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Opinion and life of Mark Hunter. This blog may not be used in evidence against him. Other relevant info; @tartanpodcast Delicious Flickr Social Media Blog FriendFeed |
Yesterday marked the 4 week anniversary of me giving up the day job to start the new day job.
Followers of grass-roots podcasting since 2005 will know what the term ‘giving up the day job‘ means and the weight that it carried with us all back then. For me, the reality of giving up one day job for another is still sinking in, and to be honest (and don’t tell the boss) the new day job doesn’t feel like work (yet). But I suppose that’s fair enough. I mean, my old day job involved actual physical exertion and felt like, you know, work.
The new job is hard work at times (15 hour days down in Newbury being an example), let’s make no mistake about that. But as it’s what I want to do it doesn’t feel like it.
One of the biggest differences in my job, apart from being paid a month’s salary in one lump and not having to go back around and collect in the money, is that when you come up with an idea you’re pretty much free to follow it, whereas in my old job new ideas would need to wait until the work was done, i.e. the work that paid the bills. Now I’m paid to come up with and execute new ideas.
Another difference is going to meetings on a regular basis. This was something that was on the border of my comfort zone previously. But I find it easier to raise my self-confidence now that I actually do the job I’m purporting to. In the past I often felt like a bit of a charlatan.
So, in the past 4 weeks there have been a couple of meetings a week culminating this week where I’ve got several important meetings, one after another. One of them is so important that I bought a new suit at the weekend especially. Hopefully I’ll be able to share the details soon, but in the meantime I’m delivering a presentation on social networks and podcasting to a board of directors made up of some of the most influential people in Scottish business. I keep the thought of me being a window cleaner a mere 5 weeks ago out of my mind and focus on the fact that I’m very good at what I do…You have to, right?