One thing that’s been on my mind a lot lately is whether I should make the jump to work full-time on Cloudpress. I have a job that pays good money, and I work on Cloudpress on the sideline. But, I know that I cannot give Cloudpress the time and attention it needs to grow. And without that, I do not think it has a fair chance of succeeding.
Cloudpress does not generate enough to support me yet, but I have enough money saved so I can resign and work on Cloudpress for many years. But I have this fear in the back of my mind
“What if it does not succeed, and I burn through all of my money”
At the same time, there are a few things that have happened that are pushing me closer to that edge to make the leap and go full-time on Cloudpress
The first was a recent sermon about my church about stagnation. The sermon was about stagnation in the context of your faith and trust in God, but it made me think about stagnation in my career.
About ten years ago, I left South Africa with no specific plan. I just wanted to go and travel. In a town called Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, I came across these people who referred to themselves as digital nomads. They work online on their own businesses or remotely for other companies, and they could travel the world in perpetuity - if they so choose
I was like: “What, you tell me I could do this (travelling) forever?”
And so, I became one of them. The years from 2013 to about 2018 were filled with a lot of growth for me. I started a tech blog and a tech newsletter. I built a decent set of freelance clients through the blog and newsletter. And eventually, I landed a job at a startup that went on to become a unicorn - and was subsequently acquired by another unicorn.
Those 5 or 6 years went by in a blur. And I learned a lot.
But then, it felt like I started to stagnate. Yeah, I kept up to date with the latest technologies, but nothing was as spectacular as the changes I experienced in those few years.
The second was a verse from that same sermon from Joshua 1:9
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go
The third was a discussion I had at church (I’m starting to see a pattern) in an Alpha course I am doing. The discussion was about faith. The first two items (stagnation and the verse from Joshua 1:9) also boil down to faith.
And while all of these were discussed in the spiritual sense, it made me think about the stagnation in my professional life.
So, this is where I am now. These things are all turning around in my head. I know I am stagnating in my career. Where to from here? Should I have more faith and make the leap?
I don’t know yet. Time will tell…