Want to earn the “quitting the day job” merit badge? Judging by the popularity of recent stories about dramatic exits from the workplace, sounds like a lot of people are right there with you.
Of course, those stories ended with an attempt to un-burn bridges in one case and the revelation that there never were any bridges in the other.
Maybe real-world quitting stories can never live up to the fantasies we invent while sitting in cubicles waiting for death. Everybody knows writers can’t really afford to quit anyway. Er… except maybe sometimes they can. It’s complicated.
So what about you? Are you living the dream and finding it’s every bit as amazing as you hoped? Spending your day outlining stories on the back of company memos? Or maybe you actually (gasp!) have a day job you enjoy?
Happy Monday, no matter where you’re spending it.
This is part of the merit badges for writers series, and may be posted on your site or blog. Have you earned this badge? Will you never earn it? Tell us why in the comments.
4 Comments
Great! Another badge. I quit my day job 25 years ago. I got tired of working for companies that went out of business, or were bought and purged, at a moment’s notice. Each time, personnel scattered into the wind. I opined that if I worked for myself and hired myself out for writing jobs, I would know when the end was coming and could/would prepare accordingly. This meant, of course, that I could never, never ever, burn a bridge. Writer-type people talk (gossip)—one burning bridge would spread like wildfire, closing off all options for assignments.
Oh and forget the images of lounging on the beach while writing on your laptop. Quitting the day job meant that I often worked not only days but nights in order to complete assignments with impossible deadlines. This badge has made those sacrifices worthwhile.
Thi would be cool if it integrated with facebook:P
I can’t quite claim this badge. Got one for someone who was fired from her day job?
@bonita del rey: My work here is done.
@tymcon: Alas, no grand plans in the works. But there is a Facebook option in the little “Share / Save” button at the bottom of each post.
@Joyce: Not yet…