Maybe I’m writing this for you, person who is considering a change in their life. My job is to cheer you on. Go! You got this! I did it and so can you!

Here were my fears that I had, and maybe you do too. I will be really honest here.

• What if everyone thinks I’ve lost my mind?
• What if I have to get a worse job at the end of this and I look dumb?
• What if I lose all my savings?
• What will I say when people are surprised I’m not doing my old career?
• What if I never pick something?
• What if I never make money from this new direction?

The Moat of Low Status

Imagine there is a beautiful castle that you spot one day, and you have this inkling that you would have a really great life there. Inside the castle is a life where you follow your intuition. Let’s call it Fort Self-Realization.

But when you really think about walking into this castle, you see there is a giant moat surrounding it, with alligators and sharks and people’s opinions. There are some thoughts floating around this moat: “What will other people think?” “What if I look dumb?” “What if I look worse to my peers?”

This moat is our concern about our social status. It can freeze us in fear, considering that people might not like us or think worse of us if we make a change in our life.

However, it turns out this moat is a bit of a mirage. When you get up close, you realize you can actually just walk into the castle. YOU can walk into this castle!! Any time you want.

The Moat As A Filter

What if this moat is actually a positive thing? In my case, starting my career over, in the field of video games, felt like a net negative on my social status. The game industry sometimes has some negative connotations. I would have to put out my work in public, even when it looked like complete shit.

So this meant, in order to want to do this, I had to have a strong enough internal motivation to overcome this moat.

Previously, I tried working as an entrepreneur in residence, coming up with business ideas that a venture capital firm could fund. My view of the social status of this job was higher. And yet, my intuition felt off. After trying it for some time, I finally listened to my heart saying: don’t do this.

So in some ways, having a “moat of low status” around your career change, might actually be a gift! You’re not choosing this path just because other people think it’s cool. You’re choosing it because YOU think it’s cool.

The Outcome

Five years later, I have a profitable new company, selling video games. Maybe NOW I will look smart, and I can start giving talks about how smart I was and how all my planning worked out.

Nah.

It was uncertain the entire way. I don’t think I really could fathom we were actually releasing a game until about 3 weeks out. But at the same time, I believed it on a different level. It just took 5 years for my belief and the reality to sync up.

But, I am here to cheer you on. So let me give you one example of how this all worked out.

Chapter 1: Learning

I spent the first 3 months casting a wide net. I explored a bunch of different directions. I took online courses. I did random projects.

Chapter 2: Picking a Direction

At this point, I went all in on games. I decided I would make small games, and I would release 5 games in 5 years. (haha).

I prototyped 6 different games, and forced myself to post videos/gifs to Reddit and Imgur to see if anyone cared about them even with just a prototype.

This helped me build in public and get over my fears.

In the end, I chose a helicopter game. I liked it and Reddit + Imgur found it somewhat interesting.

Chapter 3: Build the Damn Game

After about 2.5 years, I was able to secure a publishing deal that funded the project. This was a major milestone and felt like I had de-risked most of the things.

I am extremely thankful that my last company did well enough so that my profit distributions were enough for me to keep paying the bills. A big thank you to Mike and Rengo, who ran Punch Through when I left.

Chapter 4: Build the Damn Company?

I’ve just started this chapter. The game is out, although we have a lot of work to do still. But the company is profitable, and things are looking good for the future.

It’s really at this point I can say confidently that I have a new established career in the games industry. Woohoo!

Major Lessons

• Ask for help
• Don’t be afraid to build in public
• Be willing to look dumb OVER AND OVER again.

You Can Do It

If you are considering a life / career change like this, do it. Listen to that little voice inside you, and trust it. Trust it above all other voices. You will know which voice is genuine and which one is chasing money, status, etc.

I believe in you! You can’t believe how much you can accomplish with clear motivation and the sheer joy that following your intuition brings. It will guide you through all the hard things. It is worth it. You can do it.