[Thoughts] #5: Realizing Dreams
People often tell me “I’m too jealous, you can do this and that”. I often tell them “I’m sure you can do this too. The only thing that separates the dream from the reality is the action. And no one can do that for you.”
Do you dream of going around the world? But if you don’t even know how much it costs on average to go around the world, how do you know when/if you can do it?
Do you dream of changing jobs? But if you don’t even know what job to aim for, how can you train, find job offers or activate your network to get there?
I also often meet people who have gone through the information stage, who know pretty much what they want. But when it comes to making a decision, there are a few things that get in the way:
Scenario 1: That’s it, my company sends me abroad, but with a local contract. Not an expat contract. My sweetheart is waiting for me there, we’ve been waiting 5 years for this transfer, but I’d rather stay in France than be fooled. Of course, the salary will be the same, but I’m going to lose all my vacations, my seniority in the group, my annual return ticket, do you understand?
Scenario 2: That’s it, I can finally leave Paris, the dream! I found a permanent contract with good working conditions in the provinces. But they pay me 30% less than my Parisian salary. As a matter of principle, I don’t accept a new job that pays less than the previous one. I’d rather stay in Paris than lose 30% of my salary (editor’s note: in a city where the cost of living is 30% cheaper than Paris)
Scenario 3: That’s it, I’ve found my dream job. I will be able to reconvert myself in a job that I have never done in my life. But hey, I still have 5 years of experience in the other job. So I’m not going to accept a new job that pays me less than 50k€ a year, even if I’m a Junior. Don’t abuse it!
For these 3 scenarios, there are 3 possible interpretations:
- or these people aren’t so motivated by this change in life. Basically, they are right where they are, so it will take more than that to get them moving. Whatever the scenario, they’ll find the little beast not to change. In this case, it is better that they realize this now so that they can be satisfied with their current life.
- or they are afraid of change. Current life, even if it isn’t 100% satisfactory, seems safer than having to venture into unknown territory. To cross the line, let them remember a time in their lives when they said to themselves “if I had known how great it was, I would have done this or that earlier”
- or they focus on a detail, to the point of forgetting the main objective. The realization of a dream is often accompanied by a compromise, a loss in the moment, but largely compensated later by the satisfaction of having accomplished something great and having dared to change one’s life.
I know, it’s never easy to compromise.
Our blog was created while we were enjoying our years of hard work, so many people think we were both born with a silver spoon in our mouth. Or, “no, but you’re different, whereas me….”
Of course, our parents have helped us a lot to finance our studies (in public schools and even by being a scholarship student for JB), but that’s where it ends. The rest we got by the strength of our wrist.
When I went from a Senior to a Junior position because of my retraining, my salary dropped by 35%, it was not easy. Because of this salary drop and the new job, we were not able to go on vacation for a long period of time, and JB was not “allowed” to change jobs until I had validated my probationary period .
I knew it would last 2-3 years maximum, which is nothing in my long professional life. The first year was very hard because they didn’t let me do what I liked the most because of my lack of experience. I had to persevere, work harder than the others, gain confidence, train myself, ask for advice from everyone..
And all this has paid off because now, not only do I do a job that I am passionate about, but it also allows me, without planning it, to become a digital nomad and travel non-stop.
All this to tell you that if we can do it, YOU can do it too.
We’re not better, nor smarter… We’re just like you ^^
