I've reinvented myself...

From what I can tell most people are unhappy with many parts of their lifes, yet few do anything to change what they don't like. I was one of these people for many years. I was unhappy with how much I was paid, I wanted to do a diffrent type of work, I wanted to change things about several relationships in my life etc. After years of just wishing things were diffrent, I decided that I was in control and could change anything I didn't like about my life. Nothing was "outside" of my control. What came over the next 24 months was a true transformation...

I have transformed my career, my finances, my relationships, and I even transformed my mind. (I see the world, and myself in a new light post transformation)

I don't want to sound all mystical and whatnot. This was a pretty straight forward process. I simply sat down and thought in detail about what I wanted for myself. Once I had a vision for all the areas of my life I wanted to change, I simply set out mapping out the steps I thought I needed to take to make the necessary changes. Then the hard part came...

I actually had to change.

I had to change my behaviors, my words, and most of all I had to change my thoughts. This wasn't an overnight thing, it's something that has been happening over the past 2+ years. It is still continuing actually, but the change is well underway. No longer am I trapped being the person "they" said I should be. I am becoming the person that "I" believed deep on the inside I could be...

The person I see myself as on the inside is far removed from the person I was in the real world. I was a EMT/Fire Fighter in the real world, everyone thought it was a great thing to be. The problem that I ran into was "they" (people with good intentions, and the people who weren't cheering for me) wanted me to stay in a similar role forever. If I talked about doing something more like being a software engineer, or being a entrepreneur people rolled their eyes or straight shot the idea down. "That's pie in the sky thinking" they said. You need to focus on reaching the next level, focus on becoming a Captain (aka. Climb the career ladder). While that is a fine goal, it's not what I wanted for myself. I had been climbing the ladder for years, and when I looked 10 years ahead I didn't like where I would be if I stayed on the career ladder.

So it was time for me to get off the 'ol ladder altogether and follow my heart. That is what I set about trying to do and it was quite scary...

Most recently I graduated from The Iron Yard! I am SO excited about that btw ;) Back in Jan. 2014, I started thinking about attending a code school/bootcamp. Few people supported my descion to pursue this course of action. It sounds crazy when I think about it, and I imagine it sounded even crazier for people to listen to me talk about quiting my job and starting over in a new field. Keep in mind that I was blessed to love what I did on my job. However I needed more money to provide for my family, and no matter how much I loved being a EMT my daughter needs diapers, formula, clothes, shots, toys etc...

If you have raised a kid you understand first-hand what I am talking about. So I had to make a choice about what I felt was best for my daughter and myself. Stay where I was, lower my standard of living and pray for the best over the years ahead OR walk away from everything I knew, put my faith and trust in God and his ability to lead guide and protect me and of course put a ton of faith and trust in The Iron Yard and their ability to deliver what they promised. After a ton of praying and thinking I picked The Iron Yard over my job.

I felt so much better and so at ease once I'd made my descion. As sit here looking back over the 12 weeks I attended TIY and all I learned I am so thankful I took that leap of faith. I would be so miserable and upset with myself if I was still on my old job, wishing that I was professional web developer. There were 1,000 resons to keep my job, and only one reason to quit it. I hope you are able to find that one reason, that source of motivation, that thing that fuels you and gives you the courage you need to make the moves you need to make.

I am overwelmed with emotion, and this post has lost direction so I will wrap this up. I am so glad that I did not allow fear to stop me from reaching for what I wanted. It was scary the entire time leading up to me attending TIY, and scary during (for a number of reasons which I may blog about one day) my time there as a student. However now that I have crossed the finish line the taste of victory is sweet...

Though short lived, lol

I now have a whole new set of goals to tackle, so no time to sit around and feel like a victor. I'm pressing on toward the next finish line.

Until Next Time...