This post was inspired by Jacki Semerau‘s recent article at http://knowyourplace.blogspot.com/.
I was recently asked this question. “Where do you find the time? I have to be at work by 6:30AM every morning and I don’t get off until 6:00PM.” It was in reference to the other set of activities that I engage in on a regular basis. The activities that I always wished I could do when I was working in a cubicle in a prison cell called Corporate America.
If there’s one thing that certain, it’s that nothing is certain. I don’t know who said that first, but it’s true. Your job security is as uncertain as the day of my next closing, and in the world of real estate, I don’t get paid unless I sell a house.
So what is it about being in business for myself that is attractive enough to keep me from being stressed about the lack of regular income?
- When my body tells me to rest, I can. Then I can be refreshed to continue to work in an environment of my choosing.
- When I am productive, I can take time off. If the afternoon is filled with success, I can simply take the next day off if I wish. I have nobody to answer to. If I have more than 4 major tasks to do in one day, then I’m doing too much.
- I don’t waste time listening to my superiors ramble on about the company, policies, and procedures in regular meetings that go nowhere and accomplish nothing. I can choose my meetings, classes, and gatherings whenever I want.
- I can toss aside non-productive, non-income-producing activities, like wasting time doing things that make no sense that people tend to do just because that’s what’s “always been done.”
- My value is inherent. I don’t have a limit to what I can accomplish and I’m free to test the limits and breakthrough to new ground every day. My success is a direct result of the time and energy I put into my work. The last cubicle I sat in robbed me of 8 hours and my job only required about 1 hour of actual work.
I just enjoy working for myself way too much to be oppressed by the corporate culture, which is leaning more towards a model of independence as it is anyway. Punching a clock is the last thing I ever think about, because I now know the value of my time.
