You're Allowed to Have a Meanwhile

Why your day job doesn't make you a sellout

You're doing the thing you don't really want to do.

The job that pays the bills but doesn't light you up. The career that's "fine" but not fulfilling. The work that requires your time and energy but isn't building toward your actual dreams.

And you feel like a fraud. A sellout. Someone who gave up.

Every day you clock in, you're thinking: This isn't what I'm supposed to be doing.

Every task you complete, you're whispering: I should be building something that matters.

Every time someone asks "How's work?" you paste on a smile and say "Fine" while dying a little inside because this isn't the work you want to be doing.

Hear this:

You're allowed to have a meanwhile.

The space between where you are and where you're going. The job that funds the dream. The work that keeps you afloat while you build what actually matters.

This doesn't make you weak.
It makes you strategic.

And it's time to stop shaming yourself for doing what you need to do to survive.

The Shame of "Settling"

You feel it, don't you?

The quiet shame of not living your purpose. Not following your passion. Not doing the brave thing.

Everyone else seems to be living their dreams. (Or at least that's what social media tells you.)

They quit their jobs. Took the leap. Pursued their passion. Bet on themselves.

And you? You're still showing up to the job that doesn't inspire you.

Still doing work that feels meaningless. Still trading time for money in a transaction that leaves you empty.

You feel like you're failing.

Like you're not brave enough. Not committed enough. Not serious about your dreams.

But here's what they're not telling you:

Most people who "took the leap" had:

• A partner with stable income

• Significant savings

• No dependents

• Financial safety net (family money, inheritance, something)

• Privilege they don't acknowledge

And you? You have:

• Bills to pay

• People depending on you

• Responsibilities you can't abandon

• No safety net

• Reality to contend with

Your "meanwhile" isn't weakness. It's responsibility.

What Meanwhile Actually Is

Meanwhile is the bridge.

From where you are to where you're going. From survival to purpose. From necessity to choice.

Meanwhile is:

The nursing job that pays your bills while you build your coaching practice.

The corporate position that provides insurance while you launch your business.

The retail work that covers rent while you create your art.

The teaching job that funds your writing.

Meanwhile is not giving up. It's strategy.

It's recognizing that transformation takes time. That building something meaningful requires resources. That you can't create from a place of desperation.

Meanwhile gives you:

• Financial stability (so you're not panicking)

• Time to build (without crisis pressure)

• Space to learn (without betting everything)

• Freedom to experiment (failure isn't devastating)

• Ability to care for people who depend on you (responsibility honored)

Meanwhile is not the opposite of dreaming. It's the foundation that makes the dream possible.

The Stories We Tell Ourselves

"If I were really committed, I'd quit and go all in."

No. If you were really reckless, you'd quit without a plan.

Commitment isn't abandoning security. Commitment is showing up every day - even when it's hard, even when progress is slow - to build what matters.

Working your day job while building your dream is still commitment. It's just sustainable commitment.

"Successful people take risks. I'm playing it safe."

There's a difference between taking calculated risks and gambling with your survival.

"Playing it safe" keeps you alive, housed, fed, and able to care for the people who depend on you.

That's not cowardice. That's being an adult.

You can take risks from a stable foundation. You can't build anything from desperation.

"I'm wasting my life at this job."

You're trading time for resources. That's not waste, that's strategy.

Every paycheck is buying you time to build. Every shift is funding your dream. Every day at that job is one day closer to not needing it anymore.

Meanwhile is not waste. It's investment.

"Everyone else is braver than me."

Everyone else has different circumstances. Different resources. Different responsibilities.

And most of them aren't telling you about the safety nets, the support systems, the privileges that made their "leap" possible.

You're not less brave. You're more realistic.

What to Do With Your Meanwhile

1. Stop Apologizing for It

You don't owe anyone an explanation for doing what you need to do to survive.

"I'm still working at [job]" doesn't need to be said with shame. It's a statement of fact. You work. You earn. You live.

And while you're doing that, you're also building something else.

That's more than most people are doing.

2. Use It Strategically

Your day job gives you something your dream doesn't yet: stability.

Use that.

• The steady paycheck funds your courses, your website, your tools

• The health insurance covers your needs while you build

• The routine creates structure for working on your dream in off-hours

• The financial security removes desperation from your decisions

Your day job isn't in the way of your dream. It's funding it.

3. Protect Your Energy

Don't give your day job more than it deserves.

If it's a means to an end, treat it that way. Do your work. Do it well. But don't pour your soul into something that isn't your purpose.

Save that for what you're building.

Your best thinking, your deepest energy, your most creative hours—those belong to your dream. Not your day job.

Clock in. Do the work. Clock out. Then go build what matters.

4. Set Boundaries

Your day job doesn't get to consume your life.

Boundaries you need:

• No working off the clock (unless you're paid)

• No taking work home (mental or physical)

• No checking email outside work hours

• No sacrificing your health for a job that isn't your calling

Your day job is a transaction. Honor the transaction. Don't give them your life.

5. Build Consistently, Not Dramatically

You don't need to quit your job and "go all in" to build something meaningful.

You need to show up consistently.

30 minutes a day on your dream. Every day. No excuses.

That's 3.5 hours a week. 15 hours a month. 180 hours a year.

In one year, you can write a book. Build a business. Create a body of work. Launch something meaningful.

All while keeping your day job.

Consistency beats intensity. Strategy beats drama.

When Meanwhile Ends

Meanwhile doesn't last forever.

But it lasts as long as it needs to.

Maybe that's 6 months. Maybe 2 years. Maybe 5.

There's no timeline. There's only progress.

Meanwhile ends when:

• Your dream generates enough income to replace your day job

• Your financial foundation is solid enough to transition

• Your responsibilities allow you to take the risk

• You've built enough that leaving becomes possible

You'll know when it's time. Trust yourself.

Until then, stop apologizing for being smart enough to keep yourself stable while you build.

Why This Matters for be-U-tiful One

I'm writing this because I'm living it.

I'm a nurse. 28+ years in healthcare. Still working. Still caring for my aunt full-time. Still showing up to responsibilities that require my time and energy.

And I'm building be-U-tiful One.

Not instead of my day-to-day reality. Alongside it.

Creating content in pockets of time. Writing at 5am before caregiving starts. Building something meaningful while honoring my responsibilities.

This is my meanwhile.

And I'm not ashamed of it. I'm strategic about it.

Because transformation doesn't require abandoning reality. It requires working within it.

The Cocoon Phase isn't about escaping your life. It's about dissolving what's not serving you and rebuilding what does, right where you are.
Emergence isn't dramatic. It's consistent. Daily. Incremental.
Both Coming soon.

You don't have to quit everything to become who you're meant to be.

You just have to start. And keep going. Even when progress feels slow.

Even when you're doing the day job to fund the dream.

Even when it feels like meanwhile is lasting forever.

Meanwhile is not failure. It's foundation.

What You Need to Hear

You're not a sellout for working a job that pays your bills.

You're not weak for prioritizing stability.

You're not giving up on your dreams by being responsible.

You're building something. Slowly. Strategically. Sustainably.

And that's more powerful than dramatic leaps that crash and burn because they weren't built on solid ground.

Your meanwhile matters.

It's keeping you alive. It's funding your dream. It's teaching you things you'll need later.

And one day, you'll look back and realize:

Meanwhile wasn't wasted time. It was the bridge.

The necessary space between who you were and who you're becoming.

So stop shaming yourself for being where you are.

And start honoring the fact that you're building something while staying standing.

That takes more courage than people realize.

What to Do Today

1. Release the shame.

Write it down: "I'm allowed to have a meanwhile. This doesn't make me weak. This makes me strategic."

2. Acknowledge what your day job gives you.

Not just money. Stability. Time to build without panic. Space to learn. Safety to experiment.

3. Protect 30 minutes today for your dream.

Before work. After work. On lunch break. Somewhere.

30 minutes. Consistently. That's how meanwhile becomes after.

4. Stop comparing your meanwhile to someone else's after.

You don't know their whole story. You don't know their resources, their safety nets, their privileges.

You only know yours. Work with what you have.

5. Keep going.

Meanwhile doesn't last forever. But it lasts as long as it needs to.

Trust the bridge. Keep walking.

With you in the meanwhile,

Dawn

be-U-ti-Ful.One
Beauty not as approval, but as truth. There's only one of you.
beutiful.one

P.S. - Your day job is not in the way of your dream.

It's funding it.

Use it. Don't resent it.

And when meanwhile ends, you'll be ready.

Because you built something solid. While staying standing.

That's not settling. That's wisdom.