Today’s episode is for anyone who has a day job.

A lot of entrepreneurs and business leaders look at a day job as the enemy of a writing career. You have a boss, you have office hours, and you have job responsibilities that feel a million miles away from the writing you want to do.

Building your own business is a great goal if you want to create a full-time writing career or gain more financial freedom. But while you have a day job, you shouldn’t view it as the enemy.

There are two reasons for this.

First, if you despise the place where you’re spending eight hours per day, you’re bringing a lot of negativity into your life. Be grateful for employment that feeds your family and provides some stability in your life.

But there is another, more important reason. Your day job has many hidden opportunities to develop your skills as a writer, business owner, and leader.

Here are ten ways you can use your day job to better yourself:

1. Develop a company podcast.
2. Volunteer to make sales calls.
3. Write marketing content such as blog posts or newsletters.
4. Teach a writing course to your colleagues.
5. Volunteer to edit content for others.
6. Write social media posts for the company.
7. Ghostwrite articles or letters for the CEO, president, or your boss.
8. Film and edit videos.
9. Practice your public speaking skills in the next department meeting.
10. Compile a list of books that have helped your colleagues the most.

Maybe your ultimate goal is to build your own business. That’s great! In the meantime, golden opportunities are staring you right in the face every day at your job.

Tony Robbins said, “The only person holding you back is you.” There is only one way to move forward. Instead of spending all your time wishing you were somewhere else, use the opportunities right in front of you to become a better marketer, leader, writer, and communicator.

Today’s Challenge: If you have a day job, choose one of the items I listed and talk to one of your co-workers about putting it into practice.