Awesome piece. Last October I made the decision to quit my well-paying corporate writing job to take a not-so-well-paying non-profit part-time gig and use the rest of my energy for writing. It wasn’t easy. The corporate job offered a very generous insurance package and enough commission to upgrade me to the next tax bracket…yet I felt like I was waking up every day to spend 8 hours (plus 3 for commuting there and back) working towards someone else’s cause that I didn’t care about. So I found my non-profit job which, while it has its flaws, has a generally good cause. And I spend the rest of my time writing.

My family was supportive, but I could also tell they were worried. My dad kept “wishing me luck” to get a “stable” job, and I told him that stability is not what I want right now. I am not married nor do I have kids, so it’s not an immediate concern, and while I’m still unattached, I should take advantage of this time and take some risks.

I didn’t hit jackpot the moment I quit my job (still sloooowly building an audience on Medium here), but I’ve had a few small wins to advance my writing career, wins that wouldn’t have occurred if I stayed in that corporate job.