I have a love-hate relationship with my day job. In all honesty, I’m pretty lucky. I’m a writer who gets to write all day for work. Now, the kind of writing I prefer to do isn’t exactly talking about HVAC manufacturers and oil rigs, so it’s not perfect. But it could be much worse.
But even my last job, an administrative position, was a gift. I saw that one, and sometimes this one, as an adversary to my dream job. But that really isn’t true.
No matter how unrelated your day job might seem to your dream job, it also fuels what you love. You should appreciate your day job, even if you don’t like it.
Here are 5 ways your day job is actually fueling your dream job.
1. It helps you meet and be around real people, not superheroes.
I fantasize about chilling backstage with other well-known speakers and authors before it’s my turn to go on stage and wow the audience. Maybe someday that will happen. That’d be amazing. But until it does, my day job gives me a fantastic opportunity.
Every day, I get to interact with real people. Not famous authors, well-known musicians, or incredible artists. Just real people. The kind of people I write for. I have no intention of writing a book to help successful people become more successful. I want to help people like me chase their dreams. So it would probably help if I interact with people like me on a daily basis. My day job allows me to do that.
Even if you have different dreams than me, you need to interact with regular down to earth people because they are most likely the kind of people you want as your customers or fans. And if you don’t know your customers, you won’t be able to serve them.
2. It gives you the freedom to reject bad opportunities.
Maybe you want to be a freelance writer or own your own business in some capacity. When you fly solo without the safety net of a consistent paycheck, you become a slave to the next opportunity. It doesn’t matter if the opportunity is good or terrible. You have to take it because you have to put food on the table.
