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Putting a Price on the Pursuit of Your Dreams

Featured Author:

Annemarie Segaric

Annemarie Segaric is a nationally respected career and life coach, and Founder of The Career Changer Company, based in New York. She is also the author of "Step into the Right Career." Annemarie has worked with hundreds of career changers helping them uncover their true passions and do work they love. A nationally recognized career expert, Segaric is often sought out by media and organizations to speak on the subject of career change in today's economy. Her professional experience includes banking, consulting, telecommunications, media and entertainment. As part of her coaching practice, Segaric offers a popular career changer blog, regular workshops (including courses at the renowned 92nd St Y in New York City) and keynote talks. More information can be found at www.thecareerchanger.com. When she's not working you can find Annemarie running races or running after her two children. She lives with her husband and kids in the suburbs outside of Manhattan.

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More articles from this author:

• Corporate America: Why it Might Not Be for You
• What Is Your Happiness Worth to You?
• Meet our New Career Change Coach: Annemarie Segaric

What is your happiness worth to you?

  For many years I stayed in corporate jobs that looked great on paper. But, in reality they were a poor fit (and that’s putting it lightly).  Yet, I had grown accustomed to the life they afforded me—the nice Manhattan apartment with a backyard (woohoo!), gym membership, weekly manicures, saving the requisite 10% in my 401K, and a vacation every year.
 
You get the picture.

  So after knowing what my dream job wasn’t—being a business analyst building websites and creating software requirements documents—I finally figured out my passion. 
 
I discovered this field where I could help people actualize their dreams, encourage people to believe in themselves, and give them real tools to make it all happen.
 
YES!  I was going to be a life coach. This was what I was meant to do.
 
But, I couldn’t leave my job just yet.  I had bills to pay off, a buffer of money to save, and I just wasn’t willing to give up my comfortable lifestyle.  The transition from my corporate job to working full time on my business was going to take three years.  I wasn’t happy, but given the life choices I wasn’t willing to make…that was — financially — my reality.
 
Eight months went by.  I was building my coaching business during each spare moment I got and putting in time at my day job.  One day, I came home and asked my husband to remind me why I was still going to this J.O.B.  He responded, “Well, we didn’t want to move, you wanted to keep your gym membership, you love getting manicures, blah, blah, blah.”  Just then, something clicked. I told him I wanted to redo the plan.
 
That night we worked through our finances and found that by making some big lifestyle changes, I would be able to quit my job in a month.  What was going to take three years suddenly turned into a nine month transition!

Fast forward a couple of years and as we prepared for our first daughter to arrive we made another tough decision.
 
We left the fantastic apartment that had its own private backyard (with hammock and grill) just a block from Central Park, moved north into a much less expensive neighborhood and into a much less expensive apartment. Was I thrilled? Absolutely not.

I loved living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.  I loved my apartment.  I loved being a walk-away from everything.  I still miss it, and it’s been four years.
 
But I wanted to be coaching full time, and even more so, I wanted be available to be home with my kids.
 
So, if you find yourself eager to pursue a dream job/life but stuck because you have a mortgage, tuition, car payment, daycare expenses, gym membership, dry cleaning bills, student loans, credit card bills, health insurance expenses, etc., ask yourself: what am I willing to give up to live the dream? 
 
What is it worth to you?
 
Admittedly, I didn’t want to give up much initially.  Even though I wanted to be out of my job immediately and working full time on my business, I wasn’t willing to give up much in the beginning.  I had to accept that it would take at least three years to make it happen.
 
And yet, as time went on, as my dream became more real, I got to taste what it was like to create my own business. Turns out, I was willing to give up so much more to make it happen.
 
The same can be true for you.  Decide what your dream is worth to you.  Is it worth your home?  Maybe not right now, but if the dream truly matters to you, it is worth something worthwhile.  Work from that place, and let your dream carry you forward.
 
Copyright© 2009 Annemarie Segaric. All rights reserved.