“I got to a point where my heart wasn't in it anymore. I'd lost all my energy and motivation.”

What work were you doing previously?

I was in the advertising / marketing / media space, both agency and client side, working as a project manager.

What are you doing now?

I am a full-time artist and designer.

Why did you change?

Because I had to.

Although I had enjoyed my career and got a lot of invaluable experience from it, I just got to a point where my heart wasn't in it anymore and I'd lost all my energy and motivation.

When was the moment you decided to make the change?

I had a month-long sabbatical (after working for five years with a central London advertising agency). This break increased my confidence whilst allowing me to see a whole other world.

During that time someone also asked me, "If you were given a year to live, with perfect health, what are the ten things you would do?" When I got back to work, I handed in my notice.

Are you happy with the change?

One hundred percent.

There is no doubt whatsoever now.

What do you miss and what don't you miss?

I really miss nothing…

There were good things about what I did before. I don't miss them, but I can appreciate them. I made really good friends and received great business training.

I don't miss setting my alarm for the commute into London, going into an office space, following someone else's rules, sitting at my desk.

Even a monthly salary is boring now. I enjoy seeing what's going to come in each month. And now I make more money than I did with a monthly salary.

How did you go about making the shift?

It was gradual.

From a young age, I had always dreamt of being an artist. However, I had pushed it aside during university and my early career, as I never thought it would be possible to make a living doing art.

Once I left my advertising agency job, I went to India on a yoga teacher training course for a few months. This helped me realise I was capable of doing something different. Once back in the UK, I worked four days a week in a freelance marketing role. During that time, I took a course in counselling children. Then whilst I was gaining work experience in a school using my new skills, I heard about Art Therapy. I took a course in that, which got me back into art.

Then, I took a big step and moved from London to Cornwall for nine months. I spent those nine months living at a campsite, working on my own art. Later I also picked up a graphic design course.

Through that transition time, I learned to follow that 'flutter of excitement'. For example, it was listening to my own excitement when I heard about the Art Therapy course, and enrolling in it, that eventually led me back to creating my own artwork. It's really important to listen to your instincts and follow the things you're excited about.

How did you handle your finances to make your change possible?

I started putting money away every month and built up a buffer.

I wasn't expecting to walk out of my job and that money would be there the next day. I also became more flexible about where money could come from.

What was the most difficult thing about making the change?

Overcoming fear.

It was getting over thinking things like "What am I doing?" and "Am I just crazy?"

What help did you get?

I got advice from the right people to help me to have belief and confidence in what I was doing. 

I also read books, attended and listened to free seminars and podcasts - I did whatever I could to keep myself inspired. I was continually tapping into those sources of inspiration, almost daily.

What do you wish you'd done differently?

I would have chosen the people I listened to more carefully.

It was important to share what I was thinking with people who supported me.

What would you advise others to do in the same situation?

I would say that (lack of) confidence is not a reason not do it.

You might think you're the most timid person, with low confidence. But you can do it. Confidence comes and feels natural when you follow what you love.

We caught up with Harriet recently to see how her shift was working out, ten years on. Here's what she's been up to, and the biggest lessons she's learned.

What's changed for you in your career since we first published your story?

To this day, I still always say that quitting my advertising career to become an artist was the best decision I ever made – so nothing has changed there!

Having been in my studio for over ten years now, I've recently taken a break to travel and gather creative inspiration. I've spent time in Colombia, Mexico, South Africa, Scotland and Costa Rica.

I haven't been painting in this period, which has been hard as I've really missed it, but it's felt like the right thing to do. I've been doing my design work as I travel, to sustain me financially, which I can do from a laptop anywhere in the world.

When I get back into the studio, I know I'm going to be bursting with inspiration, ready to flow out onto the paper. I've done a lot of one-to-one and group mentoring in the last five years, helping people move towards the creative career that they dream of. I've also run workshops on creativity and intuition, something I'm passionate about.

How do you feel about your work now?

It's the thing that feels most true to me and what I'm most grateful for.

What challenges have you come up against since making your shift, and how exactly have you dealt with them?

I've found that it can be a fine balance between delivering work for galleries and commissions etc. and maintaining my own natural creative flow.

There have been times when I've been painting a lot, but have gone into autopilot and felt creatively flat and burnt out. Taking a break to travel and focus on my design work has helped to reignite the flow.

How is the financial side of things panning out, and is this what you'd expected?

Some months are great and others are tougher.

Overall, I feel much more confident earning money from my creative work than I ever did as a project manager in my full-time job. It's just more natural to me, and I'll never ever get tired of someone paying me money for something that I've painted in my studio!

What have you learned, since making your shift?

To go step by step, follow your intuition and trust the process.

To view Harriet's artwork, visit www.harriethoult.com

What lessons could you take from Harriet's story to use in your own career change? Let us know in the comments below.