Build Your Dreams: How To Make a Living Doing What You Love

189 Pages·2013·2.16 MB·English

by  Chip Hiden, Alexis Irvin

BUILD YOUR
DREAMS
HOW TO MAKE A LIVING
DOING WHAT YOU LOVE
Alexis Irvin & Chip Hiden
RUNNING PRESS
PHILADELPHIA · LONDON
© 2013 by Alexis Irvin and Chip Hiden Published by Running Press, A Member of the Perseus Books
Group Cover art © Gina Triplett and Matt Curtius Interior art © Gina Triplett All rights reserved under the
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To anyone with a big idea and a little
voice inside them saying, “Go!”
CONTENTS
THIS IS OUR STORY
WHY DREAM?
CHAPTER 1:DIG UP THE PAST
CHAPTER 2:MIRROR, MIRROR
CHAPTER 3:CRACK A FEW EGGS
CHAPTER 4:THE MONSTERS UNDER THE BED
CHAPTER 5:MAP-MAKING
CHAPTER 6:FOOT TO PAVEMENT
CHAPTER 7:FEED THE PIG, PART 1
CHAPTER 8:FEED THE PIG, PART 2
CHAPTER 9:FIGHTING AGAINST YOURSELF
CHAPTER 10:PREPARE FOR TAKEOFF
CHAPTER 11:HIT, STAY, FOLD
CHAPTER 12:EXPAND
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
THIS IS OUR STORY
What do you want to do with your life? That was the question burning in our
minds after college graduation in 2009. Armed with two liberal arts degrees
(Chip in history and Alexis in journalism), we faced an economic slump, a
crushed job market, and the media’s endless predictions of doom and gloom for
young workers. The future loomed before us, foggy and uncertain. The pressure
to get a job, earn money, and make our parents happy was intense. So, we did
what we were supposed to do. We stuck to the traditional path and sent dozens
of résumés out. We felt incredibly lucky when we found desk jobs after a month
or so of searching.
The first few months on the job were exciting. We were young professionals
—commuting to an office every morning, drinking coffee, having meetings, and
most importantly, getting paid. But, after almost a year of pencil-pushing, it
started to feel like something was missing. The initial excitement about work
and the transition into adulthood faded. Work became a routine, an obligation.
We were living for the weekends and working only for a paycheck.
We started to dread each workday—sitting in traffic for hours to go to a
place we didn’t really want to be, and being told we were too young for any
meaningful responsibilities. As time dragged on, we tried to convince ourselves
that the salary was worth it. But in the back of our minds, questions and doubts
began to surface: Is this how some people feel every day when they wake up? Is
this all there is to life?
We felt like we were on a path to a life we didn’t want: working in the same
office for forty years, building up a stack of worrisome bills, and putting off our
dreams until retirement. For many, a steady, secure office job may be a dream
come true. It just wasn’t ours. We knew that we were lucky to even have jobs.
But, for some reason life felt empty. We were cogs in a machine with no sense
of calling or higher purpose. We wanted to leverage our privilege and our talents
to do some good for the world, not languish our best years away in jobs we felt
no passion for.
So, we came up with the plan.
Hatching Plans
One night out, we started talking about how we could bust out of our office-
induced comas to figure out what we cared about. We decided to go on an epic
U.S. road trip.
Our trek would take us from our hometown of Washington D.C., to the Great
Lakes, through the Wild West, to the beaches of California, to roadhouses in
Texas, to jazz clubs in New Orleans, and back home through the South. The road
trip was the start of a good plan. But we realized that taking a vacation was not
going to solve our problems with the office jobs. So, we made an addition to the
road trip agenda. Along the way, we would film interviews with successful
people who had chased their dreams and found work that they loved. We would
collect their advice and anecdotes about discovering a passion, overcoming
challenges, finding happiness, and making money. The goal was to make a
movie that would compile the stories and encourage young people to chase their
dreams.
THE ROAD TRIP
Equipped with a bare-bones budget, rations of Ramen Noodles, and a tiny red
tent, we took the plunge. With just enough money for our trip, we left our jobs