Deep Down You Know That You Really Can
“Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow”

Imagine if you had the kind of life where you roll out of bed in the morning eager to do work you really love… maybe restoring antique cars… or being a motivational speaker… or leading travel tours… or being a freelance writer… or doing your art… or getting paid to organize people’s homes... or having an online business… or whatever your passion…

Best of all, what if you could finally take control over of your life and time… decide when and where you work… and find a way to make a good living WITHOUT A JOB?

You can, you know.

Hi, my name is Valerie Young and before I became an internationally-recognized career expert on turning interests into income, I was where you are…

For seven years, I commuted 90 miles a day to a well-paying but high-stress corporate job that paid the bills but did not feed my spirit. The demands of work and life left me feeling constantly caught between a “clock and a hard place." 

Every so often I’d decide I wanted to quit my job and launch into job search mode. But was trading cubicles...
or inept bosses… or one set of office politics for another... really the solution? Or would I just be trading deck chairs
on the Titanic?

On July 31, 1993 I Got the Worst News of My Life

That’s the day my dad called to tell me that my mother Barbara had died unexpectedly of a heart attack. She was only 61 and just five months shy of her much-awaited retirement from her job as a second shift custodian. She and my Dad had so many plans… so many unfulfilled dreams…

Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, “Many people die with their music still in them.” Losing my Mom was a sorrowful reminder that life really is too short and precious to defer something as important as our dreams. 

A few months after my mother's death, I found myself sitting in an insufferably long staff meeting at a dysfunctional organization led by a well-meaning
but inept boss.

I'd been in hundreds of these kinds of meetings before, but on this day I was overwhelmed by the feeling that there had to be more to life than this. That's when it hit me:

“I Didn’t Need a New Job. I Needed a New LIFE!”
This Agonizing Wake-Up Call Ended Up Being the
Most Profound Turning Point In My Life

That’s when it really hit me – if I was going to start living life on my own terms, it was going to be up to me to find a way to make it happen.

Perhaps you’ve come to the same conclusion.

That's the day I decided to learn everything I could about what it takes to
1) turn your passions into profits and 2) transition from having a boss to being your own boss.

Over the years, I’ve worked with thousands of people and gotten some great press along the way. My tips have been cited in publications like The Wall Street Journal, USA Today Weekend magazine, Entrepreneur, Inc. magazine, Kiplinger’s, Redbook, Woman’s Day, Self, Reader’s Digest, The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe, Glamour (UK), Irish Independent, The Globe & Mail, and The Sydney Morning Herald, and online at MSN and CareerBuilder – just to name a few.

The point is, I’ve been specializing in helping people who want to do their own thing since 1995. And I don’t care what all your dream-bashing friends say. I’m here to tell you that…

I Know For a FACT That You Really CAN
Find An Interesting And A Profitable Business Idea
That Lets You Pay the Bills… and Feed Your Spirit

As far as I'm concerned, life is too short to not spend every day doing something you truly love.

Yes, money is important. And, if you know what you’re doing, you really can
“do what you love and the money will follow.”

What matters too, though, is having time to spend with the people you love, where you can work at something you feel passionate about and that makes a difference in people’s lives. Where you decide what time to wake up and how many vacation days you need.

I mean, do you really think you were put on this planet to spend your weekends running around like a nut doing all the errands you have no time for during the week?

Neither do I.

But how do you discover your true calling or a viable business idea? Even if you already know you love dogs, or wine, or adventure travel, or alternative health, or decorating – how can you possibly make money doing what you love? Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s actually a whole lot more doable than you think.

That’s why my goal here at Changing Course is simple: To provide you with all the tools you need to discover and follow your dream of enjoying a more fulfilling life working at what you love… on your own terms.

You know, before I go on, I should make one thing very clear:

If you are hoping that I’m going to tell you about some “fast and easy” way to go from your high-stress, low-satisfaction job to working at what you love, you will be disappointed.

Despite what all the get-rich-quick scammers want you to believe, changing course takes commitment, effort, and time.

What I can promise you is that if you are willing to take that first, bold step on behalf of your dreams, Changing Course is here to help you create a road map, provide you support and encouragement, and give you the tools you need to make your dream life a reality.

The great American novelist Christopher Morley once said,

“There Is Only One Success – To Be Able
To Spend Your Life In Your Own Way”

When you were a kid everyone kept asking, “What do you want to BE when you grow up?” But I bet not a single person ever asked you what you wanted your LIFE to look like... If they had, no one would have signed up for a life of commuter traffic, florescent lights, and the uncertainty of corporate reorganizations.

Unfortunately, it would never even “occur” to traditional career counselors to ask you the key question: “What do you want your life to look like?” They just assume that you’re happy working Monday through Friday from 9-to-5 or
8-to-late with a measly couple of weeks vacation.

But what about the “life” part of the “work-life” equation?

What if you want to work from the comfort and convenience of your own home… or work intensely for six months and take six months off… or spend your summers working on the coast of Maine or in Italy and the winter someplace warm… or enjoy summers off with your kids?

I learned the hard way how short and precious life is.

That’s why I came up with the unique Life First – Work Second Approach to Career Planning™. There’s a lot more to it of course, but the basic idea is this: Decide what you want your life to look like first, THEN discover interesting ways to make money that let you have as much of that ideal life as possible.

When you know what you want your life to look like, you can filter out business ideas that don’t pass the “Life Test” and only focus on ones that allow you to love your work – and your life.

Traditional career counselors don’t know anything about helping people who want to be self-employed. Their entire focus is on helping you get a different j-o-b by administering skill assessments and personality profiles.

But I don’t care what you’re “good at.” I mean I’m really good at typing and mowing the lawn. But do I love doing them? Hardly.

Remember it’s “Do what you LOVE and the money will follow.” It’s NOT “Get a job in the billing department because you’re good with numbers.”

Figuring out what kind of work you enjoy and how you can make money doing it is actually the easy part. That’s where the Changing Course Formula™ comes in. It starts with the Life First - Work Second Approach. But it also includes the
“5 Places to Look for Small Business Ideas.”

This is also where you get to tap into the power of multiple income streams. You'll quickly see how much easier it is to create a few smaller, more doable, profit centers than it is to try to come up with that one big business idea that can replace your entire salary. And speaking of money… the Changing Course Formula will show you how to tap a major source of additional income that a lot of savvy entrepreneurs totally miss.

I know the Changing Course Formula works, because it worked for me.

Today, I Feel Blessed with Riches
No Amount of Money Can Buy

In the bad old days, I used to be jarred out of bed by an alarm clock. Today, I wake up when I want.

I have a 30 second commute from my bedroom to my home office. When it’s warm outside, I work from the porch with its view of a neighbor’s pasture and the distant hills.

I set my own vacation policy, take days off when I need them. And if I feel like working in the garden or having lunch with an old friend, I can do it!

Since I started Changing Course back in 1995, I've heard from - and helped - thousands of people around the world who are, today, living the lives they really want. But I wanted to find a way to help even more – and I didn’t want money to be a barrier.

Dr. Valerie Young
 

Founder and Dreamer in Residence at Changing Course and
Career Change Expert for People Who Want To Do Their Own Thing

As Featured In...

Valerie Young’s advice, articles, success story and resources have been featured and published in numerous online and offline publications including these and many more…