168 thoughts on “It starts with a whisper…”

  1. So wonderful and frightening at the same time I’m sure! Wishing you all the best, and I for one can’t wait to see what you can do now that you can follow your dreams!

  2. That sounds wonderful! You will be fine – it will just take time to get used to it. I also worked all my life and retired 6 years ago after being in the same job for 25 years (obviously I am much older than you). I thought I had retired! – I went on to work for another 5 years in various part time positions. I left work for good in May 2011. I felt so guilty not getting up at 5 am and rushing around – that lasted for a few months. Now I love not working and being free to do what I like when I like. After discovering your blog and #photoaday it gives me another thing to look forward to each day – thank you and good luck in your new venture!

  3. I ignored the whisper for too long, and then about 2 years ago, my “megaphone” screamed at me in the form of a nervous breakdown. Having worked every day since I was just shy of 16, I was suddenly forced to leave my job. You are brave to have done what you did, and you should be proud that you had the wisdom to listen to the whisper before things got out of hand. Congratulations! (P.S. I am currently living every dream I ever had for myself when I was younger!)

  4. Go follow your dreams….life is too short not to try!
    yes i have been too scared to take chances in past and now regret some of them
    Someone told me it is better to try and regret it than regret never trying in the first place!
    good luck chris x

  5. You are incredibly brave and I admire you because you have decided to take control of your life and your future doing something you love. You have sheer grit and determination continue plodding forward!

  6. So excited for you, it is so so scary to take that plunge but when it feels right to do it then it is pretty exhilarating. I am sure that you will be amazing. I am definitely following my dreams but right now those footsteps are slow because that’s the reality of right now for us.

  7. good for you, Chantelle x

    I’m in the exact same situation… left work after 10 years, a year later I’m still figuring out what my ‘dream’ really is……

  8. Good for you! I did the same; started to listen and before I went crazy, I quit work. Five years ago I became a stay-at-home mom and spent more time with my family while I wrote and indulged in my passion for photography. I may not blog or have sold anything, but my family is happier and I can follow those dreams and quench that thist to create.

  9. Way to go Chantelle:)
    I wish you all the best…….i admire people who just go for it!! Im trying to learn that skill….:)
    Im also still trying to *find* my dream…..well i have an idea but im scared:) I always say i still dont know what i want to do when i grow up…im now in my early 40s,,,but the good thing…..i dont feel that old:)
    I look forward to reading your journey.

  10. I love this. Don’t know you, but so happy for you. Last week I asked the question: How do I know when it’s time to make the call on a big decision, and how do I know it’s the right call? I was told to go with my gut. That the first call would be the right one. Well, the call I would like to make will have to be based on a certain thing happening soon, I hope very soon. Sorry for being so vague. I just woke from a nap, and this is the first thing I read, and it just hit me very close to home for me. Happy for you. High five!!

    • It’s my ‘job’ to still cover the mortgage, which I have saved enough to do and have lined up some freelance work to cover it. So definitely not living a life of luxury here, but definitely taking more risks.

  11. i wish i could do this. i work a 9-5 boring desk job five days a week. every day is monotony. i had more fun being at uni and working part time in retail! sometimes i think about going back to retail, it was so much more fun, meeting different people everyday, hanging out with coworkers who became good friends. but i cant stand working in customer service. my dream is to move to america (or the gold coast, i’ll settle for that lol) but quitting my office job is risky because lets face it, the job market out there aint so great! sorry for the rant haha. im glad you’re able to follow your dreams, and someday i will too 🙂

  12. Good for you, honey…feels good, doesn’t it? I did the same when I took a VR…all that freedom was both terrifying and exciting. If I hadn’t taken a chance, I wouldn’t have created HerCanberra, which has been the best thing I’ve ever done (apart from my lovely family)

    Sometimes the biggest risks reap the biggest rewards… Amanda (@bugmum) xx

  13. Goosebumps Telle. Goosebumps all over. I feel so proud of you, and so excited for you. Your family are super lucky to have you, you are an inspiration. You will no doubt exceed all expectations in the coming months, but I wish you luck on this exciting new chapter. So much love xx

  14. Good on you lovely. It feels good hey? I am the same as you – chasing my dreams, taking risks… I love being at home (and working still to pay the bills!). X

  15. I did the same last week too Chantelle. Ive worked like a trojan for what feels like forever…Ive stepped away to write and to study. I feel like Ive lost 10 kgs, Im my own boss. Follow them girl, follow those dreams x

  16. Wow! Well done on taking such a big step! I wish you all the best. I work as a health professional, but when my daughter was born 14 months ago I bought a sewing machine, some fabric and some patterns and started selling baby girl clothes as a hobby. It’s slowly expanding and I too am hoping in the not-too-distant future to hang up my otoscope and work for myself – at home with my girl. Good for you on making your dreams happen x

  17. I’m so pleased that you did it… I have absolutely no doubt that you’ll pick up so much freelance stuff that you’ll have to start knocking it back. I’m following some of my dreams at the moment and working out what others may be. It’s a never ending process… but it means I’m never bored. 🙂

  18. Congratulations on being brave! I, too, have been working almost constantly since the age of 15. I’ve only not worked when I was in school and my parents wanted me to concentrate on my studies. Now, I’m starting to hear that whisper. And I am longing to do something I love. Your decision to follow your bliss is inspiring and I wish you all the happiness you deserve!

  19. Wow. Congratulations. It’s so exciting to follow your dreams and have the courage to do it. What inspiration.

  20. I’ve done it a few times, first time I resigned I travelled overseas, best thing I ever did. Then again to raise a family. Have plans to start my own business, live your passion 🙂

  21. We all believe in you and know you can make it work. Thats 23,757 people supporting and encouraging you, according to your facebook page ! Well done for listening to your whisper. My whisper is getting louder and louder telling me to relocate … scary and exciting, my head is spinning ! Any nanny contacts on the sydney northern beaches 😉 I will need a job ! Good luck and enjoy your new adventure 🙂

  22. Great Chantelle, good on you! I really love the rhythm of being a stay at home writing mother, feel I can combine the two so much better than if I had a proper job. You ARE a hard worked, and motivated and really… follow those dreams and then follow the next that pop up!

  23. Woo this is a big deal Chantelle!! Well done to you lovely lady – this next bit is the scariest and hardest – where all the opportunities and possibilities present themselves to you and it is so overwhelming your brain screams at you to revert to type and head back to that regular paycheck. But push through that bit and the world is yours 🙂

  24. Hi Chantelle. I’m new to your blog, and find this post timely and SO exicting!! I’m just starting out building up a vintage homewares / furniture business, and have that same excitment, nervousness, completely scared out of my brain feeling. Good luck – I’m following along with much interest!!

  25. A few months before I walked away from my job, I stepped out of an airplane at 5,000 feet. They were much the same feeling. Stands to reason they would be; both are a leap of faith. You’ve shown your family, your friends, and yourself, what it means to believe in your gifts and abilities, Chantelle. That takes moxie. You’ve got it in spades. Go get ’em.

  26. Well done and kudos for taking this step to leave your job without something already in place. I did the same thing 3 months ago. I left when Life yelled so loudly that the people around me could hear its cry. With the support of my husband, family and friends {it makes things so much easier when you have a good support group} and I believe God’s tender and guiding hand, I tendered my resignation with a good multinational country and decided to just be… be me… be free… be whatever i wanted to be or dreamed i would do. I have not been able to do everything, but I explored so much. I am so much more fulfilled now in a new job and I am glad I made the move to explore and try new things. Good luck and God bless on your new adventure.

  27. Well YAY!!! I’m so excited and proud for you! I am also trying the “follow your dreams” ideal….So scared and excited at the same time! Wish you all the best!!!

  28. Super proud. You are amazing, I’ve watched your blog grow slowly and surely over the years. You’ve done your own thing, and it’s paid off for you. I can’t wait to watch you grow more. x

  29. Inspiring Chantelle! I am a writer who isnt writing (naughty me), I quit my full time job and finish in 2 weeks – with nothing else lined up, just my camera bag, keyboard and an idea!

  30. Congratulations on taking such an enormous step. Wishing you lots of success following your dream, from one writer to another 🙂

  31. Congrats….I hear your dream I have doen the same thing…..It scary & to be honest i work harder working for myself than I ever had for anybody & i wouldnt change a thing. Again congrats xx

  32. How liberating for you. Best of luck with the next venture in your life Chantelle. You will do very well no matter what you do. We are about to get a little labrador puppy just like you did so thats our next big adventure! xx

  33. Now find a team going to a 3rd world country to build an
    orphanage, or start a School, or to help feed Kids in a refugee camp………..and go, if even for a few weeks. It may just show you Blessings not before dreamed of, indeed it may change your dreams, it will certainly give you plenty to write about!

  34. Reading all these amazing comments and the one question that keeps popping in to my mind is “how do you pay the bills?” Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.

    • Hey Barb. I have a few freelance jobs lined up, regular ones I’ll do each month. Plus I have my advertising here and I work with brands too. Then I’ll be launching my own business in the coming weeks. So there is that! xx

      • How fabulous. It must be amazing to work in a career that can be so flexible. I know I am in the wrong place, but still trying to figure out the right one. I have been waiting for forty years for my dream career to happen (at the age of 4 I announced I wanted to be a stay-at-home mum (the hardest job in the world I think)) but realistically it probably wont. Need to find a whole new direction. How you live your life is very inspiring! Hoping that inspiration will rub off to give me some ideas of how to change a life-long dream into something new. Best of luck (not that you will need it) 🙂

        • It’s weird, you know, 4 years ago (when nannying) I knew that I needed to do something else, but didn’t know what. I kinda fell into blogging and had no idea it would lead to a career or anything else. I hope you stumble across your ‘thing’. xx

  35. I left my full time role last week after working FT for 23 years, this is my second week of what I call semi-unemployment (I still work part-time 2 days a week for my own business).

    It is surreal waking up on Monday morning and knowing I can sit on my laptop and do what I love most, writing. It sure beats the before school/work rush and then having to face traffic to spend a whole day in the office, only to do it again the following morning.
    They say when you listen to your authentic self you will make it work. You will. This is what you were destined to do. Enjoy Chantelle.

  36. Congratulations and kudos to you for being so brave. I cried as a I read this. Why? I have no idea. Maybe my life is whispering to me too. Enjoy!

  37. Did the same 4 weeks ago! I’m scared because I don’t know how life is going to be from now on. All I know is that I will be happier and less stressed than 4 weeks ago. That’s enough so far! Let’s live our dreams!
    xo J

  38. What an amazing life Chantelle! Have been reading you for years and very excited for this next step for you. Congratulations. I know you will be greatness personified.

  39. Good luck, stay strong, passionate and focused, and don’t forget to have fun.
    i think it’s going to be so good! Will love to read about what paths you choose, and one day, who knows, maybe a memoir? Ina in Switzerland

  40. You are 8 billion different flavours of rad, Chantelle. There are a lot of pretenders out there, and a lot of people churning out a lot of rubbish, but your blog is sincere and beautiful and properly likable. Can’t wait to see what you do next. xox

  41. It does indeed start with a whisper; like you I worked my entire adult life. I always did something, even when I was doing other things. I knew a long time ago that I was a writer, but I still struggled with my decision when I stopped working full-time to give full-time writing a go. I realised later that there was another whisper, and that I needed to follow my food dreams. I’m doing just that now, and someday I’m hoping to be able to combine my food and writing skills. In the meantime, I write two blogs (a personal one and a food one), and I own and operate a cupcakery.

    Many warm congratulations to you; I wish you the very best of luck.

  42. Wow!
    I had goosebumps reading this!
    I have similar dreams, but for the moment, I feel like a tiny little fish in a big pond 🙂
    So for the moment, & if it’s ok, I think I will settle for living vicariously through you 🙂
    This is huge, & you will be amazing, of this I am sure 🙂
    Cherie (raising master Max) xx

  43. Well done, how fantastic. Life is so short to wonder what if. I wish that all your dreams come true and more beside. You are a fantastic writer.

  44. Wow, congratulations! I’m sure you will be fine, cause you’re a great writer.
    Wishing you all the best,Laura

  45. Congratulations and Good Luck. My ‘whisper’ has become a darned great yelling in my ears recently, but until hubby gets permanent work I have to stick it out. I too have always worked (although I did take time out when I havd the children) I’d love to go part time and concentrate more on my love of crafty things. One day soon…… 😀 Jude.

  46. Congrats Chantelle, that sounds so exciting! I’m still to find my dream, altho I can hear the whisper ever so loudly every day.. but it’s hard to follow when you don’t quite know what to follow yet. Until then I’m stuck in a job that I hate, paying off my mortgage and hoping I’ll find my dream one day. I’m happy you’ve found yours!

  47. Go you! I love the idea of life whispering until its screaming. Next Tuesday is my last day in a job I don’t think anyone saw me leaving. First I am getting married and going on honeymoon. Then I am off to create a life outside of work and its terrifying and magical and the only way I can imagine existing from here on in.

    Good luck with the change … and you can still have the wind charm, I have one and I’m on Sydney’s North Shore

  48. Inspiring story, good luck, as Oprah also said: “The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but significance – and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning.” Sounds like you’ve got the right idea 🙂

  49. I followed my whisper 6 yrs ago and it was the best thing I ever did for myself. Believe in yourself, follow your dreams and they will lead to your intended path. So proud of you! I’m about to follow another whisper that has turned into a scream, wish me luck! All the best to you, I so enjoy reading your blog. 🙂

  50. I gave notice at my job Friday, too, to follow a dream and I am frightened and scared and excited and nervous. But I am more scared of what would happen if I don’t attempt to follow that dream. I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength. So can you. so can we all!

  51. Embrace the fear…. it means you are making the right decision… If we are not doing something that scares us, we are not challenging ourselves to grow and achieve. Congratulations on choosing to take the next step towards your life’s purpose!!!

  52. Felicitaciones!!! yo tambien tenia esas vocecitas que me decian “sigue tus sueños” pero no les hacia caso… ahora soy Full Time Mom tambien soy fotografa y diseñadora grafica 😉 Felicitaciones! la mejor decision que has tomado 😉

  53. I’ve never commented, but I follow you here and on Instagram, and I wanted to say how very happy I am for you! I hope to be at that point someday, and hearing stories of those who have made it are so inspiring. Congrats, and can’t wait to see what you do next. xo

  54. Oh yes, I am a big believer in listening to those whispers (though I’ve faltered in my bravery of late). Wishing you the very best of luck, I just KNOW you will be a success x

  55. Aahhhh…this fills me with such joy for you Chantelle. Such, such joy. You’re going to do brilliantly well on your own because in all honesty – you’re not on you’re own. We’re all here with you. xo

  56. Hi Chantelle, I only just read this as I’ve been offline since last week due to having a very sick baby boy in & out of hospital all weekend.
    Can I say….good on you girl. Chase those dreams, and rock them out. Very liberating & inspiring.
    I’m at that crossroad – due back to part time work {teaching} in January, but my heart keeps telling me to extend my leave & follow the path of some other dreams. My husband is supportive of my choices and I KNOW what I want to do….but the coward/stressor in me is overthinking it all. I’m scared what it will mean financially for us, I’m scared of loosing what I have at my job if things don’t go to plan, and I’m basically just talking myself out of it!!!! I need to listen to those whispers more….and make things happen.
    All the best Chantell, I look forward to reading your freelance jobs & articles, and very excited about your upcoming business launch 🙂
    x
    http://blog.scissorspaperrockdesigns.com.au/

  57. Scared, but hopefully excited to see what the journey ahead will bring? Good for you! You will never look back and wonder, “What if?” You will never look back and say, “I let fear rule my life.” You decided to follow your heart and your dreams and you took a leap of faith…you are a fierce and fabulous woman and I can’t wait to see what you do next! Good luck and God Bless…we will all be here reading and supporting you 😀

  58. Massive congratulations, and I agree with Lisa Brune, I got goosebumps reading your last four paragraphs. I love that you are following your dreams and I’m looking forward to following your journey x

  59. I love this article! I have recently decided to finally listen to my loud whispers in doing something I love. It’s scary but exciting 🙂
    Congratulations on following your dreams – I wish you all the happiness and every success xx

  60. That’s awesome Chantelle!! It’s so great to follow your dreams. I’m a Nanny myself, and I quit being a Nanny for a few months a year ago…and then right back to it! It kind of happened quickly. I ended up doing just what I didn’t want to do-move back home, and do the same kind of job. But I’ve been doing it for over a year now, and it’s working out fine. It’s not my dream, but I’m hoping to hear that ‘whisper’ sometime this coming year, so I can figure out what to do next!!
    Congrats to you for finding that!!

  61. This is inspiring! I made an attempt to do this once, But I am going to make a second attempt. I just need to keep saving 🙂 Good luck and I hope all your dreams come true!

  62. I wish I could do this. I have been wanting to leave my job for about 2 years. Came very close a few months back,but chickened out. My divorce only finally got finalised at the beginning of the year and now Im paying off my house by myself. Which Im glad for because I wanted my house, but it makes my subconscience always tell me to be practical and stay in the long term stable job. My other problem is I dont know what I want to do, other than be a mum and infertility is kind of controlling that right now. My boyfriend tells me to quit my job and he will pay the bills so that I can be happy, but the independant part of me doesnt want to do that either. Ugh its so confusing and hard.

  63. I LOVE this! I went through the same type of thing 2 years ago this fall when I resigned from my teaching job to stay home with my daughter. Little by little I found more and more in which to involve myself. My life is brimming right now, and it would never have happened if I hadn’t just trusted my gut. It wasn’t all rainbows and bluebirds right away, but things got, and are still getting, better. You can do it. Keep listening to those whispers.

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