I really like listening to entrepreneurs share about how they got started and the lessons they’ve learned along the way. Recently I had the pleasure of listening to Amy Flurry share about her story during a Levo League Office Hours’ session. Amy is founder of Recipe for Press and co-founder of Paper Cut Project. I haven’t read her new book Recipe for Press yet, but it is on my must-read list now.
Amy shared how as a new journalism grad, she took the first job she came across that seemed to relate to her major – being a customer service rep at a cable company. She said this job was dreadful, “soul-sucking” (I imagine it would be for me too), definitely a job that wasn’t right for her, but she said it put her on the fast-track to what she really wanted to do. It helped her know what she wanted and propelled her to take action. Great lesson – even the “bad” jobs can help us get to our right job.
Amy was really inspiring as she shared about the need for creativity as you are working towards your career goals and how important it is to be willing to be uncomfortable and vulnerable as you pursue them. I loved hearing how she and her husband decided to housesit to give them the time and ability to pursue their goals – she wanted to pursue freelancing, and he wanted to write a novel. They reached out to homeowners in Martha’s Vineyard, and later the south of France, to offer their housesitting services. She shared how those were wonderful years that fed their creativity and allowed them the freedom to pursue and develop the careers that were their passions.
I was reminded again that sometimes we give up too easily and settle for positions that are not right for us. That with creativity, persistence, and planning we can transition to work that will feed our soul and feed our families. We don’t have to settle for one or the other, but we do need to think outside of the box and develop a plan to get there. It’s never too late.
Blessings,
