In the past ten days I met founders of some of the most exciting fast-growing companies in London and New York. Their companies had a lot in common: they are all funded by private capital, provided either by angel investors or venture investment firms; their business models are enabled by the latest technology which allows them to scale up quickly; in some ways, these companies are disrupting traditional sectors: education, fashion, news distribution and urban design. There is one more thing they've all been through about 2-3 years after the initial launch: they pivoted.

I first came across the term "pivot" in the classic book The Lean Startup by Eric Ries, who had explained that "every entrepreneur eventually faces an overriding challenge in developing a successful product: deciding when to pivot and when to persevere." He defines "pivot" as "a structured course correction designed to test a new fundamental hypothesis about the product, strategy, and engine of growth." Ries is evangelical about learning: every business decision, every tweak and change is necessarily about getting feedback. There is no such thing as a wrong turn or a failure because every step ought to be treated as a data point, which helps to make future decisions and foster your progress.

"Companies that cannot bring themselves to pivot to a new direction on the basis of feedback from the marketplace can get stuck in the land of the living dead, neither growing enough nor dying, consuming resources and commitment from employees and other stakeholders but not moving ahead. Blaze, a manufacturer of urban cycling accessories, launched its first product, Laserlight, in 2013. Laserlight is a beautifully designed bike light with a laser projection aimed at tackling the biggest cause of cycling fatalities - vehicles turning across an unseen bike. It retails at £125 and hasn't quite managed to break through. It is certainly cool and has an innovative feature, but it's a hard sell for a typical urban cyclist looking at alternative products, which are available at a fraction of that cost.

In 2016 Blaze won a tender to supply state-of-the-art lights to the bike renting service in London (known as Boris bikes). With 12,500 bikes to be fitted with Blaze Laserlight by the end of the year and a promising trial in New York in November 2016, Blaze is well positioned to do well in the global urban bike renting marketplace. The company has also launched more modestly priced bike lights which provide 180 degrees visibility, have 65 hours battery life on a single charge and are fully waterproof. They retail at £45 and offer premium features at a competitive price. It is clear that at some point the company changed its direction from a single niche product to a diversified portfolio of business and consumer goods.   

Another company I spoke to, Wishi.me, used to be an online crowd styling service. Now it is a marketplace where stylists help clients find the right thing to wear for a special event or come up with new ideas for an old wardrobe favourite for $10-$90. It works both ways with stylists now able to earn extra income working online and independent of location. 

Other companies I met did the same. Some of them changed products or services, others changed their business models. It made me think that if successful companies had cracked it that in order to succeed, they need to pivot, why are we - individuals -  so resistant to change. Change is difficult, even painful. Start-ups are forced to do so by their investors. No one is nagging us! Yet if we could examine our jobs, relationships, habitat and lifestyle at regular intervals and be brave about tweaking the status quo, we could, ultimately, be happier or at least learn something from the experience. If your relationship is no longer thriving or if a tie around your neck on a Monday morning feels like a noose, then perhaps you ought to ask yourself "Is it time to pivot?"

The most important thing to remember is that every change is simply a lesson. It doesn't have to be right or indeed final. And no one will judge you (because others are too busy judging themselves).     

This Sunday (18 September 2016) I am teaching a workshop How to find your calling to a group of Russian women in London. It took me some time to prepare it, squeezing all the books and articles I've read on the subject as well as my own experience of the last 3 years of soul-searching into a 3-hour class. I am also a little bit nervous about teaching the workshop in Russian and had to look up certain words, such as the concept of "flow", to find the right equivalent in my first language.

There is something I have not thought about in a while, but revising my notes made back in 2013, I came across a concept of high achievers vs. wide achievers. High achievers are essentially specialists - think of a brain surgeon, a nuclear scientist or an interpreter who devote their entire professional lives to one fairly narrow subject and derive rewards from the unrivalled depth of their expertise. 

Looking at the specialist in a different light, it's a person whose job might be limited to just one aspect of the final product or service. Once upon a time I interviewed a talented pattern cutter who worked for a British high street retailer. She was very good at what she did, but felt frustrated that her skills in fashion design and understanding of textiles were ultimately wasted because in the fashion industry in Britain, all jobs were segmented into specialised fields. It's a good example of an unhappy "high achiever", which is actually pretty symptomatic of our age. From Adam Smith (the economist who advocated division of labour in the first place) to modern day specialists, who seek wider responsibilities, "high achiever" has lost its previously revered status. 

A "wide achiever" is a person who is not afraid to pursue several interests at once. My friend Lily is head of technology at a media agency but she also makes citrus jams and sells them to her local delis. I doubt she does it for the money, but it'a a creative itch she simply had to scratch. Selling your own products (as opposed to just giving them away) is a neat way to receive validation for your work. Another example is the House star Hugh Laurie, who after a very successful career as an actor decided not to rest on his laurels. He wrote a book, recorded a couple of music albums and toured as a singer-songwriter, receiving critical and popular acclaim and proving himself to be a man of many talents. 

What lurks behind the question of "high achiever vs. wide achiever" is the fear of failure. That's why many many get stuck behind labels and titles, which have faded a long time ago, but are somehow incredibly effective at deterring people from pursuing new interests. As someone who has a portfolio career of being a writer, a journalist and a corporate finance consultant, I now find it easy to say yes to such opportunities as teaching a workshop or interviewing authors at a book festival. It's about identifying yourself as a "wide achiever" or as a "serial achiever" (if you'd like to immerse yourself in a new thing) and giving things a go. Unless, you are, of course, a brain surgeon, in which case - stick to the knitting. 

Yes, this is still Life Tonic and not a graduate recruitment page of Deloitte or McKinsey. It is August, a nightmare time for a freelancer and after a recent conversation with a friend, complaining about his corporate job, I'd like to say a few words in defence of "office moles".

These days, unless you are a displaced migrant or a dweller of Subsaharan Africa, we are blessed with choice the generations before us only dreamt about. The jobs for life are no longer what professionals aspire for and instead we seek meaningfulness, fulfilment and the thrill of challenge. Money and status are still important but these are just some of the values we seek to tick. Job security (along with pensions, private healthcare, etc.) has become obsolete if your news feed comes from the sources geared for the millennials, while volunteering, sabbaticals and social entrepreneurship are selling like hot cakes. 

So much has been written in praise of entrepreneurs and freelancers, taking a "leap of faith", becoming your own boss and (dare I say it...) "disrupting" one's career path that it must feel like a failure to stay in the same job for the last 5 years. 

If you know where to look, you might have come across some pretty candid stories about what it's actually like to be a freelancer, but let me summarise it here for you. Being a freelancer or an entrepreneur is like crossing a sea in a dinghy: it's exhilarating for about 5 minutes a day and then you feel lonely, scared, under-appreciated and miserable the rest of the time. It takes superhuman strength of character to keep going and while it's worth it every step of the way, it is by no means plain sailing. I am a freelancer, I am happy in my dinghy, but every time I see a ship passing by, I fantasise about being on that deck, sunbathing and sipping Aperol Spritz.

You see, a corporate ship means a monthly paycheque, paid vacation, regular hours, private medical insurance and a pension plan. Typically, you have a boss and if she is any good, she'll help you grow - professionally and personally - while at the same time alleviating your responsibility when things don't go to plan. An office job means spontaneous access to a sounding board, healthy competition, Secret Santa and chocolates your colleague brings back from a business trip to Switzerland. It means lunch which does not require a washing up and a daily commute during which you might meet that special someone just by virtue of going out more. Most importantly, since we are social animals, corporate environment means office banter and communal environment. On the morning after the Brexit referendum I felt utterly miserable and lost. I don't have a partner or even a pet. I would have loved to come to an office where I could share my grief with colleagues and go out for a pint at the end of the day to decipher it all. Instead, I was at home and unable to do any work, I stayed glued to the TV screen, Facebook and Twitter, which was helpful but somehow soulless.

What I am trying to say is that today we are blessed with choice and it pays to take advantage of it. Remember, no-one is judging you (we are too busy judging ourselves), so make sure you re-evaluate where you are on a regular basis, especially if interesting opportunities come your way. Some people thrive in corporate environments and they should make the most of it. Others will never succeed in a large hierarchy, no matter how many courses, workshops and executive training sessions they attend. And there will be other people who can and will do both at different stages of their lives. Don't measure yourself by a common yardstick, be open with yourself and make sure you scratch that entrepreneurial itch or lean back in your swivel chair and stretch, complimenting yourself on being exactly where you want to be. Amen.

Two years ago I quit my job as VP of corporate development in a large media company in order to start my own business.

Let me explain what it was like. I have had important-sounding jobs ever since I’ve graduated from university deviating from that path only once to go travelling for a year. In 2009 I took a ‘career break’ to embrace freedom, leisure and adventure. But in 2013 I took a leap of faith to change my lifestyle. I had a modest financial cushion for a softer landing, but it was still frightening. In fact, I craved fear, I was thirsty for a dramatic shake-up that catalysed my decision. 

Six weeks later I launched Life Tonic, which in its original concept, was a platform offering talks and workshops on life skills and well-being, business and economics. I learned that in this day and age creating a business is quick and does not require any significant investment to test an idea. Apart from my time and its opportunity cost, I’ve hardly spent any money at all. There are plenty of excellent platforms for launching a website, such as WordPress, Weebly, SquareSpace, Shopify, etc. Such resources as Mailchimp, Eventbrite, SoundCloud, Dropbox, SurveyMonkey, Facebook, Twitter, TweetDeck, Intagram, YouTube, Google apps are free or charge modest fees for the services they provide. Six weeks into running my business, I’ve realised that my concept would take time and money to gain traction in very competitive market and will never achieve scale. I would have had to focus all my time on getting ‘bums on seats’, rather than relish Life Tonic as a creative challenge. Taking it all in, I’ve decided to 'fail quickly'. Thanks to lessons I’ve learned from the Lean Startup, I’ve tweaked my original concept into a blog, which has been successfully running for almost two years now.

Three months after I quit my job I was at a loss. What’s next? I had a chat with a wise life coach Judith Morgan who gave me the following advice: find a way to earn money to pay the bills, making use of your skill set and focus the rest of the time on things you love to develop them slowly, without putting the pressure on them to make money. It was brilliant advice I’ve been using ever since. Given my background in corporate finance, I’ve started business and corporate finance consulting, helping individuals and companies raise money for their businesses or evaluating investment opportunities for private equity firms. I got in touch with many former colleagues who have been recommending me to their friends and business contacts over the last 18 months. If you ever needed a confirmation that it pays not to burn your bridges, take it from me. At the same time, I’ve been running Ladies Who Impress and writing for Life Tonic, Huffington Post and now the New Statesman. 

If I were to label myself, I’d say I have a "portfolio career" or perhaps that I am a "writer in transition". If a career change is something you are contemplating, let me share some observations with you.

It ain’t easy. Right now I have a good pipeline of consulting work, which means I can pay the bills and even afford occasional luxuries such as a play in the West End, a dinner out and a weekend away. On other occasions I had no projects, which is when worry sneaks in and starts stealthily to play mind games. Working on your own can sometimes be lonely, especially if you don’t make enough to justify hiring a co-working space. People often assume that you are always free and available to meet during the day. Procrastinating (on Facebook or planning a wedding while at work) and taking sick leave are reserved for 9-5 jobs. What I’ve learned is that when there is no work, it’s best to focus your time and energy on your 'passion projects', rather than to give in to anxiety. In my case I spent two months over the summer on writing short stories Babushka and Me, which I had then published on Amazon. At the end of that year I had little concern over how much money I’d made as I was too busy celebrating one awesome achievement: becoming an author.  

It’s not about a new job, but a new lifestyle. Self-employed folks don’t have days off. Ask any freelancer or an entrepreneur and you’ll see that most often than not, they stay ‘switched on’ 365 days a year. It’s very different from having a job and leaving it in the office in the evenings, on weekends and holidays. For a freelancer it’s often difficult to plan vacations in advance. On the other hand, it is up to you to create a life you want. Typically, I get up without an alarm clock, I cook my meals from scratch, I find time for exercise and I rarely work late. Previously, I bought stuff and dined out a lot as a way to relax and reward myself for my hard corporate work. Now shopping, theatre and restaurant dining are genuine treats I savour and appreciate more. Travel is one of my passions so I indulge it. It’s easy to slip into the “starving artist/freelancer” mode but then I ask myself: “What are you living for?” And so I go skiing, I travel to new places, I often stay in hostels or with friends and fly with budget airlines but I splash out on experiences.

A portfolio career allows you to test a variety of roles. Over the last two years I’ve been offered several jobs from managing a boutique fitness studio to working for a private equity firm. I have tried myself in many roles working on consulting projects, which is often impossible with a full-time job. One my friends recently returned to work in the City on a part-time basis, having run her own private catering business for years in-between. Her temporary contract allows her to try a new role before committing permanently, to test a new environment to decide whether it’s right for her at this stage. My own decisions are influenced my changes in my value system: in my twenties I wanted security and stability (think a poor immigrant without a British passport); today my priorities are creative fulfilment and balance. I may yet find my perfect job, and my free range life allows me to experiment: one day I am a foreign correspondent, another day I present Woman’s Hour.    

I’ve learned more in 2 years than I have in a decade. Being an entrepreneur means you have to be quick on your feet. You must be confident or fake it until you feel so naturally. You have to be well organised or learn quickly. One of my clients has been so focussed on his first film that he abandoned fundraising and developing new projects. At the end of the year he’ll have his moment of glory but with no funds and no pipeline, it’s bound to get tough. You must be able to network effectively however cringeworthy you feel about it. I knew nothing about blogging, public speaking, marketing, social media, copywriting, law, journalism, broadcasting, video editing or coding two years ago. I am still not an expert but I’ve learned a huge amount which has quadrupled my skill set. In addition, I’ve learned to give anything a go. Yesterday I learned how to edit an audio recording. If you are interested in coding, have a look at playto.io, developed by Decoded, where you can teach yourself the basics of coding for free.

Focus on your strengths, rather than weaknesses. During my time in corporate finance, I’ve always tried to become better at ‘soft skills’, office politics, play by unwritten rules of ‘face time’ and taking on tasks I wasn’t particularly keen on. Working for myself gives me as close as perfect an incentive to work hard and deliver my best without worrying about office politics. Whether I am building a model for a client or reviewing someone else’s business plan, I play on my strengths. What’s more, I now have time to work on new skills I genuinely care about: writing, interviewing, journalism and brand marketing.  

Life is a journey. Over the last two years my life has been most adventurous and I came to appreciate living without a job. I’ve not been able to save or invest in anything significant. My lifestyle is anything but safe and secure. But I’ve developed my passion for writing and interviewing, I’ve been earning enough to live well, I’ve learned to appreciate things I’ve previously taken for granted and to enjoy simple pleasures in life. I lost fear and embraced unpredictability. I cannot wait to see where Fortuna takes me next. 

Years ago I remember thinking: “Would not it be good to be a food critic?” Mr. Permission (who has a knack for mind reading) laughed at me: “Jana, but that's ludicrous! You might be a foodie but you have not got any qualifications in cooking or writing, so no one would want to hear from little old you…"

Meanwhile, MiMi Aye (a City solicitor) started writing about Burmese cuisine, her obsession with pork and noodles and publish recipes and restaurant reviews on her free Blogger website. Last week she was interviewed by Jenni Murray on the BBC Woman’s Hour, cooked pad thai on the live radio show and had a launch party for her book Noodle!, hosted by her publisher. She’s got an agent, and dozens of willing brands are queueing to be associated her. 

It only takes a few minutes to set up a website and start writing about anything you like: graphic novels, cycling holidays or dog whispering. Today’s technology makes it possible to become a published author, a movie maker, a radio presenter, a teacher or a music label quite literally overnight. You don’t need Mr. Permission to record a poem, because although you have not been to drama school and have no experience on stage, there is no one stopping you recording yourself on an iPhone, then uploading a MP3 file online. 

This idea that you need a degree, a blessing from an authority, a permission to have a go at something creative, new or entrepreneurial is truly obsolete. So I suggest you take that excuse politely by its hand and march it out of your vicinity. 

What’s left? Ah, Mrs. Experience. Mrs. Experience shakes her head and presses her lips. You know what she means:

“You may have ridden yourself of Mr. Permission, but if you want people to notice you and take you seriously, you need oodles of experience. You cannot just write, cook, design or teach if you have not done your 10,000 hours.”

Mrs. Experience is right - you cannot call yourself an expert until you put in time to master your skill, but the only way to get experience is to go for it and start doing it. You might say I had no experience in writing or broadcasting but just in the last 11 months I’ve written and published about 100 articles for Life Tonic and Ladies Who Impress, recorded a few podcasts and interviewed a dozen of women in front of live audiences. And now I call myself a broadcaster and a writer. 

My final argument against excuses which may be stopping you from doing what you love (such a cliché, what I mean is: what makes your eyes bright, what makes time fly, what’s worth persevering with even on a sunny day and even when it comes out clumsily at first) follows. No one has ever asked for permission to become a parent (and yes, perhaps some should…) and no one has any experience in being a parent for the very first time. And yet most first-time parents manage all right, don’t they?

I have never heard of MiMi Aye before her interview on the Woman’s Hour, so it’s tempted to think she’s become successful overnight. Of course, that’s nonsense, because you can see it on her website that she’s been blogging since 2009. Mr. Permission and Mrs. Experience are great pals, if you are looking for excuses, but they are rubbish company for the discontented Life Tonic readers..! 

This article is not for you if you absolutely love what you do and get well paid for it. If this is not quite the case, read on. 

I recently listened to the TedX Carnegie Mellon talk by Charlie Hoehn A New Way to Work. I won’t spoil it, if I tell you a little bit about Charlie.

Charlie was a model student, doing everything ‘by the book’ to land a decent graduate job: he got high SAT scores, he studied hard at college, he played sport, he volunteered - his CV was pitch perfect. He sent out dozens of applications, expecting offers from prestigious employers, despite the recession. Unfortunately, he did not receive a single job offer upon graduation.

“What the hell? I thought employers would be beating down my door just to get a chance to interview me. I felt like I deserved at least a $40,000 per year starting salary wherever I was hired, especially after doing so well in school all these years. I'd done everything they (teachers, counselors, parents, society) told me to do."

Charlie isn’t alone. Plenty of talented college graduates struggle to find jobs as large companies downsize their graduate intakes during recession and start-ups look for experienced hires. 

As it happens, Charlie had an eureka moment. He decided to think of companies and entrepreneurs he admired and wrote to them, offering to work … for free. He did not ask for an internship potentially leading to a full-time offer (and burdening an employer with a task to think of things for him to do). Instead, he offered his services, tailored to benefit the entrepreneur he had in mind, offering, for example, to help with research on a book, producing and editing videos or social media marketing. He offered to solve a problem and do it for free.

Fast forward, Charlie can boast of having worked with such impressive entrepreneurs as Seth Godin, Tim Ferriss, Ramit Sethi; he wrote and published his own book Play It Away and, of course, he spoke at a TedX event at Carnegie Mellon. 

Inspired by this simple but ingenious idea, I decided to write to a couple of companies I truly admire myself. There is something incredibly liberating about it: I chose the companies to write to, offering my expertise and experience, as opposed to tuning my talents and skills to fit the advertised job description. My first letters were clumsy, and I have not heard back … until suddenly I did. Managing Director of a company I absolutely love invited me for a coffee. She was upfront about ‘no current opportunities’, but was keen to get to know me and talk about my background. How about that?

Judging by my own experiment, this idea of working for free is a pretty powerful one. You may have to find time in the evenings and over the weekends to squeeze in extra work and sacrifice some of your free time, but think about getting real experience in the field you are interested in, enriching your CV and populating your LinkedIn profile with impressive companies you personally rate. Think about delivering your very best and smashing client expectations. Think about potential referrals, paid projects and networking opportunities. Think about the possibility of finding a job you love. 

Read more about Charlie Hoehn from his website, where you can also download his free book Recession Proof Graduate. 

Ask any child what he or she wants for Christmas and you’ll get an answer at once. Children know exactly what they want and don’t hesitate to dream big. 

Ask adults what they want for Christmas and you’ll get anything but straight answers. Ask them what they want from life and you’re likely to get an answer as exciting as cheap vanilla ice cream. 

According to a Gallup study of the global workplace, 63% of employees in 142 countries included in the study, aren’t engaged in their jobs, and 24% are actively disengaged.  Yet very few people feeling ‘stuck’ know what they want to do instead. It’s such a departure from our 5-year-old selves, it is disheartening. 

What happened? Oh yes, we’ve learned that there is no such thing as Santa Claus and that it’s better to be realistic than practise wishful thinking. We’ve also  boxed ourselves into roles defined by our CVs and got used to focus on our weaknesses, rather than strengths. 

“I can never be an entrepreneur - I am just not a creative person.” 

“I could not travel on my own: I hate group holidays but I’m just not brave enough to travel solo.” 

“I could not write a book - I don’t have the patience."

“I could not quit smoking, I have no will power”.

We spend so much time and energy learning to be sensible that the word ‘dream' has remained a thing of childhood or worse - a ludicrous concept on a cover of a self-help book. Little by little our world has collapsed down to the size of an office building and the reach to the stars has been shortened to the length of a daily commute. And yet we know that impossible things have been and are achieved by dreamers (although such people are usually referred to as ‘visionaries’, ‘lucky’ or ’extraordinarily talented').

Think Nelson Mandela, JK Rowling, Steve Jobs, Andy Murray, Ellie Simmonds. They dreamt big and knew exactly what they wanted 'for Christmas’. 

Imagine yourself standing on top of a hill under the vast blue sky and taking a deep breath. With no ceiling and no walls it is just possible to feel that the world is full of possibilities. Make a wish, dream big this Christmas, be audacious and open to opportunities. You never know what you might unwrap.  

Last week I was talking to a friend of mine who is an actress. She said to me that what she really wants is a 9 to 5 office job.

At first, I was shocked. Having recently left a corporate job myself, I could not understand her. But, of course, it makes sense. Our values and preferences change over time, so whilst I have been craving freedom and an entrepreneurial adventure, she is looking for security and stability after years of freelance lifestyle.

This brings me to the point that people soul-searching for their ultimate career goal often do not get very far. In his book Screw Work Let's Play, John Williams argues that asking yourself to determine your lifetime calling is more likely to keep you stuck rather than propel you to take a step in a direction towards a happier life and fulfilment.

"There is no way to know what you'll want in ten years' time because you won't be the same person you are now. What you do in your next step will take you in directions you would never have predicted and reveal new aspects of yourself you're not even aware of right now." 

Another friend of mine invests private equity money into feature films. He used to be a banker, structuring commodity derivatives. At some point in his career he came across an opportunity to apply his expertise in structuring transactions to projects in the film industry. I doubt that he ever planned to feature as executive producer of several independent UK films.

At some stage in your life you might want to climb a corporate career ladder, but once you've had that experience, you might want to work for yourself or join a start-up. 

"Each experience builds on the last and it's impossible to tell in advance where the next one will lead you. If you ignore whatever is your current itch, you won't get to find out just what interesting places it might take you."

You’ve heard the quote, I am sure. You can probably relate to “love like you’ve never been hurt” or (after a cocktail or two) “dance like nobody’s watching” but when it comes to work, let’s face it, working for free isn’t realistic, is it? 

Fair enough, but what if you aren’t so crazy about your current job and what if you’re secretly dreaming of a career change, except for you aren’t really sure of your true calling and are way too sensible to quit a well-paid job without a “plan”? 

One way to discover your passion and talents is to do something “for love” rather than for money. Let me explain. A year ago I put together a charity fundraising project Ladies Who Impress, a one-off event during which I interviewed three female role models in order to inspire women to be more confident about their abilities and make the most of their talents. I had no agenda other than to raise money for the charity I was supporting but in the process I’ve discovered my passion for broadcasting and many talents I hadn’t previously been aware of. Ladies Who Impress is now a growing forum celebrating and inspiring women, hosting regular events. This “hobby” project opened a world of opportunities for me and changed my life. 

So let’s say you like baking. Why don’t you volunteer to make a tray of cupcakes for your friend’s birthday party or your office off-site event? You may discover that you really are quite good at it and would like to try out regular Sunday baking for a local farmers’ market. You may also discover that regular large volume baking isn’t your thing at all, but at least you’ve tried and learned something valuable in the process. 

Are you a wine connoisseur? Do friends always ask you for advice? Ever thought of hosting a wine-tasting evening or starting a blog writing up your personal notes on some interesting wines? 

You see, if you do something for love, you might not make quick money, but you may discover your passion. And that is worth all the money in the world. 

Any “projects for love” ideas? Jot them down.