Unemployment Week 1 – Inspiration Vs. Frustration

One week in; a lot of CVs sent; a lot of coffee drunk; a lot of pondering done. So far so good. With a fairly languorous few weeks ahead in Spain and Sweden; I am attempting to lay the ground work for the autumn when the days draw in and the bank balance evaporates. Good responses so far with prospects of work in both the UK and Singapore. Also in the pipeline are applications to do a part time Spanish course, writing up various travel notes, and cold-emailing companies in Spain / Ibiza (!). So I am feeling proactive and fairly excited by it all if a little computer bound.

This enthusiam is both heightened and slightly frustrated, however, by the incredible book I am reading. It is quite possibly at once the most inspiring and also the most exasperating book I have ever come across. In it, one man describes his journey from wage-slave to living the dream as what he defines as part of the New Rich; earning a good living and able to live anywhere in the world. Along the way he has become a kickboxing champion, tango dancer, entrepreneur and general all round genius at managing his time; all made possible by doing a 4 hour, yes that’s right, 4 hour, work week. Aptly enough, the book is entitled: The 4 Hour Work Week. He has the perfect lifestyle; enough work to feel productive and meet his material needs but enough free time to tend to all his other interests and ambitions. Give me five minutes and I will happily chew your ear off about it. He is truly inspiring.

I started this book excited but unsure how it was going to apply to me. Half way through I am even more intrigued but also perturbed that I may never find this career nirvana. I want to get to the destination now but I don’t have a plan! I am not an entrepreneur. I am not in a job where you can work from home. I do not have any desire to set up an internet company. All paths that would logically mean you could attain this lifestyle using his methods. So far, I have the excitement without the direction. I am like the child in the backseat of my own career screaming ‘are we nearly there yet?!”

I am not going to answer this question overnight. I need to read the rest of the book first for a start. The trick, I think, is going to be to maintain the momentum of looking for other ways of making a living whilst still freelancing in telly. The Spanish course, the CVs to people in foreign lands, the writing are all just stepping stones (I hope) to a more fulfilling career / lifestyle. It is all a journey after all and I am only in week one.