Cobbling a Life Together
By Jennifer Snyder

“That’s a marvelous idea, dear, but you already have a job. Just be grateful that you can pay your bills and have your fun on the weekend.”

“Nobody really expects to have the perfect job. If you don’t like what you do, just give your boss the least you can get by with, and take extra-long lunch breaks.” Do comments like these sound familiar? Professional women are beginning to understand that there is more to their professional life than what they once considered possible, breaking free from old stereotypes and limiting beliefs. They have read books about achieving dreams or doing what you love so the money will follow. They usually mull over their ideas alone before apprehensively mentioning them to a trusted individual. Unfortunately, negative responses like the ones above from well-intentioned friends and relatives can send our tentative planner back to her cubicle; never to reach out from behind her 9-to-5 prison walls again.

Following a peer coaching session, I was speaking with my friend and colleague, Coach Maureen Killoran. We were talking about many American’s viewpoints about work, where adult men and women work one real career at a time, and with luck are able to pay their bills and feel professionally satisfied. Maureen leads exciting retreats to inspirational places around the world and was kind enough to share an experience with me.

While spending time in the Irish countryside last year, Maureen had the opportunity to observe several individuals in one small community. A man painted houses (a job for which he was skilled and allowed him to be outside), tended bar (where he was surrounded by friends), and sang in coffee houses. Music was this man’s real passion and he had found a way to incorporate it into his daily routine. The income from making music wasn’t enough to pay his bills but he was able to make ends meet by relying on other passions and interests. He didn’t dread reporting to any of his jobs because each one offered him an opportunity to do something he enjoyed.

A woman in town took pleasure in a comparable work schedule. She cared for children in her home (a position that honored her love for babies), worked in a bakery (utilizing her creativity and culinary skills), and wrote chapters for her first novel each night. She, too, had found a way to earn money by doing things she enjoyed while making time for her dream career.

“But Maureen,” I asked, “Aren’t people in our country wary of individuals who earn a living doing ‘odd jobs’?”

“Yes, they are,” she answered, “And they’re often the same people longing for a perfect job from 9-to-5. The people I saw in Ireland have what the others are looking for - they have been successful at cobbling a life together.”

The power of Maureen’s story has stayed with me for months. Not a week goes by that I don’t reflect upon “cobbling a life together”. Is it really possible to craft a workday doing things you love? I believe so, but it takes time, introspection, and determination.

Before we can go any further, we should agree that you have control over your life and you can make powerful decisions about your own future.

The first question to ask yourself is how happy you are in your job, and if you can afford not to make a change. The next question you ask yourself should determine if you have a financial safety net should one of the jobs end unexpectedly.

Next, get comfortable in a quiet place and respond to the following questions. Don’t judge your answers; simply write down anything that comes to mind. You will evaluate your list later.

What previous jobs have you enjoyed?
What do people tell you you’re good at?
What aspects of your current job do you enjoy?
What interests do you have that could earn money?
What activities do you become so engaged in that you lose all track of time?
What would be your ideal job?
What do you like talking about, thinking about, and reading about?
What kind of work would you do even if you weren’t getting paid?
What career would you try if money weren’t an issue?

Now, look over your list for similar types of work. Could you make a living doing any one, or a combination of the jobs? Let your list serve as a map for where you want to go professionally.

Whether you choose a professional life with several responsibilities like our friends in Ireland, or you decide upon one satisfying career, you’re now on your way to building a livelihood that acknowledges your own goals.

Cobbling a life together…building the future of your dreams…it brings about a joyful, limitless feeling doesn’t it?