9 Reasons to Quit Your Job As Soon As You Can
You know, I had quite a lot of jobs in my time, my first one was delivering meds on my bicycle for the local pharmacy, then I moved up to pumping gas.
Didn’t mind that one so much because I learned how to fix punctures, hang around with the guys and they had one of those old Coke machines which kept the Coke really cold. Plus being 14 at the time I couldn’t resist stealing a pack of cigarettes now and then.
Working on construction sites installing elevators was really cool, after I conguered my fear of heights. We were working on a 25 story hotel. At lunch time we used to slide down the elevator shaft on a rope and head to the pub.
I was 17 at the time, so I didn't get adult pay. I was risking my life every day for about $38 per week. Crazy. I was living in a hostel at the time and fell in love with a beautiful blond girl, we still stay in touch on Facebook.
I worked a few different jobs on construction sites and then worked in the shipping department for a few book and stationery stores. This was repetitive boring work, so of course in no time shenanigans took over.
Then I joined the Royal Australian Navy at 18 and became an Electronics Technician. My job was to control and maintain the guided missile system. Better than any computer game! Loved this job, lots of travel, lots of girls and great mates.
After being discharged I worked for Unisys (Sperry Univac) as a Customer Engineer.
Then for Chubb Security as a Sales Rep. Quite liked that but we got a new manager with new rules so I left. I’m not much for following senseless bureaucratic rules.
In 1984 I went into partnership with an Australian security company which also took me to California where I opened a new office. That was really interesting but sadly we had a falling out.
Next I had a job in the same game but really felt frustrated and unappreciated, so I started my own company doing electrical and security contracting. That’s when the economy decided to go nuts, interest rates for overdrafts was 18%, jobs were scarce and my overhead was really high.
A builder who was into me for $500,000 went broke. Of course the domino effect sent my small company to the wall and I lost everything including the house.
You can trust me when I say this; wives never forgive you for losing the house.
That’s when I joined Amway. I took a job selling parking control systems during the day and showed the Amway opportunity nearly every night. No such thing as leads in those days so it was hard work prospecting people and getting front of them.
In 1994 I learned about the internet and loved it. Especially liked chat but in those days it was really quite difficult to use. So I got a bunch of programmers together and we built a really revolutionary, easy to use chat program which used avatars and simulated text to speech. It went nowhere.
Later we learned how to sell memberships to websites and did rather
well out of that for about 6 years.
The thing with the internet is, it’s always evolving so as that caper tappered off I went into email marketing and used it to build an MLM business with a San Diego based company called Life Force.
It was an amazing ride, I went from newbie to Diamond Level in 3 or 4 months. In 2003 I founded Apache Leads. Been pretty stable and happy ever since.
In this story I’ve left out quite a few jobs I had along the way, just to keep this narrative a bit shorter. My point in all this is to not be afraid to quit a job or start a business.
Don’t be afraid of what people think, who cares what they think, it’s your one and only life, don’t waste it doing things you hate.
When you feel it’s time for a change, don’t wait until all the lights are green, they never will be, you should just go for it!
These days I work hard but have a lot of freedom. I travel the world, live in interesting places, have many adventures and it’s all because my business provides the freedom.
Have a read of this article I found on Entrepreneur.com
Quit your job to take a better paying position? Definitely. Quit your job for a great opportunity? Absolutely.
But there are a lot more reasons to quit your job (once you have something else lined up, of course.) And they all fall under one main category:
Life’s too short.
Life’s too short to go home every day feeling unfulfilled. Life’s too short to work for a terrible boss. Life’s too short to go home every day feeling taken for granted, feeling taken less than seriously, or feeling taken advantage of.
Life’s short to not be as happy as you can be.
Say your grown daughter called and said, “I hate my job. I’m bored, frustrated, and feel like I’m going nowhere.” Wouldn’t you tell her to look for another job?
Shouldn’t you follow the same advice?
Here are reasons to stop being miserable and start looking for something better:
1. Your input is disregarded… or even not wanted.
Everyone has ideas. And everyone loves when their ideas are taken seriously – and implemented. The feeling that you’ve contributed in a special way is incredibly gratifying. But when your boss or company shoots down or even laughs at your ideas, that’s not only insulting, it’s demotivating. And pretty soon you stop caring.
Life’s too short not to care.
2. You get criticized publicly.
We all need constructive feedback. We all need a little nudge. We all need to be told when we can do something better – and how to do it better. But we need to be told those things in private. Life’s too short to walk around waiting for the next time you’ll be criticized – and even humiliated – in front of other people.
3. You never hear the word, “Thanks.”
Everyone also needs praise. We all need to know when we do something well (and everyone, even poor performers, do some things well.) Life’s too short not to be recognized for the contributions you make.
4. Your boss manages up, not down.
You know the type: as a leader they should focus their time and attention on their direct reports, but they spend all their time “following” their boss. It seems like your only job is to contribute to the greater glory – and advancement – of your boss.
A great boss knows that if her team succeeds – and each individual on that team succeeds – then she will succeed too.
Life’s too short to spend your time developing your boss’s career at the expense of your own.
5. You feel like you have no purpose.
Everyone likes to feel a part of something bigger. Everyone likes to feel they make an impact not just on results but also on the lives of other people.Life’s too short to go home every day feeling like you’ve worked… but you haven’t accomplished anything meaningful.
6. You feel like a number.
Everyone is replaceable. Everyone, ultimately, works for a paycheck. But everyone also wants to work for more than a paycheck. They want to work with people they respect admire… and they want to be respected and admired in return.
If your boss doesn’t occasionally stop for a quick discussion about family, an informal conversation to see if you need an help, or simply to say a kind word… then you’re just a cog in a larger machine. Life’s too short to only be a cog in a larger machine.
7. You aren’t even mildly excited to go to work.
Every job has its downsides. (I’m willing to bet even Richard Branson has to do a few things he doesn’t enjoy.) But every job should also have some fun moments. Or exciting moments. Or challenging moments. Or some aspect that makes you think, “I’m looking forward to doing that…” Life’s too short to spend only looking forward to quitting time.
8. You can’t see a future.
Every job should lead to something: hopefully a promotion, but if not the opportunity to take on additional responsibilities, learn new things, tackle new challenges… to feel like tomorrow has the potential to be different – in a good way – than today.
A decent boss works to improve the company’s future. A good boss works to improve her employees’ futures too, even if – especially if – that might mean some of those employees will eventually move on to bigger and better things. Life’s too short to live without hope.
9. You don’t think you can do anything else.
That’s the best reason of all quit your job. I know what you’re thinking, “I make too much in my current job; I’ll never find something comparable.” Or, “There just aren’t any jobs where I live.” Or, “I’ve put too much time into this company (or career or industry.)”
All those things are true – if you let them be true. You can do something else. You can do lots of something “elses.” You just have to believe – and trust that your creativity, perseverance, and effort will take you to new, happier, and more fulfilling places.
Life’s too short to just stay where you are instead doing everything possible to live a better life.
Hope you enjoyed this post and got some inspiration from it. It would be fantastic to hear your story.
Recently I finished a tell all book about the leads industry, plenty of cool things and some things other lead companies would never want you to learn. Get it for free here
Article: 9 Reasons to Quit Your Job | Blog Post Written By Don Reid