Hi Ernie,

I am a 23 year old Advertising graduate, who feels lucky to have come across your book Career Success Without a Real Job.

Not only did it open my eyes towards the great amount of opportunities that exist in the world, but it also reassured my feelings towards a corporate experience. When I first walked in an office, I began to cry that very day after I completed my 9-5 internship shift. Since then, all these questions emerged from me about the meaning of life:

• How do people have time for themselves?
• Why would someone work and go home only to repeat the same thing?
• What are we serving to humanity?
• Is it even good?
• What's with the race?
• Who am I?
• This is what I finished school for?
• How can people continue this for years on end?
• This is it?

 

So, that's when my internal war began, not in my teenie bopper years, when life was a pie! I felt so trapped by society.

Imagine this..."okay I will go through kindergarden, elementary, high-school, some college in the hopes of reaching the destination line followed by freedom, yay!" When you reach that destination, It's like someone puts their foot in front, tricks you and draws the line even further. Soon, you don't even know where you're running off too! What made me feel even more hopeless was my father's wise words "Nope! You've trained yourself and now you're ready for the real battle."

Do I look like a spartan Warrior?" I felt a numbing feeling taking over me everyday and my face even looked older. I was disgusted that people were addicted to coffee as their fuel source, considered exercise as walking from their desk to the kitchen and placed an exotic escape on their desktop, as if they would have time to make that image a reality.

Just the little things as you can see bothered me and even though it only lasted 4 months, it made me more negative which I am not fond of. I was miserable and slightly depressed especially because I predicted my life 40 years from now and it looked boring.

During meetings I felt like my body was present but I was somewhere else. It was the first time I felt like an outcast. What made me more sad was looking at others and wondering if they're feeling the same or knowing they do but they've become use to it.

This creeped the heck out of me even more! (Just to let you know, my biggest fear was always men/women in suits holding black briefcases. I just take a look and feel like they need a tree to hug.)

Anyways, I was offered a job after my internship (during the recession) and I didn't accept. I just wanted out! Apparently this was a "crazy" move coming from others. I felt a weight just lift and I packed up my bags to go visit my family over seas and reflect by the ocean.

I am now exploring what I want to do and slowly trying to use all my creative abilities to make some income such as through singing, photography, blogging, cooking, etc with the help of a part-time job.

Someday soon I am considering an "un-real" job in a cruise ship as you state in your book.

What I know for sure, is that I am not made to work within a cubicle. If plants die . . . so will I.

Thanks for your support,

Ange

 

 

 

Bonjour Ernie!

 

What a pleasure to know you!

 

Well... to read you first. :-)

 

I've grown in thinking that life should be fun and that work should be named "passion ''. But I did like everybody and then, 9 years ago, I made the decision to retire from work and to keep on writing.

 
But some pieces were missing to my steps and yes, I have done what I wanted but . . . wow! what a lack of money!

I'll make my story short. 4 years ago, I had a thought that I put aside but some times ago, this thought came back strongly:  I would give seminars (I don't know how to say '' ateliers '' in english...) to help people to discover their talents and passions, to explore them and express them in their daily life.

 
Because I've always deeply believed that if you are not happy with who you are and what you do, if you don't listen to your  heart and soul and that you say ''shut up'' to your inner voice, you are already dead.

 

So what's the point to be apparently alive but dead inside and to be burried when you get older? So . . . I just wanted you to know that I have found a friend in you because I've felt very alone all my life with this "weird idea'' that everybody is on earth to be happy and have fun!

 
If you come in Quebec, please let me know. I would like to meet you. Have a beautiful sunny day filled with fun and magic!

 

Marie-Phé :-).