This month I have the pleasure of sharing with you the story of
Mojo Billington, who went from being an Oxford-graduate City banker to
being the eclectic portfolio career lady. She's gone through some
fundamental shifts in the past few years, but the one thing that she
has always stayed true to is the question that really drives her -
seeking the answer to 'What's the answer to life, universe and
everything?'
Her ideal: 'Basically I don't want to have to work, and I'd like my
friends not to have to work, so we could do fun things together.'
How would you describe yourself? Who is Mojo?
I'm a 31-year old happily married redhead, who gets bored easily, and
who's primarily interested in spirituality, and people and their
relationships to each other and society. I see my role as that of a
catalyst, to fuel people by talking to them and have them feel
inspired.
As a kid - what did you want to be when you grew up? What was
work for you? I wanted to be Prime Minister - and to know the
answer to life, universe and everything (I'm still inquiring about
this one!). My mum's an actress and dad's a musician/lecturer, so I've
grown up in a very non-standard, Bohemian way. In reacting to my
childhood, I originally started down a very conventional professional
route, I wanted my house, my pension - security was important to me, I
didn't want anybody to take it away from me. Through the personal
development work I've done, I've learned not to react, but to find
balance.
What has been your journey to what you are doing now?
I've always been the hard-working good girl who does the 'right
thing'. I went to Oxford and did a Physics and Philosophy degree,
which I followed up with an MSc in Information Science. I then went to
do research in the City (London business district). I was a project
manager in the operations division of a bank and earned stacks of
money. I would see things that needed to happen, create a job out of
it and ask to get that job. My job was to find out everything about
anything.
Meanwhile, I also did lots of
Landmark Education courses. I had done quite a lot of personal
development work before, but this was serious, no fooling around kind
of stuff. I became good at making requests, being clear in what I
wanted, not scared.
I also did a
colour analysis, which really shifted me. I came out as an ingenue
'type', i.e. I should be wearing floaty dresses, not the power suits
I'd been wearing. I dressed to my new 'type' and felt odd. I phoned my
boyfriend and told him that I didn't feel comfortable in the clothes I
had been told to wear. He said: if the clothes don't fit the job,
maybe you are doing the wrong job! I thought: I don't want to tell my
grandchildren that this work is all that I did with my life. So I went
into HR and asked them to make me redundant.
I then did up my flat and enjoyed not doing anything, it was one
big holiday. Then one day I decided that I needed work: that I needed
the money, and 12 hours later I had several phone calls. The first one
was asking me to help a nutty genius- type psychology professor
organise herself and the other was to coach a friend. I wasn't quite
sure what to charge, but my boyfriend gave me some good advice for
charging people: offer double the figure that's on your mind.
I ended up doing all kinds of things since: interior design,
furniture design, facilitation, marketing of organic fruit and
vegetables, writing. I love anything that's about talking to people, I
go stir crazy if I don't.
What are you working on now?
I have two levels of work: specific projects and working on the things
I want to work on for me. My current projects include wedding
organizer, sales and marketing person for an American anthology for a
record company and some furniture design work. I've been very lucky in
that projects come to me - I set the intention and they flow in.
And then I have the work I want to do for me, which is currently
working on acceptance and being present to all I have versus what I'd
like to have.
I've also just been accepted to do a textile design course for next
year, which I'm very happy about.
What was the turning point for you?
I'd been thinking about leaving the City already, I was unhappy and
uneasy. I felt like I wasn't being paid enough so I went and asked for
a 50% payrise and got a 70% one. Then I realised that it wasn't the
money, it still wasn't good enough - it was time to leave...
The transition phase was all very exciting - I spent the honeymoon
period just playing, but I also had thoughts like: 'every job I do
I'll hate - I don't want a job ever again!', 'I'll never settle', ' I
would never be allowed to do it', 'It wouldn't work out'
But I was supported and had the backing of a loving partner, which
has made a substantial difference.
How are you feeling now? What questions do you have?
I'm feeling content and well. I've had some health problems in the
last few years, and these have really changed my priorities. I'm
grateful for stuff turning up when it needs to, I know forcing doesn't
work.
The problems I face now are charging enough for things, which I
find distasteful, and dealing with getting all my work from the people
I know.
I sometimes wonder how I could get paid for the people I know. I'm
a really good resource investigator and am good at finding the person
you need. My ideal would be a lifestyle TV programme: What's Mojo up
to this week?
How do you see the future?
My future includes children, moving out of London and continuing
organic gardening. I don't have a strong sense of work - it's
something I want to do, but I would like to get to the stage where I
wasn't thinking about earning money. My husband and I have started a
property investment business with another couple - it's our financial
freedom plan.
Would you do anything differently?
Sometimes I wish I'd spent my money more wisely when I had it, but all
I was interested in was handbags and shoes, so no, I wouldn't change
anything.
What advice would you give to other people in similar situations
as you were in?
- Get support! - find people who don't have a vested interest in
you being a certain way and people who you can talk to honestly
with, tell the truth to and who will listen and tell you the truth
back
- We have this one lifetime - don't tolerate anything!
- Trust in the universe - few of us actually really 'starve' - it
takes a lot of effort for things to really work out that badly
- Take the freedom to make a lot of mistakes!
- Don't be too hard on yourself
