Marie Forleo

But you need to find something you love. And all of that was like such a huge permission slip for me because I realized in that moment, while my dad didn't tell me how to find something I loved, he gave me permission to do so and really reinforce the fact that livelihood needs to not fully, but finding something that genuinely aligns with your strengths and your skills is vital for all of us.

But you need to find something you love. And that was like such a huge permission slip for me because I realized in that moment, while my dad didn't tell me how to find something I loved, he gave me permission to do so and really reinforce the fact that livelihood needs to not fully, but finding something that genuinely aligns with your strengths and your skills is vital for all of us.

And so the only clues I had really was that I was always a super creative child. So one of those 17 things that I always wanted to be was an artist. So I had this, I used to paint, I used to draw. I thought maybe I wanted to be an animator for Disney, but I also had a real passion around small business. My dad was a small business owner.

And so I was fascinated with business and money and that kind of aspect of life too. And so I said to myself, okay, I have these two sides of me, what do I do with them? And the first idea that came to mind was actually the world of magazine publishing. There's the ad side, which is around money and sales. And then there's the editorial side, which is very creative.

And so I went to a temp agency in New York City and I said, I want to work in magazines. I don't care which magazine, I don't care where it is, just get me any position. I'll be like the lowly assistant. I don't care. And so they placed me as an ad assistant at Gourmet Magazine. It's a part of Condé Nast Publications back in the day. And I remember I was like, oh, this is awesome.

My old environment, 99.9% men, this new environment, it was a lot more mixed and balanced. I was like, this is really cool. My boss was a woman. And then also my big boss, the publisher was also this like incredible woman. I was like, oh, this is great. I've never seen this before. And after about six months in that job, the same voice came back.

It started small, like Marie, this isn't who you are. This isn't what you're supposed to do. This what is going on? What's wrong with me? Where's this voice coming from? I really want to work. I really want to earn money. I really want to contribute. But I couldn't stand going to an office every day.

It started small, like Marie, this isn't who you are. This isn't what you're supposed to do. This isn't what you're supposed to be. And I was like, what? what is going on? What's wrong with me? Where's this voice coming from? I really want to work. I really want to earn money. I really want to contribute. But I couldn't stand going to an office every day.

And so logically, I was like, okay, let me just step back here and try and look at my situation objectively. Wall Street, money, money, money, ad sales, more money, numbers. Maybe I've leaned too heavy into the business side. Maybe I've really been starving my creative self. So I said, okay. went to HR and said, look, if you have any position at any magazine on the editorial side, I'll take it.

I don't care if I'll take a pay cut. It's a lateral move. It's a down move. Just any opportunity, I'll take it. So they found me a position at a Mademoiselle, which was a women's fashion magazine, editorial side fashion department. I was like, oh my God, this has got to be it. I'm going to be working with designers. I'm going to be seeing new products and be helping with layouts, photo shoots.

This is amazing. And for the first couple of months, it was really cool. It was novel. I learned all kinds of new things, different environment, amazing. Of course, within, I don't know, four or five months, the voices came back again. Holla, this time I was like, there is something wrong with me. I feel broken. Do I have some kind of cognitive dysfunction where I can't commit to anything?

This is amazing. And for the first couple of months, it was really cool. It was novel. I learned all kinds of new things, different environment, amazing. Of course, within, I don't know, four or five months, the voices came back again. Holla, this time I was like, there is something wrong with me. Like I feel broken.

All of my friends are getting raises. getting married, starting to build their whole lives. And here I am years after graduation, just wanting to quit my next job. Nothing was making sense. And I felt so terrified. I felt like such a loser. It was awful. And there was one day at work when I was on the article. And it was about a new profession at the time. It's about 1999.

Do I have some kind of cognitive like dysfunction where I can't commit to anything? All of my friends are getting raises. getting married, starting to like build their whole lives. And here I am years after graduation, just wanting to quit my next job. Like nothing was making sense. And I felt so terrified. I felt like such a loser. It was awful.

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