Each of us has, at one time or another, been forced to endure a job that we utterly hate. It’s kind of planned, isn’t it? But the bravest thing you can do is pursue your dreams, while quitting your job.
Sure, quitting a job you despise is an immediate relief, but it’s also damn scary! Think about it: you’re leaving the security of not only something you know well, a daily routine you’ve grown accustomed to, you’re also leaving the security of a weekly paycheck – something we can all appreciate, no matter it doesn’t matter how shitty our jobs can be.
But what if you don’t succeed? What if you’re forced to go back to your old job and beg them to take you back? The only thing scarier than quitting a job you totally despise is trying to succeed in pursuing your dreams knowing full well that failure is always a very real option.
If you’re stuck in a dead-end job and fear is holding you back, you’ll be fine. It is better to try to pursue them and fail than to waste your life on drudgery. If my reassurances aren’t enough, you need to check out these stories about what men think, all shared by real people on Reddit.
What happened when these men finally quit the job they hated and found themselves chasing their dreams full time? Some are funny, some are just amazing, and all of them will encourage you to chase what you really want out of life.
15 people share what *really* happened when they quit their jobs to pursue their dreams:
1. All dreams are possible
“I quit my job at Taco Bell to pursue my dream of not working at Taco Bell. Yes, dreams do come true!”
2. It can be a whirlwind of disappointment, but things always go well
“I quit my job in March 2016 to start my software development company. It sucked for 8 months, but then I landed a client who paid $16,000 for some [crappy] Software. All the paperwork was done, and now they were asking me for some of the money as a bribe for giving me the project. My partner agreed, while I was in a hurry not to. My partner withdrew everything from the company’s bank account to his account. I didn’t deliver the software because of this, he kept calling me to deliver it and I said to go away.
Now I’m waiting for them to go against me in court for not delivering the software so I can prove it in court with all the audio and paper evidence and watch them suffer for the rest of their lives. Fast forward to January 2018; I restarted my software development company, I offered free service for the whole month of January. Completed 7 projects during this month to have a portfolio. Now I have a client of these 7 projects. He pays me well, he’s honest, doesn’t do a bad job. I feed my stomach and look forward to new customers.”
3. Never look back on the past
“I quit my 9-5 career when I was 27 and traveled with my girlfriend to wine regions and worked crops for two years until I could get a job on a winery in the United States. Now I’m a winemaker with my own brand and I have a lucrative job as an assistant winemaker for a larger winery. I’ve never looked back and I love my life.
4. It’s better to struggle than to stay in a job you hate.
“I quit my call center job to go do game development. It helped me to do that as a hobby for years and a bit of contract work. I woke up one day and I thought, ‘[screw] this soul-sucking job. I never went back there. I’ve been in game development for 8 years and now I’m a lead developer.”
5. You will land on your feet
“I was trying to cross the country for years to get back into the group that moved. My boss yelled at me for missing the mark on a BS project. I put in my 2 weeks the next day, I had enough of his passive aggression. I took about a month to pull myself together and do some cooling off and planning. I sold or gave away a lot of my stuff, packed up my car and drove off. I left my family behind me, but they supported me… I landed a new candy gig at a fancy engineering firm and the band plays more than 2 gigs a month, and we’re writing a new album, so I’m I took a leap of faith and landed on my feet.
6. Everything will be fine
“I found myself stuck in a horrible office job full of the usual politics and superficiality. Seeing what the managers were like gave me a hint of what would happen to me if I stayed. A voluntary departure option came along. presented, so I took it; at the time when I had no commitment and nothing to lose, so I thought I’d give it a shot. It worked out great! It took me a few years to get there but I’m now a busy illustrator.
7. Sometimes things turn out better than your dreams
“Well, I didn’t make it into my dream job situation; I actually went bankrupt and was a waiter at 35. So I went back to school and found a career that I love, but don’t love. However, I’m not a desk jockey anymore and if I want to do some cool stuff in my new career, that’s a total possibility, it just depends on my own efforts.”
8. You might end up at the movies
“I left a 9am to 5pm desk job to get into film/visual effects. It worked really well for me – good salaries, the best in my field, and there’s a certain thrill of knowing that probably more than 95% of English speakers in the world who have a television or go to the cinema have seen some of my work.”
9. You’ll be healthier than ever.
“My health has been amazing. I’ve been sick 80% of the time since I have an autoimmune disease (Sjögren’s disease), so being in an office full of people who don’t take care of their health and in a third-country in the world means that I keep getting sick and it takes me more than a month to recover.
10. You discover passions you never knew you had.
“Within a month, I found out my girlfriend was cheating on me, my tuition was raised 15%, and my boss said, ‘Even if your family dies in a car accident , we still expect you to be on time, so since you were late once this year, we cannot give you your cost of living increase. I sent 300 resumes to wineries and got a job.
I rode my motorcycle across the country to harvest. I learned the trade, I learned French and I made friends all over the world. Since then, I have worked with great winemakers in California, New Zealand, Australia and France. I’ve taken about 8 months of vacation to several countries over the past few years and soon have 7 barrels of my own Sangiovese ready to be bottled.”
11. Your past can help your future
“I was working at a car dealership, hating life, and decided to use my veteran perks to go to school. Two years later, I finally got my bachelor’s degree in computer information systems and I am now training to become a cybersecurity analyst. So far, so good.”
12. Retirement is also a dream
“Resign from my own company. I designed and developed software for Fortune 500 companies. I got so sick of it. Luckily I did some banking, so I retired. Love it that. Retirement was my dream since high school.”
13. There is always hope for the future
“I quit my job and I’m chasing my dreams of hitchhiking around Europe. Everything’s been great so far. But I’m only 22, so I don’t have any idea of what the rest of my life will be like. I’m happy to live my dream for now though.”
14. Sometimes things turn out perfect
“I quit my job as a caregiver in 2010, left my home country with just a few thousand dollars in my back pocket, rented a room and got a job as a manager in one from the biggest European companies (still there with a few more promotions) I met an amazing girl who I now live with in our own house and I have 2 amazing kids and a doggie so everything worked out perfectly for me.
15. There is always room for more
“Six years ago I went from full-time to part-time pizzeria to fulfill my dream of being a freelance glass artist. I still struggle sometimes and how I make money from glass constantly changing and adapting, but I’m fine.
I would love to quit the pizza job part time one day, but it’s good to have a backup plan in case things completely fall apart. I truly think it was one of the best life decisions I’ve made. I’ve grown a lot as a person, met some amazing people in the glass community, and I’m still improving and learning new skills.”
Rebecca Jane Stokes is a freelance writer and the former Pop Culture Editor at Newsweek with a passion for lifestyle, geek news and true crime.
