Making Huge Life Changes, part 5

About 2 years into living in LA, I ran into a comedy buddy Ian Salmon, from my open mic days in DC. He gave me the biggest compliment. He said Jan McInnis, you're the only one who did what she said she was going to do. Everyone talks, but you did it. You said you were going to quit your job, you did it. You said you were going to move to LA. You did it. It was a huge compliment.

People always ask me "was it hard to quit my day job – a secure career actually – and go into a not-so-secure job – comedy. And I have to say that it wasn't. But that's because I prepared myself a lot ahead of time. And when I was ready to actually pull the trigger and leave my day job, I did something that I had read about years earlier. It was called "throwing your hat over the fence." What happens when you throw your hat over the fence? You have to go get it.

This week's briefing is tips for making a big life change . . .and today's tip is, if you're ready to make that big life change, then throw your hat over the fence . . . do something that causes you to actually make the change.

For me, I looked at the calendar, picked the date I wanted to leave my job, and then booked myself into 2 back-to-back weeks of comedy clubs. I knew I wouldn't be given 2 weeks of vacation from my job, so I'd either have quit or cancel the clubs. And canceling meant I wouldn't work those clubs ever again. I had worked too hard to get into them to cancel, so I knew I wasn't going to do that. I followed my hat over the fence and quit. So go ahead and toss your hat, and see where it takes you.

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That's it for today. Take care and enjoy your journey.