Have you ever woken up and thought, “I don’t want to go to work today”, “I hate what I do”, and “I’ve got to get out of here!” This happened to me. I enjoy my work, I could almost go so far as to say I love it, but one day I woke up and realised there were many things I wanted to do and time was running out.

Over the last few years I’ve heard many people say:

If only I was brave enough to get off the treadmill and do what I really want to do.

I wish I’d pursued my passion.

I’ve never really found out what I want to do with my life.

The comments became so persistent I couldn’t ignore them anymore and I couldn’t stop thinking about them. Sometimes things that have been mulling in your brain come together in one moment when you suddenly realise you know exactly what you want and that is what happened to me. I realised it was time to pursue my passion.

Three years ago I decided I wanted to stop work and start writing full time – and the end of this year is when I achieve this dream.

At first I was terrified. I thought:

• I can’t afford to stop working/I’m scared about security
• I’ll make a fool of myself
• It’s only a dream, I’m not smart enough/intelligent enough/energetic enough
• I’m already too busy, I can’t add anything else…

Have I stopped worrying about these things? Not at all; especially the first two, but I knew I would regret it if I didn’t try. So I made a plan.

First, I made a decision about what I wanted to write. Children’s books. One thing I discovered was it was important to make this decision and stick to it. I had tried lots of genres in the past – thriller, murder, romance – but because my heart wasn’t in any of them (I thought they might be the quick way to a best seller. Ha!) the writing was work, not fun. It was only when I started writing children’s books for 9-12 year olds that I knew I would keep writing even if I never sold a single book. The money was no longer important.

Two, I realised that I had to live on something. I devised a budget, talked to my superannuation adviser, and then continued to work for almost three more years. I also gave my work notice of my plans 3 years ago so that the handover of my work and succession planning has been a relatively easy process. Then I told myself I would ‘retire’ at the end of 2015. Have I got enough to retire? Probably not if I take into account all the travel I want to do. No inheritance for the kids I’m afraid!

The three years have been a lifesaver though because they’ve made me realise how many things I don’t need to be happy. When I am writing I feel happy all the time, even when I can’t find the words. When I buy a new dress, new car, or go out for a fancy meal I feel happy also. This happiness is fleeting though and doesn’t fill me with joy or make my heart sing. So…at the end of three years I know I can live on less than half the amount I had previously thought essential. I’ve also made sure in this last year while I still have a regular salary that I buy the big items I need for the next five years.

Three, I’ve set writing goals. The main goal was to have four children’s books written and published before I retire. I achieved this in May this year. The Neillo Necklace Mystery was published in 2013 and the second, and final book in the series, The Secret of the Niello was published in 2014. In late 2014 I published the first of a four book series: The Entwhistle Experiment Book 1: Glued and in May 2015 the second in the series – The Entwhistle Experiment Book 2: Unglued  

Has it been easy? Not really. Has it been fun? Mainly. Do I have any regrets? Only that I didn’t start ten years ago. Next blog post I’ll explain how I did it.

If you have any questions or want to know more please contact me.

I’m always happy to talk.