Currently...

I am a visual designer and illustrator running a creative studio called http://workisnotajob.com/en" rel="nofollow">workisnotajob. It's dedicated to creative inspiration.

Before I escaped...

I worked in a few media-related jobs while in and after University. For about two years I worked in Search Marketing and was later doing art direction and visual design for global projects at Yahoo! from their Dublin office.

My moment of truth...

To be perfectly honest, I remember my "No, I don't want to do this anymore" moments a lot better than any specific moment of "Wow, I'm actually going to do this!". But putting it that way, it all began as a dream I had, to basically create a working lifestyle for myself - a lifestyle which now reflects in the company's name and http://workisnotajob.com/en" rel="nofollow">workisnotajob. philosophy.

I was blogging my work anonymously for a while and suddenly realized that the feedback was actually pretty good. I received a lot of mail from around the world; people were telling me how my work inspired them and expressed interest in products that I didn't even have at that point. I remember sitting at my desk in the office thinking, what am I doing here?

Planning for it...

I started off very small with a free blog. At this stage I did not think of starting a company or selling something. It just felt right to start something creative and fun.

I somehow managed to attract a supportive and growing online audience that liked my work, due to the traction of the blog and the vast marketing possibilities of the internet.

The worst and best bits...

Best: The best thing about this is to having the freedom to work on my own terms and be true to myself. It is an amzing feeling doing what you love. I have to come up with my own ideas, I can be as creative as I want to, and am 100% responsible for what I am doing. I also really enjoy to work with like-minded people, doing collabs and being involved in projects that I consider meaningful.

Worst: A less enjoyable aspect of being self-employed becomes apparent when you have to deal with the responsible authorities. It sometimes seems the official machinery is just not ready for your decision to break free and live a creative life.

Sometimes it requires a lot of paperwork to live the dream and you run from one agency to another - especially if you want to keep your health insurance, register a company abroad, need a proper visa... I could do without all the tax and accounting stuff too but, if you always do your bookkeeping with care, the whole thing becomes less of a headache... I've heard. :-)

Best advice...

"You can't do everything alone!"

Family and friends kindly reminded me of that and I learned to outsource where it makes sense and to get help where it is needed.

To do anything entrepreneurial, I think most of the battle is having the persistence to break through all the obstacles, not being impressed by impediments, trusting yourself and continuing to believe it's the right thing for you.

What I really want to say is, if you have a dream, an idea or feel you have some other purpose - GO FOR IT. Start it now. It's all about execution. Everybody has a million great ideas all the time but not everyone takes the courage to act on their ambitions.

I am constantly surprised how everything is possible if you only take the action. My advice: Do it now, only you can make it happen.

Useful resources and information...

In my experience the whole world wants you to succeed. I found chatting with people and exchanging thoughts about my stuff and what they are up to very helpful.

It's very reassuring and inspiring to talk to people who do something different and interesting. This way you get the chance to learn about other peoples' approach and maybe you can help them out as well.

Knowing people in your profession is great but connecting with a variety of people organically is likely to open greater doors. Don't worry about asking dumb questions. No-one expects you to know everything and you actually do most experts a favour when you give them a chance to talk about their expertise. They love it!

I prefer personal conversation over books or websites even though it is amazing what the internet facilitates and enables.