The Escape Manifesto E-Book

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 323

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

Rob, Dom and Mikey were fed up with the corporate treadmill. When they decided to change careers, they looked for a website to help them escape - except there wasn't one. So they started their own. Three years later and they have started a movement called Escape the City. Over 100,000 people have joined www.escapethecity.org in pursuit of exciting and unconventional careers. They are the first online start-up in the world to raise more than £500,000 in investment equity crowdfunding - and they did this entirely from their own membership.

The Escape Manifesto is the book that the guys wish they had read three years ago on the London Underground when they were commuting back and forth from their corporate cubicles. It is an inspirational call to action, packed with practical advice and encouragement. If you work in a corporate job that doesn't make you tick and you have ever wondered whether there is more to life, this book is for you. Step off the corporate treadmill - find an exciting job, start your own business, or go on a big adventure. Stop dreaming, start planning and do something different!

Reader Feedback

"Fab book- inspired me to plan my escape in Jan 2014  to India to clear my head after 29 years in social work then starting my own business. If not now, when?!" - Fionna

"My inspiration to take the step out of banking was driven by your book. I had been thinking about it for about a year but I kept putting off leaving the salaried job, that is until a friend left work and handed me a copy." - Selina

"The Escape Manifesto is a fantastic book. Page after page really hit the note with me..... I'm leaving my city job to take some time out travelling South America and see what happens!" - Scott

"The Manifesto has really helped me in my decision and continuing motivation to leave consulting. So, I’d like to say a massive thank you." - Victoria

"I'm so excited to have 'escaped'!! Thanks to the Escape Manifesto for giving me the motivation and push I needed to seek out opportunities I can be passionate about." - Australian Lawyer in London

"I'd like to let you know that your website and book! helped me 'escape' my job as management consultant in the Netherlands. I will be moving to Sri Lanka this November to work as general manager of a turtle conservation project, with my girlfriend. I found the job on your site. I'm so excited!" - Andre

"I lost track of the number of times I stopped to read out passages to my wife which expressed the exact same thoughts and emotions as I’d been feeling myself, it’s always good to know you’re not the first to have felt this way. I got a bit carried away with the highlighter and have built a to-do list off the back of it." - Graham

"Loving the Escape manifesto, I'm planning my escape from finance to conservation for August 2014." - Scott

"Your book is by my bed – making notes from the money chapter… hopefully I’ll have news soon." - Victoria

"I'm reading your book right now. I'm halfway through but I couldn't resist contacting you before I finish it. It is the perfect reference for finding a new career path and escaping the status quo and pressure from society - very good book!" - Daniel 

"Your book has made me feel so good about my situation and I now believe I'm doing all the right things to give my plans a good old go. Life is so short and you have nothing to lose. Nothing!!!" - Ed

"Even the shittiest day brightens up when I read your blog, your book or just the pics you post on Facebook." - Dagmar

"Well chaps, I did it! Quit my job in senior leadership in a blue chip corporate.  Now what???? Halfway thru your book and I had the eureka moment - "I'll write a book too" so, after blasting out a proposal I now have a contract with a publishing house. My new life as a writer started 3 months ago, you guys gave me the nudge I needed. Thanks!" - Andrew

"I just wanted to say briefly THANK YOU! You wrote a great book! I found myself on many pages! THANKS for writing down your ideas and thoughts and for founding ESC! Just registered. All the best and good luck to you!" - Franziska

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Blurb page

Endorsements

Copyright page

Title page

The Escape Manifesto

Introduction

PART ONE: Pre-Escape

CHAPTER 1: The Travelator

Why does This World not Work for So Many of Us?

Why do So Many of Us Tread This Path?

CHAPTER 2: Thoughts and Blockers

Unhelpful Thoughts

Common Blockers

CHAPTER 3: Gradual Epiphanies

Life Epiphanies

Work Epiphanies

CHAPTER 4: The Money Question

Think about Your Finances Differently

Manage Your Finances Differently

CHAPTER 5: Evolution Not Revolution

Pre-decision

Post-decision

PART TWO: Post-Escape

CHAPTER 6: Find An Exciting Job

CHAPTER 7: Adventure

CHAPTER 8: Start Your Own Business

CHAPTER 9: There Is No Guidebook

A Final Word

Moments

Recommended Escape Resources

Recommended Books

Recommended Articles

Recommended Videos

Escapees To Take Inspiration From

About Escape the City

Acknowledgements

Index

Notes - My Escape Plan

Rob, Dom and Mikey were fed up with the corporate treadmill. When they decided to change careers, they looked for a website to help them escape – except there wasn't one. So they started their own. Three years later and they have started a movement called Escape the City. Over 100,000 people have joined www.escapethecity.org in pursuit of exciting and unconventional careers. They are the first online start-up in the world to raise more than £500,000 in investment equity crowdfunding – and they did this entirely from their own membership.

The Escape Manifesto is the book that the guys wish they had read three years ago on the London Underground when they were commuting back and forth from their corporate cubicles. It is an inspirational call to action, packed with practical advice and encouragement. If you work in a corporate job that doesn't make you tick and you have ever wondered whether there is more to life, this book is for you. Step off the corporate treadmill – find an exciting job, start your own business, or go on a big adventure. Stop dreaming, start planning and do something different!

“The Escape Manifesto is a wonderful resource for anyone looking to move away from the corporate world and into a job they love. From the whys to the whats to the hows, this guide will help you take that leap once and for all.”

Alexis Grant, Entrepreneurial Writer and Managing Editor of Brazen Life

“Not only does The Escape Manifesto provide an essential step-by-step guide to breaking out of the corporate world and pursuing a more meaningful career, but it also shows you that you are not alone in your quest for a more fulfilling life and that the fears you may have are natural and symptomatic of the society within which we live. The Escape Manifesto really is a must-read for anyone sitting in their cubicle daydreaming about what else could be.”

Chris Mooney, Ex-IBM, Ex-Citigroup

“Most people don't know why they're doing what they're doing. They imitate others, go with the flow, and follow paths without making their own. These guys get it – that's why the world needs The Escape Manifesto.”

Derek Sivers, Founder of CD Baby and Author of Anything You Want

“I consider Mike, Rob and Dom as trusted peers and collaborators in our joint mission to lay a clear, secure and viable path for corporate employees who want to leave and start a business. Their advice is sound, and their experience is based on success in the real world. Buy the book!”

Pamela Slim, Author of Escape from Cubicle Nation

“The Escape Manifesto provides practical and fully relatable advice to help anyone explore the notion that their work life can be more fulfilling. If you feel stuck and helpless, just commit to one thing – read this book. Everyone has a choice to find joy in their work; Rob, Dom, and Mikey have conveniently paved the road towards that.”

Julie Clow, Author of The Work Revolution

“The Escape Manifesto is a call-to-action for all unfulfilled corporate drones – open your eyes to the universe of opportunities, be brave and make the leap of faith into the unknown. You will not regret it!”

Guy Livingstone, Co-founder and President of Tough Mudder

“The Escape Manifesto is that extra push of encouragement most of us need to disrupt our traditional patterns of thought, in order to get what we really want out of our careers, relationships and lives.”

Rachael Chong, Founder of Catchafire

“Do as they say and do as they do. These guys have the keys to the chain that's keeping you locked to your desk. Time to escape.”

Jeff Jarvis, Author of What Would Google Do?

“In a world of conformists we need organisations who are prepared to do things differently. How many other start-ups would turn down venture capital in order to raise £600,000 from their own members? An important book for anyone interested in stepping off the treadmill.”

Darren Westlake, Crowdcube

“Our minds can be our worst enemies when it comes to making big life decisions. The important thing to remember is that we aren't meant to ‘find ourselves’ … it is through action that we create ourselves. The Escape Manifesto is a potent reminder of the power of initiative over procrastination. Do something. Start by reading this book. But to change your life, then go out and do something different!”

Rob Archer, Founder of The Career Psychologist

“So many of us end up following conventional career paths without being aware of the alternatives. It is so easy to get stuck climbing the corporate ladder. Read this book, plan your transition, and then make a positive change for yourself. Or don't, and in 10 years' time you'll always think ‘what if’!”

Frank Yeung, Ex-Investment Banker, Founder of Poncho 8

“The Escape Manifesto makes excuses for not changing the status quo in your career strangely disappear. You've been warned, if you read this book, stuff will happen. I also met my wife at the launch party of Escape the City. These guys have all the answers.”

Ben Keene, Social Entrepreneur, Founder of Tribewanted

“The world is filled with potentially brilliant people living mediocre lives; anyone who says that this is how it has to be deserves to be whacked around the head with this book.”

Dave Cornthwaite, Adventurer

“This is a fantastic resource for anyone wanting to step off the treadmill and make a big change in their life. Great to see a book that is down-to-earth, easy to navigate and doesn't preach. It will prove just the catalyst and enabler that so many people need to help them on their way.”

Sarah Outen, Ocean Rower, Adventurer

“Seriously inspirational. A revolutionary handbook for the unfulfilled workers of the world.”

Roman Krznaric, Author of How to Find Fulfilling Work and Co-Founder of The School of Life

“People often say to me: ‘I wish I could do what you do’. The correct answer is, of course, that they can. They just don't think they can. Here is a book aimed at turning that wish into a reality.”

Alastair Humphreys, Adventurer, Author, Speaker

“Darwin actually advised us that those who survived weren't the fittest, but the most adaptable. As industrialism winds down many more of us are realising that the old boxes no longer work, neither emotionally or economically. The Escape team have distilled the special sauce that will help those willing to be defined not by what they own but by what they create to live lives of passion, authenticity and (crucially) have a lot of fun doing it. The world is shifting. Ride the wave. Escape the City.”

Mark Stevenson, Founder of The League of Pragmatic Optimists, Author of An Optimist's Tour of the Future

“If I'd had this book years ago, I would have spared myself a lot of agonising and heartache. Rob and Dom have a no-nonsense approach that is grounded in the reality of their own escape and having helped thousands of others to step off the travelator. If you have suddenly woken up in a job you're not sure you should be in, this book is a no-brainer.”

Tom Rippin, Founder of On Purpose (Ex-McKinsey)

© 2013 Escape the City Ltd

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Symington, Rob, 1983–

The escape manifesto : quit your corporate job, do something different! / Rob Symington.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-85708-362-3 (pbk.)

1. Career changes. 2. Career development. 3. Job satisfaction. I. Title.

HF5384.S96 2013

650.14–dc23

2013011057

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-0-857-08362-3 (paperback) ISBN 978-0-857-08370-8 (ebk)

ISBN 978-0-857-08364-7 (ebk) ISBN 978-0-857-08363-0 (ebk)

The Escape Manifesto

All our life we jump through hoops.

Often without asking why.

It's easy to feel stuck – a small cog in a big machine.

It doesn't have to be like this.

Don't waste your life living someone else's.

Don't wait for permission.

Life is too short to do work that doesn't matter to you.

Want your memoirs to be worth reading?

Make your choices your own. Be brave. Be inquisitive.

Stop using lack of money or experience as an excuse.

You don't have to risk it all to explore new options.

You owe it to yourself to find work that makes you tick.

Our world is changing. Careers are changing.

Take advantage or keep your head down. You choose.

The winners are building lives on their own terms.

Take small leaps. Meet people. Ask for help. Save. Plan.

Change jobs. Build businesses. Go on BIG adventures.

Start Something You Love. It's not easy. Push. Sweat.

No one ever changed the world by toeing the line.

You are capable of more than you realize.

This is no dress rehearsal. Make it count.

There will never be a perfect time.

And the first step is often the hardest.

So Stop Dreaming and Start Planning.

Do Something Different!

Introduction

It was another dreary Monday morning. Rob's alarm clock rang off the table. It was still dark outside. He jammed himself into a tube filled with fellow commuters. Everyone adhered to the silent pact of the London Underground; no one looks anyone else in the eye, nobody speaks. A mass of professionals collectively bracing themselves for the week ahead.

Reaching work, Rob (still waking up) tried not to get engaged in conversation in the elevator. He reached his allotted grey cubicle, opened Microsoft Excel and took a deep breath. At that exact moment Dom poked his head over the cubicle wall and whispered: “this is pretty rubbish isn't it!?” Rob immediately saw a kindred spirit. Someone else not prepared to settle, someone else bold enough to want more than a sensible job in a big organization.

We were two management consultants with no business-building experience and limited capital who came up with an idea that excited us so much it just wouldn't go away. It is an idea that has now seen us quit our jobs and spend the last three years building a global community of over 100,000 people who also believe that life is too short to do work that doesn't matter to them.

Every day we get emails from people in different cities around the world saying “WE NEED THIS HERE!” Although our idea was born in “The City” (London's financial heartland) we have discovered that it resonates far beyond the UK in many different industries and countries. This is a widespread phenomenon – more and more people working in big organizations, over-burdened with process and bureaucracy, are asking themselves whether they can expect more from their careers.

We have now been joined by a third partner, Mikey, who escaped an investment bank to help us set up our HQ in New York. Mikey is another comrade in the fight to save people (and ourselves) from the corporate treadmill. The more people we speak to, the more we realize what a massive problem this is. So many talented and passionate people doing work that doesn't really matter to them.