The corporate world has often been compared to a rat race. Employees would refer to themselves as hamsters on a training wheel that keeps spinning. The hamsters run like crazy to the point of exhaustion and nausea, but they aren’t able to step out. Sometimes the stress and the power that comes with a corporate position becomes addictive. You hate it one day, then crave it the next.

A lot of these people say they dream of leaving the regular paycheck but don’t know how to make the transition. They work begrudgingly, looking forward to Fridays and fearing Mondays.

If you are one of those hamsters eager to get off that intoxicating cycle, this is a simple guide to help you on this journey.

Start from a mindset of abundance. Belief of abundance will allow more ideas to emerge. Think of the world as one with many possibilities, and having enough resources for everyone. Count your gifts and talents. Many of us tend to ignore things that come naturally for us. Take time to think about things people praise or thank you for. These are usual indications that what comes easy for you, is something other people would be willing to pay for. At this point, any idea should be welcome, don’t edit or overanalyze. Thinking of the worst-case scenarios at the first spark of inspiration will guarantee the death of that idea.

Identify your passion

If there are some things you are passionate for, these could be a great beginning for you. Assess how you can make these interests or habits generate income for you.

If all you can think of is to sleep and rest and be a bum, tendency is you have worked yourself to the point of burnout. If this is where you are, consider giving yourself a break. Do something you enjoy doing and have a reset. That might get you into a better space to think of an alternate life.

If you draw a blank when asked about your passion, think of topics that anger you the most or excite you the most. It could be anything from plastic usage to battered wives.

Open ideas from real and serious problems to the seemingly mundane and cute. There’s a lot of space for those extremes and everything in between. For example, you may just find the best way of repurposing old containers and that could be a business idea. Whatever it is, consider these as possible areas for you to find solutions for.

Imagine the people you’d love to be working with, or providing services for. If you like kids or pets, or find that older people gravitate to you, consider these factors, too.

At this stage, many ideas could be pouring in, and you’re probably judging yourself for not being skilled enough or talented enough to sell your products and services. When you think along these lines, recognize this as impossibility thinking. That always leads to a dead end, so consider a different path. Ask yourself instead, “How can I be better at this?”

Top values

Think of the values that you hold dear. Your top values could be a compass as to what kind of life you want to live, and what kind of world you want to contribute to. And while money is an obvious consideration, focusing on that at this point might not be helpful yet.

Often, the lucrativeness of a business comes at a later stage. Allow yourself the journey of discovering first.

These steps don’t need a lot of time, and can be done in stages. For people who have been considering putting up a business for a while, they might find that they already have most of the elements. They just need to sit down and put things together.

The answer to where you could succeed might very well be obvious to everybody around you, except you. Ask those around you where they imagine you would shine and succeed. Ask them what you do that they’d be willing to pay for.

Experiment and take baby steps. Take your idea(s) from your mind to the real world. If you’ve figured out your market, ask around, interview insights of possible customers. Investigate into the current solutions available and see how you can provide better or cheaper or simpler ones.

It would be ideal to explore and reconfigure your offerings while you are still in the safety of a monthly paycheck. This helps with taking things in stride, as panic might lead to a shutdown of ideas.

Imagine this an adventure to your ideal life. Impatience, negative thinking and self-doubt are your biggest barriers. Give yourself permission to wonder and play with childlike thinking. The best ideas come to us in those moments.