.
I stay in my miserable job because my pleasure now takes a back seat and my pain isn’t as bad as it will be if I can’t provide for my family.
I still dream about the days when I was self employed and look to go back. Part-time is my next move. Starting over was harder than I thought, but a little pain for the right cause can make you appreciate what you had and have.
Take care,
Craig
I made the jump and I am currently developing my handyman business. The pain point I reached at my company was too great to bear. Thanks for the great content Dan.
You are absolutely correct about the fear of failure. I presently do side work as a handyman, but I live in a rural Vermont where many of the residents are already handy themselves and it seems rather daunting to put all my chips in one bag and depend wholly on handyman work to make a living. Presently, I’m only bringing in about two or three hundred extra dollars a month on average, but I will admit that my side business is strictly word of mouth.
Dan – I can’t describe how much your website building “Handyman Startup Training” video has helped me gain actual business since I started DBA as seekonkhandyman.com, and I’m not even done implementing all of your helpful information. I only started in Nov 2016 and as of Jan 27th have covered all my startup and projected costs (including insurance) thru November 2017. I can’t wait to see your info on “scaling up”.
That’s great to hear Paul! Congrats on your success so far.
Hi Dan,
I am starting my handyman company this week after being laid off from my regular miserable job. I had always thought I would become a handyman when I retired so I guess I needed to retire earlier than planned.
I stumbled upon an incredible source for my business. I hired a designer for a bath renovation that I was looking to do at my own home. Talking with the designer I was able to get a better handle on what my competitors charge. I was also hired as a contractor for a good portion of their projects. The wholesale rate was more than I had originally thought I could charge retail.
The feedback that I get from people I talked with is there is a real need for a good handyman. In Connecticut a handyman doesn’t need a license but the limitations usually push the handyman to get a Home Improvement License. Most of these guys/gals move on to the bigger jobs and leave the small jobs behind.
Do you think then handyman should be held to the same standard as a specialist in the field. Example I recently did a taping and painting job medium size thousand square feet didn’t come out as good as I would’ve hoped to been in the business 13 years. A drywall finishing contractor would’ve charged double of what I have done twice as good a job. I did a good job to guide the word for the big city general contractor doing work on his house . Obviously we attempt to do the absolute finest job every time we attempt service.
I’ve been reading around the website for about an hour now and have been very impressed. You said Tony Robbins and I’ll be here for many more hours now! (Not that I wasn’t going to be here already 🙂 )
Thank you very much for sharing your experience with us!
First Dan, let me compliment you on your writing skills, it kept me engaged through out and my lips extended to a big smile on that cliff and hungry lion example :). Indeed pleasure, pain and their combination drive our lives. Well I would love to have either a potentially lucrative side job or lots of money stashed away some where before taking the plunge, though hungry lion in any form can override these two any time 🙂
Great article I hope I can keep growing mine. I can’t leave my full time job yet but I hope to be busy enough to in the next couple years. Here recently business has picked up and they just keep me on my toes with what people are calling wanting done thanks
This was a great read and spoke to me in many ways. My biggest fear was the unknown, but i now have a plan in place to save enough money to last me at least four months without income. I have been searching for my “Plan B” for four years, but have been unsuccessful. I think the time off will give me time to understand myself, my audience, and refocus my efforts.
Thanks for writing this!
Hi Dan,
Love your site, thank you for all the great information and encouragement.
I was just curious, did your tendinitis and joint pain clear up after you left your 9-5 job? If so, how long did it take? Do you ever have any issues with your handyman job causing similar issues?
Yes, I went from having a hard time walking a mile without getting injured to doing Crossfit and dunking basketballs. Although I made a lot of lifestyle changes and it didn’t happen overnight. When I quit my job, I made a strong effort to not have any stress and to get outside a lot. I took a full month off before I even considering finding a new career. I went hiking as many days as possible, and slowly started feeling better. I made changes to my diet and tried and eat healthier foods, but I only made minor improvements. The lack of stress helped a little, but the thing that totally changed the game was when my dad told me to check out a book by Robb Wolf called “The Paleo Solution.” I read that book, followed it to a T, and within 3 days I started feeling better. Within a week I felt like a superhuman and started doing Crossfit and started my business. My entire life changed.
That was 6 years ago. Over time I started to let my diet slip, eating dairy and pizza every once in a while. Then, we had a baby and the stress that comes with lack of sleep started to give me symptoms again. My joint pain got bad again. I went another 8 months out of whack again and my health went downhill. 2017 was a bad year for me. However, I recently started seeing a Dr who did some bloodwork and found that I have some auto-immunity problems. We’ve been testing my diet over the last 3 months and have been able to manage it. I have to follow a very strict diet, but I’m starting to feel great again.
If you are struggling with joint pain or other weird issues, there’s a good chance you have some auto-immunity issues as well. It can be a long road to figure out what works best for you, but this can typically be managed well with diet and lifestyle changes.
I know this is a long answer, but modern medicine has done a terrible job at managing chronic symptoms. If you want a solution to one of these problems instead of taking pills that make you sicker, you’ll need to seek out other healing resources. I hope that helps you.
This just happened to me. I worked for a guy for 8 years, and the promises of being taken care of like family, and having a 401k, plus annual raises, it was all there. Long story short, my boss is a greedy narcissist who will step on anyone and belittle his employees in front of each other. Needless to say, none of us were treated like family, there was no 401k, barely health insurance and that was it. No paid time off, and you got a hard time asking for vacation time. In the 8 years I’ve been there, I’ve seen, no lie, at least 80 mechanics come and go at his shop. I stayed because I made decent money, that is until my base salary went down over the past 5 years. Now I can’t pay my mortgage anymore. So I did what I had to do, now I’m going to working as a claims adjuster for an insurance company. No more 10 hour days out in the 98 degree Florida heat, no more micromanaging owner, no more anxiety attack every morning thinking about how much I hate my job and how big of an ass hat my boss is…. it literally feels like I’m a new person. Anyone hating your job, you can find something to transition into. I thought I was stuck forever, doomed to make no more than 14/hr fixing cars. Screw the automotive industry. Anyone who’s in it knows exactly what I’m talking about, but you can escape!!! I did. Believe me it’s possible!
Good luck to all you out there hating your jobs, you can do it. You can make that change
Thanks for the words of encouragement, Danny. Hopefully this helps somebody realize that there are options, despite how hopeless things seem at the time.
Hello Dan!
Thank you for writing this! EVERYTHING resonates! In this moment, I truly believe nothing needs to happen for me to quit my career, for the thought of staying (to avoid my fears) is severely painful-physically. As I’m responding I feel my chest getting tighter as I think of what lies ahead if I stay.
Sometimes I wonder if I’m being irresponsible by taking the steps toward quitting (I am the sole provider). I don’t have a million dollars under my mattress nor do I have a business I’d like to start.
There’s something very different and much more gratifying I desire for my life. One thing I know, is if I choose to continue, things will only get worst.
Again, thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome. So glad you found it helpful.
Man that part about physical health and getting injured resonates with me. Since I started working in an office and being sedentary it feels like my body just quit. Being physically active, working out and playing sports used to be my source of joy. Now anytime I try to exercise some new injury pops up. I feel like job stress might have to do with it, but at least for now I’m worried the stress of quitting might be worse.
If you can’t quit your job, then I would highly recommend you find a way to be active. Try to get up and stand for a couple of minutes every hour. Walk around if you can. Then, try to get some exercise every day in some way, even if that is just going on an hour long walk. And finally, really focus on optimizing your nutrition and sleep. Your body has a certain tolerance for stress and when it starts breaking down that means you are exceeding that tolerance. Fixing your sleep, diet, or activity levels can all make a positive impact and help you before you turn the corner into a degenerative disease state.
Jumping in here a year later haha.
I am 22 years old (female), I have been working in logistics for (will be) 4 years in April 2019. I started pretty well right out of high school, my mom worked here and got me in and I have been doing well and climbing the chain, but, I hate it. Hate.
Sitting at a desk job for 10-13 hour days, 5 days a week does a toll on your body. I am 22 and feel 50. I’ve already gone to the doctor several times for pains similar to what you had, I am lucky to get in 500 steps a day into my routine, honestly.
I just applied to college for Building Renovation Technician for January 2020, I just took that “leap” about 2 hours ago. I love building things and I love being able to see a finished product for all my work. Logistics, you will never see that. What I did today, I will do exactly the same thing tomorrow, and at the end of the day it looks like I did nothing, and I am lucky to get one thank you from a client. If it doesn’t work, I am still young and I can always go back (I hope not lol) to the industry I am in currently.
I hope to one day start my own business so I can move up to my cottage and away from the city… One day!
Great article –
I am quitting my job in two weeks to become a full time hockey coach. I planned out my entire year doing coaching and set things up before I quit. Definitely a type #2 quit 🙂
Hey Dan, I’m 38 years old and a millwright by trade. I would love nothing more then to quit my job and start a handyman business.
I got “promoted” 2 months ago. While I was supposed to go to a day shift they have me in a split shift purgatory right now. I spend from 10 am to 8 pm sitting at a desk staring at a computer trying to plan out my companys preventive maintenance system. Since i took the job I take about 6000-8000 less steps a day. I work out 5 days a week but my back neck shoulders and knees hurt daily.
There is no way I can do this forever but the hours I work don’t really allow for me to take on extra work on the side. Maybe I could do a job before work here and there but I have 2 young girls at home and the only time I get to see them is first thing in the morning before work.
Can you see of any way I could make a go of this while still working. I would quit today and jump fully into it but the wife doesn’t work and we need to pay the bills while things started.
I would say there are three ways to give it a go. The first way is to limit your expenses so you can save up enough money to live without an income for 6 months. You can save a of money in a very short time if you get really serious about it.
#2 – Find another job that maybe doesn’t pay as much but gives you a little extra time so you can take side jobs and build your business.
#3 – Maybe you can’t take side jobs yet, but can you work on your marketing – like building a website, naming your business, getting it setup, and learning the operational side of business? This all takes time to learn and implement and can get you at least a couple of steps toward the freedom of having your own business.
I took a volunteer furlough on the railroad from being a conductor. Started a business and before I got called back to work my business took off. I’m Not going back. I never felt so free, making more money, with all kinds of time to myself.
That’s great to hear! Good for you, Wes.
Hey man,
Love the content. I’m a nuclear engineer with a wife and a child with another in the cooker. I make $115-$130k a year. Luckily my wife is a lawyer with benefits (city employee).
I’m ready to quit my job. I’ve had my side hustle (glass business for windows and doors) and am ready to make the move. So far this year I’m making about $5k-$6k a month in profit by just working weekends and nights.
Obviously, I’m incredibly scared to quit but I think it’s time. I know I can do this. Would love to build a full scale glass shop with a couple of employees and an office person.
Wow good work Nadeem! Just from this short message it sounds like you’ll do very well with your business.
I am in a similar situation as you. I have been working at an engineering job for the last 9 years. For the last 2-3 years, my physically and mental health have been taking a hit due to the stress and long hours of working. Due to the pandemic, I was able to find an alternative income source that can support me without the job. The fear of leaving the job no longer there now. In fact, I am planning to leave my job soon.
That’s great Norman! Glad to hear you are getting out of a bad situation.