HOW TO QUIT YOUR JOB

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Michael Fogler has a novel way of solving your personal problems: leave your job and never go back. In his book, Un-Jobbing: The Adult Liberation Handbook (Free Choice Press, 2000), he offers strategies to help the work-immersed realize that not only can they live well with half the money they currently earn, but they may in fact find richer, fuller lives in the process.

MOTHER: How have you developed the philosophy that you have about work? What led you to your beliefs?

Michael Fogler: I was more or less forced into where I am now. I say that with a laugh because I was conditioned to go after the major career and build a traditional life. I just kept not making it. I was trying to get a teaching job in college music but chances for a newcomer at the college level are slim. After that, I tried to get into some related academic positions like administration ...but I didn't get in there either. So there I was, banging my head against the wall, and one day I just stopped. My wife and I both came to the conclusion that we could both be happier with her leaving her work position, and me stopping trying to get work that clearly wasn't meant to be. We decided to carve out a life of home-based freelance living, one in which our expenses were lowered dramatically. That bought us instant freedom ...and we were doing what we truly wanted to do. That was nine years ago.

MOTHER: So how do you make ends meet?

MF: I'm still a musician, and I still do quite a bit of work in that field. But I've also been a writer. I help publish a newsletter for a nonprofit organization. I've self-published a book, which demands quite a bit of promoting. Finally, I do some speaking and workshops on self-sufficiency and other topics. Some of the things I do I get paid for ...some of the things I don't. On the whole, our expenses have been met, and so we happily live our lives.

MOTHER: What is the one thing that people should know about the process of extricating themselves from unfulfilling work?

MF: The biggest stumbling block is fear, no doubt about it. People are afraid, and while they might fully admit that they're not totally happy right now, the fear is that if they make a big change, it could be worse. And so they'd rather stick with what they know, even though it leaves a lot to be desired. They are afraid that accepting a different way of life will mean financial catastrophe.

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