WHEN writer and drama teacher Barbara Henderson wrote her inspirational book Goodbye Day Job, it was against a backdrop of depressing research statistics which revealed more than 50 per cent of people in the UK are in the midst of a career malaise and hate their jobs.

So many of us feel stagnated and stuck on a work path dictated by a myriad of factors, from finances to fear, and making a career pivot to something better can feel like an unattainable fantasy.

But through the stories of 24 people who have revolutionised their work life and followed their passion, Barbara’s book suggests change is possible.

She said: ‘The book tells the stories of those who dared to do the unthinkable and walk away from a conventional career and pursue their labour of love.

‘It may be that the new path you would like to explore is a distant foggy ridge in your mind and that staying where you are is indeed the safest bet. But imagine the view from the top once the clouds clear.’

Barbara was determined not to ‘sugar-coat’ the challenges of reinvention and includes pointers throughout the book on what to consider before making drastic change – from the practicalities of finances and timing to pin- pointing goals.

She revisited the people she profiled five years later to establish if their dream had become a sustainable reality and found, for most, that it had, although not for all.

Barbara, who is based in Inverness, said: ‘I didn’t want to offer glib platitudes. I wanted it to be a book of honest, warts-and-all reality. Those in the book didn’t always get a fairytale ending but they were all everyday heroes. They deserve huge respect.’

Here we feature four stories from the book of those brave enough to have said ‘goodbye to their day job’. Not one of them regrets their decision.

Author Barbara Henderson, who has written a book called ‘Goodbye Day Job’, featuring stories from people who have packed in work to follow their dreams

All creatures Great and Small: Animal agent David Stewart, right, on the set of one of the films he has worked on

AIR STEWARD TO TEACHING ASSISTANT AND AUTHOR

As a British Airways steward working in first class, Justin Davies travelled the world; long haul flights serving A-listers champagne were followed by days lying on Caribbean beaches or wandering metropolises such as Tokyo, Paris and New York.

But despite a life of globe-trotting glamour Justin had an overwhelming sense that after 25 years as cabin crew, he had been there, done that and bought way too many ‘I Love such and such’ t-shirts. It was time to ditch his iconic BA uniform and map a different route for himself.

He said: ‘Sometimes in life, you have to change lanes, if not necessarily gear. Perhaps it’s not good for us to have the same job for 40 years.’

For Justin the catalyst for change came when BA offered voluntary redundancies during Covid; he seized the opportunity having grown tired of jet lag, long shifts and too many bumptious passengers.

He had already made a positive foray into children’s books with his first publication Help! I Smell a Monster but writing on its own was financially unviable; so he took a job as a classroom assistant near his home in Fife, working with his target readership.

In his new role he read to the children, ‘refereed tig games’ on breaks in the playground and monitored lunch times.

He said: ‘I remember serving an A-list pop star lunch on a flight to New York. Then I found myself scraping kids’ dinner plates.

‘In fact, if you give me the choice between 250 rowdy passengers and a class of kids, I would take the kids any day. Much better behaved.’

He earned a fraction of his cabin crew salary but was blessed with a four-minute commute; the hotels were swapped for the comfort of his own bed and with his husband Andrew he could grow his own vegetables and fulfil his yearning to have a dog – Sally the greyhound.

As two more of his books were published he needed extra hours to write and so now works part-time as a researcher at the National Library of Scotland. He is no longer daunted by change.

Justin, 54, said: ‘Working in a library is not something I expected at this stage of my life but it’s the perfect job for me right now. And as they say: All you need is 2,000 calories a day and a roof over your head. All the rest is a bonus.’

Justin Davies left his job on an airline to become a children’s author and teacher

Iain and Brioni Cameron said goodbye to the 9 to 5 and now travel the world on a yacht

TECH ENTREPRENEUR AND TEACHER TO OCEAN ADVENTURERS

For Iain and Brioni Cameron, quitting their jobs and selling their Glasgow home to sail across turquoise oceans and stroll sun-bleached sands in the Caribbean was their idea of a ‘fairytale’.

Moving their life to a boat was suggested one evening by Iain, a tech entrepreneur, as he fought boredom on the couch while working from home.

Brioni, a teacher, didn’t take him seriously at first; she wasn’t crazy about boats and they were both inexperienced sailors but after six months of Iain still raising the idea she agreed to consider it.

As a tester they took some sailing trips and after two weeks in the Adriatic, Brioni – to her surprise – was completely converted. They did their research and in 2020, mid-pandemic, they sold up and flew one way to St Vincent in the Caribbean.

They bought a sailing catamaran and called it Indioko, Ancient Greek for ‘In Pursuit’.

Plain sailing it was not; the boat was a shell and needed extensive work and on their first overnight trip they were caught in a raging storm and ran aground.

They have faced engine failure, lightning storms, ripped sails and their food supplies being eaten by weevils. Through the years money has been tight and the couple, now in their early 40s, rely heavily on a diet of fish they catch themselves.

But their popular YouTube channel Sailing Red Seas is testament to a wondrous adventure and when Barbara did her five year check-in with Iain he was adamant the couple have ‘zero regrets’.

They have travelled thousands of miles; crossed the Pacific to New Zealand; explored remote islands of Polynesia, the Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa and the Kingdom of Tonga. They have harvested black water pearls and dived with sharks, humpback whales and dolphins.

Iain explained why they are so glad to have left convention behind. He said: ‘Most people come out of school and then it’s work, buy stuff, repeat.

‘We thought, you can have time or money. You can spend either one. We wanted to spend time as we see fit.’

BIOLOGIST AND FARM WORKER TO ANIMAL AGENT FOR TV AND FILM

It’s clear that serendipity can also play a part in a career switch and for David Stewart that’s what sparked a move to become an animal agent for TV and film.

With a biology degree from Edinburgh University specialising in animal behaviour, he had travelled to Zimbabwe on a three-year teaching contract in the hope he could ultimately find a job in one of the country’s National Parks.

But when he couldn’t secure a role he returned to Scotland with Gill, an expat he had met in Zimbabwe and who he soon married.

The couple had planned to renovate an old derelict building and David worked on his friend’s deer farm in Fife with the prospect of setting up a smaller, similar venture.

Then came a bizarre request from the farm owner to help deliver a stag to the Isle of Harris for an advertising shoot. The invite had come via an animal agent in England as there weren’t any in Scotland.

On the return ferry trip home it dawned on David he could fill that gap in the market north of the Border.

He said: “Prior to that I had no inkling that such a job even existed, never mind contemplating doing it.’

First he set up his agency Creature Feature and then built up a database of animals and he soon became Scotland’s interface between film and TV and owners; representing everything from dogs, cats, parrots and chickens to the more exotic snakes, crocodiles and a condor vulture.

Over three decades his agency has fulfilled a host of odd briefs; a large green parrot to perch on a dead body in Taggart; snails for a snail race in a Robbie Coltrane film and memorably David supplied Wee Jock, the standout terrier star of Hamish MacBeth, whose screen death caused borderline national mourning.

Working for the Trainspotting team presented challenges; the original bull terrier scripted to ravage his skinhead owner in a park wasn’t terrifying enough for director Danny Boyle so a more intimidating version had to be sourced quickly. And when Boyle suggested a scene where an eight -week-old kitten walks over the dead body of Tommy (Kevin McKidd) decomposing in his squalid flat, it was an ask too far.

David had to convince Boyle the kitten was too young to co-operate and instead they settled on a now iconic scene where the camera pans out from the tiny creature sitting alone amid the desolation and detritus of the filthy room.

‘There can be a gulf of understanding between creatives and animals,’ said David.

Switching from planning a deer farm to being an animal agent was a decision he has never regretted and like many who take such a bold step he needed the support of his family.

David, 64, said: ‘I couldn’t have taken the leap without my wife’s emotional and economic support, especially in the early days when it seemed pie in the sky.’

THEATRE NURSE TO PUBLISHER

Alan Windram credits his journalist wife Susan for playing such a huge role in facilitating his transformation from a theatre nurse of 25 years to an award-winning publisher and author.

Like many in the book, family provided an invaluable safety net.

Switching jobs wasn’t new to Alan; he has been a hairdresser; a charity worker in Africa and a cleaner in an Edinburgh hospital before training as a nurse.

He enjoyed nursing but as an accomplished musician and writer he longed for a more creative career and in 2016 he left the medical field to set up Little Door publishing which produces stunning children’s picture books.

As well as bringing out Alan’s own award-winning books, Little Doors won the contract to publish one of the UK’s favourite children’s authors, Vivian French.

Alan said: ‘Having her on board opened so many doors. I always have a little bit of that imposter syndrome. That moment made me think, I suppose we really are a publisher now.’

In 2019 Little Doors won the Saltire Emerging Publisher of the Year award which he cites as proof that even in such a competitive market new-starts with enough determination can produce remarkable results.

But he remembers how hard Covid hit with book events cancelled and retailers shutting their doors. Without Susan’s salary it could have proved impossible to carry on.

Alan also supplements Little Door Publishing by performing songs and stories at storybook events across Scotland and says it can be tough trying to run his business while darting around the country.

However, Little Door has survived and thrived and has published more than 40 titles; this month saw the launch of Travis star Dougie Payne’s children’s book Poochie Pete and His Very Big Feet.

Alan said: ‘I have always found that if you believe in something and are passionate about what you do people can’t help but be drawn to you and share in the excitement of possibility.

‘Taking that first step can be hard but it’s a first step to moving forward and being on a journey is always so much better than standing still.’

■ Goodbye Day Job by Barbara Henderson is published by Luath Press and available now.