Tired of Not Being Yourself at Work?

Do you feel like you have a split personality? Okay, that’s a little dramatic, but are you tired of not being able to be your authentic self at work?

If you’re still working a nine to five, you probably know exactly what I mean. You have to go in and do a job you don’t love. You have a set of skills that maybe aren’t your strong suit but that you learned so that you could pay the bills.

Creative people struggle with this all the time. You were probably hold when you were a little kid that it’s all well and good to be creative, but make sure that you have a skill “to fall back on” so that you can get an actual job with benefits and security and things that keep parents from worrying.

There’s nothing wrong with learning a skill, but you shouldn’t have to sacrifice authenticity for security. You can have both.

If you go to work and pretend to be really good at something but crave coming home and having time to let out your creativity, you are a perfect candidate to be an “artistpreneur.”  If you’ve ever thought about starting a business, based on your creative passion and doing the thing you love, then that’s what you need to do.

We are told so often that we have to focus on our weaknesses and make them better. If you’re not good at math in school, then you’re supposed to spend more time on math. And if you’re great at English, then don’t spend nearly as much time in English. What if you turned that around? What if you’re great in English, so you spend all your time doing what you like?

What if you wrote math off because you’re not as strong in it? I know that’s goes so against the grain of how we are taught, but it’s really the fastest route to a more fulfilled life.

The quickest way to leave your nine to five is by embracing your strengths. If you feel like you don’t fit into the box that you’re in, then create a different box.

That’s where I see aspiring entrepreneurs struggle the most.

I have my own issues with this.  I was a creative kid and was always told that I should put it aside and find a career.  I thought, “Oh, great. I could become a copywriter or a graphic designer or something like that,” just so that I’d have a steady job. A lot of my career was spent taking these steady jobs, but I never felt like I was being who I really am.

I always felt like I was pretending to be really good at something that I actually mastered quite well, but I just didn’t love it. So it was just really hard work for me do it all day, because all I wanted was to be home, either writing or singing or doing something else.

It took me many, many years before I finally woke up and said, “wait a minute, I am not going to fit into this box. I’m going to create my own box!”

That’s what led me to start my first business.  I started a creative business so that I didn’t have to feel like I was splitting my personality or pretending to be someone I wasn’t.

That is the biggest benefit of being an entrepreneur.  You can embrace your strengths create a business around them so that you can make money and have the security that you crave while still being able to be your authentic self and share your authentic gifts with the world.

If you’re ready to start that business, if you’re ready to leave your nine to five and create your own box, I invite you to go to my website at www.drjudymorley.net. Sign up for my e-newsletter and get my free Business Builder Blueprint.

Stop splitting yourself up, just be yourself.

About the author

Dr. Judy Morley has been described as a “human potential specialist.” Her years of experience in different arenas varies from being an advertising executive to a college professor to an executive to an entrepreneur and franchise owner.  Each of these positions has given her great insight into helping people find their authentic style of leadership.