Big change takes time. Start today.

As a freelancer, I often run into people who tell me they’re thinking about making a change in their career. The presence of a freelancer can make people think about flexibility, travel, or creative projects. Most of the time, when I check back in to see if these folks have quit their jobs, they haven’t. It’s pretty rare. 

This is no knock on anyone. They haven’t made a change because big change takes time. Sure, you could walk into your job, flip a table, and quit tomorrow. But most people don’t want to do that. Generally, people try to make wise, measured choices about their careers. It takes time to decipher a new career. It takes time to find one. It takes time to quit your current career in the right way, especially if you like it. 

I’ve been on this journey myself. Recently, I decided to sell my shares in the creative studio I’ve been building to go all in on writing and content. I started thinking about this transition almost two years ago. Nine months ago, I started mapping out a plan. Six months ago, I told my business partner that I would be transitioning away from the business. I put together a three month plan. So far, it’s taken six. 

Big change takes time. Many people are afraid to even think about making a change, because it means they’ll have to give up what they’ve done already. But if you don’t start thinking about it today, you won’t start penciling it out in a year, which means you won’t start making a plan for a year and a half, which means you won’t make real change in two years. 

It takes that long. Get started today.