Quitting with a capital Q: an interview with Cordelia of Cordelia Calls it Quits.

The Payoff

AJ: So tell me, since you started the blog in 2010, how has your life changed?

Cordelia: Oh my lord, it’s changed a lot more than I thought it would in 2 short years!
I launched a freelance business that’s enabled me to go down to part-time at my day job, I’ve made connections with so many amazing people online I never would’ve thought I’d be able to even speak to, and overall, I feel a lot more calm and centered (in spite of all the stress I talk about on the blog!). I can feel that I have more purpose and confidence now that I’m on this journey, and I think I’ve “grown up” a lot over the past 2 years because before I was really just kind of drifting.

AJ: That’s a lot of change in a short time.
I know you have a lot more Quits planned, though. Where do you see yourself in another two years?

Cordelia: Hopefully freelancing full-time! I know it will take a big push to get to that point, but it doesn’t seem impossible given what I’ve been able to do so far. Might as well aim for the biggest goal, right?
I also look forward to being free from debt (my credit counseling program is paid off in Nov. 2013!) and then tackling my husband’s debt.
By our mid-30s, we will both be debt-free (credit card-wise), which seems incredible in today’s culture.

AJ: It seems almost impossible to be debt-free. Credit cards are a black hole in so many people’s lives.
I’ve gotta ask. I know you blog under an alias, but do the people at your former full-time job know about your blog at this point?

Cordelia: Some of them do. I have a few confidants who actually read it regularly, and others just know that I have a bog, but I don’t provide them with many details.

AJ: Some of the other people in your life do. Your husband and mother are regular commenters, I noticed.

Cordelia: Oh yeah, they were my original readers, lol!
Some of my friends read; others just aren’t into the whole blog thing in general.
It’s always a little weird for me to find out that a random acquaintance or someone I went to high school with is a regular reader.
But I’m very authentic on my blog, and I never write anything I wouldn’t (obviously) want the whole world to know, so although it feels weird, I’m not embarrassed by anything.

AJ: It’s not surprising that acquaintances are reading you. You’re somewhat of a guru now. You’re also writing for at least one other blog, right?

Cordelia:  Six other blogs regularly. I’m a paid contributor to several PF and lifestyle blogs, as well as ghost writing for a fairly big blog. I also write twice a month for Brazen Life, which I’m also Assistant Editor of. (The posts are for free, the editing is not!) 🙂

AJ: Six? Damn. I haven’t been keeping track.

Advice for Quitters

AJ: This brings me to my last question. If you could give only one piece of advice to someone who feels trapped in a life he or she does not want, what would it be?

Cordelia: YOU CAN FIND A WAY OUT! (Was that emphatic enough?) 🙂
So many people figure they’ve gotten too far into their current situation, there’s too much work to get out, they might as well just live with it. And I’ve met SO many people through blogging who’ve proved that mentality 100% wrong.
Anyone can get out of any situation with enough dedication and hard work. I truly do believe that. I mean, I’m proof of that myself. Two years ago I thought I was stuck in the 9-5 forever, with no hope of ever being able to be the writer I always dreamed of being. Then I started a WordPress blog on a whim, and now I’m being interviewed about what I’m doing as I sit in my pajamas at home on a Friday! It still blows my mind.

AJ: Yay for pajamas!

Cordelia: Hells yeah.