This post is part of my 30 day creative writing challenge. Click here to learn more about the challenge or here to explore the other posts in this series.
Let me guess. You hate your job.
You might be sitting in your office right now wasting time on social media, pushing papers around, sitting in a meeting, or answering emails. Pretending to be productive but producing nothing of real value. Your time has become a commodity, and you have sold out cheap.
But I think that’s bullshit. I think you should reject that idea. I think you should take a leap of faith and bet on yourself instead.
I think you should look yourself in the mirror, ask yourself what you are actually working for, and then give some serious consideration to becoming your own boss.
Because…
1 – Working for other people sucks
Seriously, working for other people sucks big fat donkey balls! We should wage a war against it! Instead we should be working with people. Because that is how you make real progress. It’s why so many people are stepping out as freelancers, and why the results only work environment is becoming standard.
Seriously, if you are going to work hard, then you should at least be the main beneficiary of the results of that labor… right? So why not go out into the world and do something that makes work feel like play. Why not find a way to become your own boss and then go do that all day.
I know some of you are thinking…but… bills, bills, bills.
And I understand there are hurdles to be overcome, but there are ways to work around them. There is a way for you to pay those bills by providing value to the world and solving a problem efficiently. If you can replicate that process, then you can start getting people to pay you for it. Welcome to the basics of business.
2 – You are really talented
You are a freaking bad-ass. We already know that. So why are you still a slave to that dead end job?
Why are you ok with being the most talented person in the room? Is comfort worth mediocrity?
Ever find yourself looking for a challenge but unable to find it where you work? Maybe that’s the world telling you to go work for yourself, because I can assure you, there are no shortage of challenges there.
Maybe you feel undervalued and underpaid. Maybe you think you could do what your boss does, but you don’t. Instead you punch in and out. Day after day. Always working to build someone else’s dream. Never your own.
But why keep building things for other people? Why keep working for someone else when you know you already have what it takes to do the things you want in this world?
3 – The culture
You cool, you cool! We already know that. So of course, if you could build one, your business would be the best place to work. But that is not what I mean when I talk about the impact this could have on our overall culture.
What I mean is that becoming your own boss is how you become wealthy. It’s how you become independent. It’s how you give yourself the freedom to actually be free. And imagine what would happen to the culture in America if more of us stepped out of the consumer role and back into the creator role.
Even if that just means people are spending time creating their own jobs.
4 – The schedule
Seriously, every day is a weekend. But every weekend is also a weekday. If that makes any sense.
When you work for yourself you do still have to work. Usually that means you are always on call. Always the one who has to respond when something goes wrong. But that is only temporary.
If you’re any good that is. Becoming your own boss means finding ways to replicate your processes, training other people to do what you do, and otherwise removing yourself from the role of doing anything other than whatever you want. So find a way to create your own luck and go free yourself from the constraints of clocking in.
5 – Build your own benefits
Sure, that fridge stocked with Red Bull and weekly catered lunches looks good on the company website, but guess what… Red Bull can also fill your fridge at home, in the office, or wherever you want it. And when you are the boss, you can afford to buy it for yourself. That and whatever else you want, whenever you want it.
Because when you become your own boss, you make the money. And when you make the money, you make the rules.
6 – Vacation time
What the heck does vacation time even mean when you work for yourself. Your whole life can be a vacation if you do it right. When you are the boss, you get to decide when to work and when to play.
The problem is that people who have the power to become their own boss have a tendency to want to work. So why not just make work play, and then go do that all day!
Results are the only thing that matter in this business, not the amount of time it takes you to do a job. All that we require from you, is that you get the job done before it’s due. What you do with the rest of your time is completely up to you.
7 – It’s the ultimate retirement plan
You want to talk about a sure fire investment? How about betting on yourself! How about betting that you have what it takes to do something someone else can’t?
The growth potential is unlimited and you won’t have to worry about how much of your investment your company is wiling to match. Instead of a 4% contribution to your annual income, why not set yourself financially free? Why not take the reigns on the rest of your life? Even if it means living with a little less right now.
8 – Ownership means power
I just talked to the boss. He said your raise is effective just as soon as you are.
That’s how it works in the world of being your own boss. You want to make more money? Go find a new problem to solve. Or find a way to do what you do better. Either way, being your own boss puts you in control of the means of production.
And that is one of the most important tenants of pure freedom. Of true liberty. The right to own property and keep the fruits of your labor. You can not buy your way to becoming a boss. It is something you must earn through hard work and determination. But once you own it, it’s yours, and no one can ever take that from you.
9 – Because Freedom!
Because working for someone else means that there is always another person to answer to. Always someone controlling your schedule, your workload, where you work, how you work, and how quickly you advance.
But becoming your own boss can set you free. From those constraints and from so many others. Because becoming your own boss is not for the feint of heart but it is for those who want to feel fulfilled.
Because anything worth having is hard to get. And because anything worth doing is worth doing right.
So… what are you going to go get? What are you going to demand from yourself. What are you going to do today that will help set you free tomorrow? Because thinking about being a boss is great. But going out and becoming your own boss means putting down the doubts and actually taking that first step.
Welcome to the rest of your life.
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This post is part of my 30 day creative writing challenge. Click here to learn more about the challenge or here to explore the other posts in this series.
