Dream Chaser: Sarah Morgan, Writer

Have you ever wanted to escape the clutches of Corporate America – or some other job you don’t love – and live a self-employed life of your dreams? That’s exactly what dream chaser, Sara Morgan, did. Read on to find out what inspired her to make this life-altering change and how she did it.

Q: Tell us about yourself.
SM: My name is Sara Morgan and in 2005 I made a rather uncalculated leap towards self-employment with the start up of my own software consulting company. Prior to that, I worked for large and small companies spanning multiple industries, including Health Care, Finance, Retail, Government, Robotics and Information Technology. I am a Microsoft-certified web developer with over 15 years of experience and a recognized expert in the field of web development. They would know the answer to many questions people have, like “Should I Build a site with Wix or WordPress?” amongst others.

Most recently I wrote a book, No Limits: How I Escaped the Clutches of Corporate America to Live the Self-Employed Life of my Dreams. In addition to No Limits, I have published six technical books as well as dozens of articles. My dream is to enjoy life as much as possible. I am driven by a quote from Joe E. Lewis, “You only live once, but if you work it right, once is enough”. I firmly believe in those words and I am trying to do what I can to make sure my life is well spent. My motto is, “Work, live and have fun.”

Q: Describe a gray time in your life. How did you overcome it?
SM: As with everyone, there have been quite a few gray moments, the most traumatic of which occurred several months ago. My second husband and the man I believed was the “love of my life” left and moved to Arizona. The reasons behind our separation are complicated but the result was devastating. However, as someone who always strives to be happy, I knew that I had to turn this traumatic moment into an opportunity and a source of life-giving energy.

In an effort to redefine me, I decided to write No Limits and self-publish it. As I describe in the book, I spent the first three weeks after my break-up searching my soul for answers and I was able to do this because I was self-employed. I was not expected at a regular 9-to-5 job, so I was able to spend A LOT of time just thinking.

Here is a passage from the book:

I decided to start writing this book based on an “aha” moment that occurred to me during all that soul searching. I read the negative news headlines and hear about all the challenges facing people these days. These challenges can be especially acute for hard-working parents, like me. I want to tell all these people that there is still hope and that if you want more from life and are willing to work hard and think creatively, it is possible to be happy. I know that I am happy and I hope that this book inspires other people to reach for the stars and realize that there really are no limits.

Q: What challenges and fears have stood between you and your dreams? How did you overcome them?
SM: Being a woman software developer has been a big challenge. There are a few reasons for this career path being a challenge. One of the reasons could be that developing software is difficult. It’s hard to get it perfected. However, that problem was recently reduced after we began looking into software, such as the one found at https://www.parasoft.com/products/ctest for example. That software allows software developers to test whether they have any defects in their code, making sure it’s ready to be used by many. That sort of software reduced some of the problems we were having. Another issue that we faced was trying to make our software available to everyone, regardless of the computing environment that they were using. This is normally quite difficult as the coding has to change for each environment, but Kubernetes was able to simplify this process. They allow software developers to put the codes into containers, allowing them to run that software on any computing environment. To find out more, there is more info here. Whilst those sorts of challenges definitely stood in the way, I think the main reason I faced so many obstacles was due to the case here in the deep south (Louisiana, specifically). Things are a little different here than they are in other parts of the world. Tradition and religion are very fundamental to this place. As a result, I suspect some people would prefer it if we went back to a time when women were still considered a man’s property.

I don’t mean to put anyone down and most people here are very nice and decent, but the level of education and exposure to the rest of the world is somewhat limited. There tends to be a strong attitude of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. While that mentality may work for some scenarios, when it comes to technology and innovation, it is not so good.

As a result, Louisiana has experienced a huge “brain drain“, as many of the best and brightest have moved out of state for other opportunities. Since I had my children my options for moving out of state have been limited, so I’ve had to get creative in how I stay connected with the world. For this reason, the Internet is vital to my existence.

Q: What inspires you to keep pushing forward when the going gets tough?
SM: My three kids inspire me the most. They truly are the best thing I ever did. They excite me and challenge me to be a better person since I know they are a direct reflection of me. I cannot simply tell them to be happy and just give them things. I have to show them how to be happy by being happy myself and always doing what is right.

Q: If you could give one piece of advice to someone else who is struggling to move beyond the gray and follow a dream, what would it be?
SM: NEVER GIVE UP!!!! I have a picture that hangs next to my desk of a crane trying to swallow a frog. The frog’s head is inside the bird’s mouth, yet the frog has it’s hands around the birds neck to prevent it from swallowing. I have used this image to keep me going for many years now. I am big into seeking inspiration from pictures, words, music, wherever I can find it. To keep myself motivated and on track I locate things that inspire me and post them up where I can see them all the time. I also love music with good lyrics, especially anything by Jason Mraz. He is my hero. I talk about this and other ways I stay on track in my book.

Want to escape from Corporate America? Check out Sarah Morgan’s blog: http://nolimitsthebook.ning.com.

Are you actively pursuing or living a dream? If so, I’d love to hear from you! Please e-mail me at: Erika (dot) Liodice (at sign) hotmail (dot) com.