Living the dream
Daniel Keyes
April 13, 2009
It’s a trap that snares many in our consumerist society – focusing on the future prize of wealth and corporate success instead of enjoying the present. We get stuck in jobs we hate because we’re holding out for some future joy that may never arrive.
At least, that’s what it was like for Andrea Fitzpatrick. It took getting laid off from her high-paying senior marketing job at Bell Canada to change the direction of her unhappy career. But after seven years of clawing her way up the corporate ladder, it was the kick she needed to get back down to earth. She had been so focused on that goal of getting to the top, she didn’t notice how unhappy the climb was.
It was about six months before she was laid off, after buying her first dog, Sophie, that her focus began to shift. She fell in love, and the regular walks they took together gave her time to think about the things in life she valued. Constantly snapping pictures on her walks, she also discovered a love for photography. As well as a love for writing. She submitted an article about Sophie to a local volunteer paper, which led to a monthly column. And it got her thinking. “I’m like, ‘why wouldn’t I be looking for that kind of joy in what I do all the time?’”
Now, she’s happier than ever – even though she earns about 30 per cent less than before. For the first time, instead of looking for that step up, she took a job that’s more aligned with her values. It’s another marketing job, but one where she spends the day talking about dogs, working on products that benefit their health and communicating with pet owners. “I’m absolutely loving it,” says Fitzpatrick.
What’s more, is the impact her new job has had on the rest of her life. “Rather than sit on the couch and just stew about having to go to work tomorrow because I don’t really like my job, I have all this energy and inspiration to write.” So now she can work toward her dream of one day being able to support herself with freelance writing and photography. She recently had an article published in the Toronto Star titled, “How I lost my Bay St. job and found true happiness.”
If it wasn’t for being laid off, Fitzpatrick thinks she probably would never have had the courage to leap into this unfamiliar world of enjoying the present. But the recession was just one of the wake-up calls.
Rachel Thurley was stuck on Bay Street for 15 years in a similar climb towards corporate success. It all started after graduating university, deciding she “needed” a car. Never stopping to think about what she enjoyed doing, she took a clerical job at small signage company. Within six months, she was able to buy her car. But that wasn’t enough – she needed more than what was possible at the signage company. When her boss asked her what she’d like to do instead, she replied, “Oh, I don’t know. Bay Street?” She didn’t know he had spent time there before starting his company. He got her an interview that day and she landed a job as a sales assistant at Merrill Lynch. From there, she worked her way up the ladder.
But like Fitzpatrick’s, it wasn’t a happy climb. “There’s heavy, heavy drinking, because people are so tense. And I remember when I wasn’t a trader, looking at them and saying, ‘Wow, they go out and get hammered every day after work. That’s terrible!’ and then I became a trader and it was like, ‘oh, I understand now.’” But that wasn’t enough to make Thurley quit. “It’s a real trap. Because you’re so used to spending that much, you really start to think ‘Oh, I can’t imagine if I didn’t have this much money.’” Mostly, she spent that money on vacations – temporary escapes.
It wasn’t until she was investigated for high closing and developed a stress-related rash that she decided she needed to get out. “I lost it a few times on the desk because of that stress.” Within a few months, she was laid off and got a nice severance package. But that wasn’t enough to pay off her mortgage, so she went back for more. This time, with a plan to get fired. So that’s what she did, and she got out with enough to pay off the bungalow she had downsized to.
Now she could take it easy and do what she loved. She finally had enough spare time that she could get a dog. Going to the dog park every day, she thought, “I really love this.” And every time she went to the gym she thought, “I wish I could work out all the time.” So that’s what she did. After spending a couple of years as a dog walker and personal trainer in the city, she decided she wanted to move to the country to start her own dog boarding company. Thus, Dougaldogs was born.
For almost four years now, she’s been living on a 50-acre farm in Port Hope. Dogs roam free throughout the farm and the house. She earns only a quarter of what she did on Bay Street and most of that goes to expenses. But she loves it.
If it weren’t for her job on Bay St., Thurley wouldn’t have been able to afford the farm. But looking back, she still thinks it wasn’t worth the unhappiness. “I would have found something earlier that was really more my true self.” On top of that, her stress rash still lingers.
She’s on track for an extremely successful future in dog boarding, but she doesn’t worry about the future any more. “I spent my whole life doing something I hated because of the future. And now I’ve learned that I can do it. I can reinvent myself.”