How to lose your job and dream all at once.

What if the pursuit of your dream lost you everything?

Most everyone reading this has a job, an obligation, or a "something" that pays most if not all of the bills. We'll call that something a job for lack of a better word. So, what if I told you the best way to lose your job was by pursuing your dream? Well, that is the truth, however, there's an if that goes along with that statement:

If...

• You become so focused on your dream that you don't do your job.
• You become so distracted with working on your dream that your coworkers notice.
• You become so lost in the daydreams of what could be that  "what has to get done" never does.

Your job is typically critical to building your dream in one way or another. However, your job is not near as cool as your dream. You could spend hours working on your dream, but that "pesky" job just keeps getting in the way. We become very tempted to slowly allow our dream to take over our job. Here's how it happens.

First, we start to daydream when we should be working. We spend 10 minutes on an email that should have taken 1 because of the exhilarating thoughts about our dream. Then, our breaks get just a bit longer as we scurry to work on that dream in every free moment. We start to take a few calls at the office and then a few emails on the clock. Before you know it, you're completely distracted. You get enough done not to get fired, at least at first, but it will catch up to you.

This is a classic case of split focus. We are trying to focus on our dream and our work at the same time. Our intentions aren't bad, but that split focus actually leads to more stress, less productivity and a shot at losing everything. We can do both, but we have to do them at the right time.

One of the best pieces of advice I could give someone pursuing a dream while also working a job is to focus on one thing at a time. If you're at work, focus on work. That's the right time to do it. If you're home working on your dream focus on your dream. 

Divide your time not your focus!

Beyond the fact that it's the right thing to do, it's also the best way to win at both. Your work and your dream require your focus. The amount of time you focus on your dream is not as important as finding focused time for it. 

Set mental limits to allow yourself to focus on the task at hand. Your boss will thank you and so will your dream.