There's a phrase in the song "Wait for It" from Hamilton that has always spoken to me. It's sung by Aaron Burr, who just can't seem to get the success that Alexander Hamilton has achieved in the same time frame. He sings,
"I am the one thing in life I can control
I am inimitable I am an original
I'm not falling behind or running late
I'm not standing still I am lying in wait."
On today's episode, I discuss the often painful wait for success in any area: career, hobby, relationships, etc. And hopefully, provide some respite for those for whom the wait has gotten exhausting.
Quitting the American dream as an NFL player to focus on what you’re really passionate about sounds crazy, right? Well, that’s exactly what retired football player, Nick Murphy, has done! He’s creating the lifestyle of his dreams where he can prioritize his family while helping others actualize their goals.
Nick is a coach who works with you to create and grow your own lifestyle business, so you can live a life you feel comfortable with and have a business you’re passionate about. He’s an author and avid podcaster, and I’m so excited to share this interview with you.
When he was in the NFL, Nick signed seven different contracts in four years. He felt like he lacked control in his life, and while a part of him liked feeling like he just had to show up, a bigger part felt like he’d rather be in charge. So he quit the NFL to create a career that works for him.
Time is one of the biggest things that can hold you back from achieving something. When you put a time limit on a goal, you’re not allowing your true potential to shine through. You can’t put a time control on something that should be full of love and passion.
But what you can do is learn how to prioritize your project and career so that you work within your zone of genius. Finding what you’re truly passionate about often means outsourcing the things that don’t bring you joy. That’s why I outsource my podcast management to the amazing Counterweight Creative and Nick makes use of Upwork.
How do you prioritize what matters most to you in both work and home life? Do you ever outsource tasks you don’t love? What kind of goals do you set yourself? Let me know in the comments on the episode page!
In This Episode:
Quotes:
“It just got to the point where I was like, I can’t control anything. Like, I could work my face off on a high school field and keep these kinds of meaningless side jobs to just keep playing the game and try to do the thing. My phone may never ring, or I could sit on my ass and do nothing and my phone could ring in an hour. And I just couldn’t handle that lack of control. I knew I could do more than that, so I just quit pursuing football.” (3:14)
“Let’s take time out of the equation for a minute. If this is the thing you know you’re going to do and success is guaranteed, and you’re doing the work and you’re trusting the process, it’s gonna happen.” (7:56)
“No one sits down when you’re in high school and says ‘how do you most profoundly want to use the rest of your life? What is the coolest thing you can come up with doing?’ Forget how to get it paid for or how to make money out of it and how to get a degree in it - what do you want? What fires you up? We don’t start there. So we’re constantly backtracking from this place that was fake to begin with. Some of us find an authentic way to do what we want and some of us don’t, so they stay and they settle and they suffer. And it’s sad.” (24:00)
Links
Follow Nick Murphy on Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest | LinkedIn
Buy UNBOXED: An Unfiltered Guide to Creating a Career on Your Terms
Listen to Nick’s podcast, Building a Lifestyle Business
Check out Counterweight Creative for all your podcasting needs!
Check out the full episode post here
Keep up with everything Quit Happens here
Follow Lynn Marie on Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram
Podcast production support by the fine folks at Counterweight Creative
In the first of what will be every other week Lynnbetweenisodes (shout out to Tim Ferriss for coining the term 'inbetweenisodes' that I just stole and bastardized), Lynn Marie tells a story about the importance of engaging in activities that bring you joy so that you can more clearly feel when something doesn't light you up.
One of the more unique quitting stories I’ve ever heard comes from today’s guest, Nurse Jonathan Mendoza! Imagine being at the top of your field after years of schooling only to decide there’s more that you want out of it. So you strategically quit to go back to school to study for another degree that will basically downgrade your title.
That’s exactly what Jonathan did. He got an undergraduate degree and then studied to become a Doctor of Chiropractic. But he quickly realized that being a chiropractor alone wasn’t fulfilling his healthcare vision. Jonathan quit his high-paying job and started a second undergraduate degree to become a nurse practitioner.
He received a lot of negativity from fellow students as he was already a doctor, and embarking on this new career path. And then when he skipped working as a nurse to complete his Master’s and become a Nurse Practitioner. All to enable him to truly create the type of holistic healthcare practice he envisioned.
Now, Jonathan is the master of injections. He opened his own clinic, the MSW Lounge, just outside Austin, to provide his patients with vitamin infusions to boost their health. Combined with his chiropractic background and supported by a talented and diverse team, Jonathan and the MSW Lounge are revolutionizing healthcare.
When you stop working for the money and start finding your own path towards fulfillment, magic can happen. So many opportunities open up when you embrace stress and changes as they come your way. And truly practicing what you preach makes all the difference.
Are you working to your full potential and fulfillment? How have you strategically quit something to incorporate all your academic letters into creating your perfect job? Have you learned to listen to your body? Let me know in the comments on the episode page!
In This Episode:
Quotes:
“Technically, I do this and this, but my credentials are this. Those letters don’t define who I am, they allow me to practice and work a certain way.” (6:38)
“I think that’s why entrepreneurs love the start-up game. I think that’s why people love quitting because there’s an opportunity and there’s fun that comes with it. That stress that I had was a completely different kind of stress than I had when I finished my master’s degree. The stress of opening a business is fun stress. It sucks, but it’s fun stress.” (15:54)
“I molded my lifestyle to the point now where I think we’re thriving, only because things are more in balance and I think that’s the only way life can be. And that’s the only way to work.” (23:17)
Links
Find Jonathan Mendoza on Instagram
Follow MSW on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Check out the full episode post here
Keep up with everything Quit Happens here
Follow Lynn Marie on Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram
Podcast production support by the fine folks at Counterweight Creative
Last Fourth of July I did a solo episode on Five Quits to Find Your Freedom - and well, let's just say I did it again this year:) I recently did some transformational work and found five quits I'm going to implement in my life, and maybe they might spark some thoughts as to similar quits you may want to implement in yours.