Do you fantasise about how wondrously intoxicating life could be if you just enjoyed your job? How about the next level – being deliciously giggle-infested every time you think of how your work lives and breathes every one of your life values?
This is exactly what the uplifting people in my post today represent. They are not jawdropping rags-to-riches stories. They are stories of experimenting with experience and grafting their way to career and life harmony. They are taking steps towards a vision and a dream, rather than just thinking it. They are just damn inspirational.
So here we go. Steal a look at the kick-ass peeps kickin it in their careers (in the order in which I encountered them):
Marie’s journey started out on the floor of the New York Stock exchange as a trading assistant on Wall Street. She knew there was a better job that was more for her, but I didn’t know exactly what “job” that was. She moved on from there to get jobs in publishing, on the advertising side of Gourmet Magazine and then on the editorial side of Mademoiselle Magazine. Something still didn’t fit. She then stumbled upon an article on life coaching and took the 3-year course whilst still working the day gig at the magazine.
Blending her passion for business, coaching and life advice, Marie now has a bestselling book in 11 languages, is a Nike master trainer and elite athlete, leads online training courses and offline seminars in marketing, amongst other things.
She’s on first name terms with Richard Branson, for goodness sake. And all that, from feeling her way through her career. Awesome.
After having one read of her sassy, sexy posts, I just knew this gal was going to inspire me no end. Snapshot of her journey:
- Monster.com awarded her a 4-year, all-expense paid scholarship to a private, liberal arts school.
- Her first internship was at a local TV station.
- She moved to Costa Rica.
- She then moved back home to find a ‘real job’ and worked for AWeber.
- She dreamt of being on warmer shores doing something different.
- Escape Artist gave her a contract to write an eBook on visiting Costa Rica.
She then started her own business and she is now a blogger, copywriter and has ton of other products focused on marketing and PR.
A prime example of hustling her way to her dreams.
My favourite quote from Corbett – ‘That’s the funny thing about questioning your life and your work. Once you start asking the hard questions, anything is possible.’
Corbett’s background is in corporate consulting. He was one of these people that flew across the country on a weekly basis to work with some big Fortune 500 companies and help them through technology transformation projects. The pay was fantastic but he got tired of not having any control over his lifestyle and having to away from home every week.
He knew he wanted to be able to travel anywhere when he wanted and spend more time with his family. So he founded a company in San Francisco that was great until 2008, when the downturn hit and capital was scarce.
Corbett took a sabbatical to reevaluate how he wanted to move forward. What did he do? Got the wife, got the car and took a trip through Canada and Mexico. He met people that were living the life he wanted to live – location independent – free to travel where they wanted, when they wanted. So starts Free Pursuits, and eventually ThinkTraffic and Expert Enough which mash his passion for building online businesses and funding his travel pursuits.
Oh, and it took him seven tries to figure out he didn’t like working for big companies. Determination, anyone?
Another example of laser-sharp focus – he knew working for a corporate business was not for him – he has been an entrepreneur for longer than his entire adult life. Possibly the friendliest, most responsive person on the net today. He makes a promise to reply to every email he receives – and has kept his promise (that’s been my experience anyhow). Danny:
- Quit school when he was 15
- Initiated and built several different businesses, including educational software teaching children how to read
- Dug his way out of €250k of debt
- Co-founded Firepole Maketing
- Graduated with a Masters in Business Administration
And now? Runs this amazing site, educating the world with practical advice on how to grow your business using electrifying marketing techniques. He’s also known as ‘the Freddie Krueger of Blogging’ in some circles.
He knows what he wants. He goes and gets it. Simple.
Danielle is the queen of going with your gut, flying with your feelings and searching with your soul. She:
- Never went to university
- Co-ran The Body Shop Canada’s Department of Social Inventions.
- Ran her own communications business
- Was the Executive Director of a Washington-DC think tank, managing a team of brilliant analysts to create future scenarios for the likes of the Pentagon, IBM and the State of the World Forum.
Why did she move from one thing to the next with fluidity? Because it just didn’t feel right. Nothing more than that.
Danielle specialises in helping people make their business dreams come to live. Whether it’s a book, a business or a change. And she does it with a oodles of feeling.
An epic example of laser-focus from day zero. She always knew she wanted to be a writer. That’s it. And so her focus became just that. With her first attempt at a novel at the age of 14, she now has a degree in English and a Masters in Creative Writing. In tune with intuition, this chick.
Guess what she does now? Coaches other writers to refine their craft, has written a book that is going to be part of a trilogy, and writes for other blogs online.
Laser focus = big smiles.
These words would look awesome on any corporate CV: Alan has held senior roles at Deutsche Bank, UBS, Santander, HSBC, MAPartners and Detica and is expert in programme management (MSP qualified), project management (Prince2 practitioner & PMI-PMP qualified), client relationship management, sourcing strategies (BPR, 6-sigma) and strategy & architecture.
He is also a qualified (and highly regarded) business coach.
Wowzers!
Retiring from this corporate malarkey at the ripe old age of 36, he moved to the country, , founded Life’s Too Good and started teaching himself how to build a website. He expertly blends his consulting and coaching genius to teach his readers to carve their journey to financial freedom.
Retired at 36 people – living the dream 
. He can teach you how to live a better life here.
His unique angle? He wants to spend time enjoying what’s really important to him. He worked hard to make it happen.
What kick-ass career creators are on your list? Post a comment below or drop me a line. I read every one.
None of the links in this post are affiliate links, btw. Just sayin.
Want more of this kick-ass inspiration to land in your Inbox? Don’t wait for a Google search to come to the rescue – get the official Your Work Is Your Life manifesto and let the illumination roll in – click here
If you’re digging this, get your teeth into these:
It’s time for a new job – here’s why you haven’t started looking
Doing a job you hate? Survival mode it is, then
What happens when living your dream turns into a nightmare?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Great list Razwana of people I’ve seen online doing big things. Thanks for sharing them here with a little of their background. Each of them show us that anything’s possible. Inspirational and a reminder that we all have the potential to create our own career crusades.
Totally agree with you Vishnu – they all started off just like us, right?
This IS an inspiring bunch of people Razwana! I love how inspiration abounds in the Blogosphere – you only need to know where to look for it!
Lori
I totally agree Lori – we have the luxury of being selective about who we are influenced by online for sure.