Optimize yourFactor Newsletter: Issue Two

I recently saw Brick by Brick: The Lego Brick Sculpture of Nathan Sawaya. Sawaya creates the most amazing sculptures out of Lego. His childhood dream was to be a Master Model Builder for Lego, he let go of this dream during college to become a lawyer. After several years as a lawyer, Sawaya left his six-figure salary to work as a Master Model Builder with Lego for $13/hour. Today his art commissions thousands of dollars. Sawaya's reinvention story, provides 3 practical tips on how to start or push through your reinvention or transition.

Tip 1: Reconnect with parts of your identity that tap into your childhood passion, this will help you to identify alternative options that will fulfill you and slowly let go of your current identity. Ever since Sawaya could remember he always wanted to be an artist. When most kids' Lego sets were tucked away in the attic by the time they got to high school, Sawaya was still playing with his. As you can imagine there were probably dire social consequences, which explains why he hid his Legos under his bed during college. Sawaya's turning point, describes a period where some of us go down the path that pleases others to do what is comfortable and traditionally acceptable. After college, Sawaya slowly made peace with his art and looked for ways to practice his art in parallel with his day job as a lawyer.

Tip 2: Experiment with alternative paths before you redesign your work and life to support your new path. Nathan figured out how to balance his legal and Lego clients, by working as a full-time lawyer by day and a brick artist by night. Where possible maintain your primary source income while pursuing your interests during the evenings and weekends. If you are struggling to find some time to work on your alternative path, you might not have found the right combination of activities or interests that you are excited about exploring. Sawaya spent six hours a night after he got home from the law office, during his dual career path, he said "...it's almost therapeutic to create something new. It's my passion. I love creating. So really it doesn't feel like two jobs." You know you are on the right path, when you are willing to spend as much time as it takes and not mind one bit. As an aside, can you imagine the conversation when he announced he was leaving? While Sawaya shares a few colleagues wrote him off as a complete oddball. Many of his co-workers reacted with envy, as they wished for a job that would allow them to tap into their creativity

Tip 3: Take risks, be willing to take a short-term pay cut if necessary to learn through hands on experience to make your dream happen. Nathan entered LegoLand California, nationwide search, to be one of the park's newest master model builders. He was one of three lucky winners, and moved from New York to Carlsbad to work full-time as a Master Model Builder for $13/hour. Seven months later, Sawaya returned to New York to work part-time as a lawyer. Moving and working with Lego was valuable, as Nathan's friends started to take his vocation seriously, he worked in a place where productive play was paramount; and learned a lot about innovation and what it takes to kindle great on-the-job ideas.