Most of us wish we could be living our dream. Plenty of other people have done it, why can’t I? We’d love to quit our boring 9-5 and go for it, but we’re too scared to fail. I've had all these same thoughts and more in the past, but after years of following a career path that I was unhappy with, I managed to take the scary leap of faith and follow my dream (that dream for me, was playing poker professionally). 

I’ve outlined a few tips that’ll help you get closer to taking the plunge (cliché af, but it had to be done).

Take away some of the fear – Build your safety net

Most of us are too scared to leave our comfort zone because we envision the worst-case scenario. But we’re only scared of failure, not that we’ll end up bankrupt with no money. As long as the worst-case scenario doesn’t involve death, you’re good to go. I recommend you give yourself a 12-month window to see if your dream life is really what you want. If you don’t make a single cent in that 12 months, how much does it cost to live for that period? Work out your yearly expenses plus some buffer money (10% extra), that way if your dream fails, you won’t end up in the gutter. IF at the end of 1 year you have completely exhausted your living expenses, you’re just back at the start. You haven’t wasted a year, you’ve gained valuable life experience and saved one year of sitting at your desk living in an existential crisis. When I decided I wanted to quit my PhD and play poker professionally I defined two things:

- How much money do I need specifically for playing poker (bankroll)?

- How much money do I need to live for 1 year with no other income? ... Let’s call this your 
  yearly life roll.

Having a year's worth of expenses saved up gave me the peace of mind to risk leaving my old life behind to chase my dream. If I lost my entire poker bankroll and I “failed”, I could still pay rent and afford food. I know what you might be thinking, "But I have a mortgage, kids, and responsibilities". Well good for you, how much does it cost to live for 12 months? It’s still the same question, your number might just be bigger and it might take just a little longer to save up that safety net. Now we get to the fun part, where is this money going to magically come from?

Get on the grind 

If you already have an adequate income (i.e. you could easily save the money if you just bought less materialistic goods) then this step is easy. Keep working at your job and save like hell until you have your year's worth of expenses saved. If you don’t earn enough to save a substantial amount of cash, get ready to get on the grind. You need to make more money, simple as that. Get any job you can to start, work all the hours they offer you. I dropped out of my PhD and worked at an event hire company as a labourer. I assembled and disassembled massive marquee structures for festivals and backyard parties every day for about 7 months. It was physically demanding, hot, poor work conditions, and I was surrounded by people who didn’t want to be there. And yet, it was the best 7 months of my life. Why? Because I had a reason to be there, I had a purpose – I am going to play poker professionally. It’s a hell of a lot easier to get through the long days, the caffeine-fuelled haze when you can picture the prize at the end. 

If you’re thinking at this point “What job will I get?”, “How long will it take to save?”, I don’t blame you, I thought the same things. Let me say this, the universe works in mysterious ways. I know that is a cliché, but it is so true. We tend to get bogged down in the specifics of how our dream will play out, we overanalyze it before we’ve even started. Once you have a clear vision of what you want, the universe starts working in your favor. Believe what you like about the law of attraction, but that shit works. I’ll tell you my story, it may sound like crazy coincidences or too far-fetched. Until you have an experience of your own, you’ll have to take my word for it. 

Two weeks after I decided to quit my PhD, the only money I had was the chips in front of me on the table, at my local casino. The regular thoughts were creeping into my head, “How and where am I going to get the money I need?” “Have I made a big mistake?”. I got chatting to the guy sitting next to me at the table and eventually said I was looking for some work. I’d take anything, I just needed lots of hours. He replied “My family owns an event hire business and they’re always looking for workers. You can start tomorrow, you’ll likely get 40+ hours a week” (Crazy coincidence number 1). 

The grind had begun. I had the "one year of expenses" in my head every day I was at work. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to do once I hit the magic number, I just pictured myself living carefree at a poker table. I have to remind you, I had my year of expenses and my poker bankroll to save. The week my savings got large enough that I had my year of expenses saved up (only the poker roll to go), I got a call from a friend who I’d met through poker. Without going into any specific details, my friend said “Hey bro, I have this crazy opportunity for you. I have a poker bankroll I want you to use and play poker with. No financial risk on your side, no need to save your own bankroll. Are you in?” (Crazy coincidence number 2). With my one year of expenses in the bank, I quit my job the next day and within 24 hours I was a professional poker player. 

The universe won’t always deliver in the way you think it will, but if you keep asking, it will deliver. 

What if this all sounds too hard?

I get it, humans aren’t programmed to work 24/7, 365. Our brains often want to give up and accept the situation we’re in. I did that too. It’s not like the first time I ever had the thought “You know what, my 9-5 job sucks, I want something more out of life” was the same day I dropped out of university and started following my dream. The process takes time. Be patient with yourself. Eventually, you’ll hit a point where the thoughts in your head saying "Something needs to change" will get so loud you have no choice but to listen to them. My best advice is to start a regular meditation routine, to strengthen your self-awareness. 

How does meditation and having a clear vision help?

When you’re making a drastic career/lifestyle change there will always be people who will impose their fears and limitations on you. They usually mean well but they’re just channeling the voice of society: “You have to go to school, get a good job, buy a house and start a family”. That all sounds great but that’s not for everyone. A clear vision gives you the strength to listen to their concerns and advice respectfully, without being swayed off course. Not letting others influence your dream is one step but the most difficult voice to stop listening to is your own. The self-limiting thoughts, “You can’t do this”, “It’s all too hard”, “You’re wasting your time”, “It’s too scary”; these thoughts tend to crop up and elicit negative emotions, steering you away from your ambitions, so that you can slide back to what’s safe. Meditation allows you to observe these thoughts and emotions objectively; you observe them without attaching to them, allowing them to overwhelm you and cloud your vision. There are endless meditation techniques out there to try, anything that in...