Doesn’t it make sense to be the boss of your time AND money? Although, I’m not personally financially free (yet!), at least allow me the chance to share this perspective, and see if it resonates with you, okay?
It’s my belief that being a cog in the machine is exactly that: Going ’round and ’round, attached to a wheel, unable to roll away and do our own thing. I mean no disrespect from this description of those of us from the 99%, who have a J-O-B and work for someone else. Many of you do it, I do it, most of us do it –so no judgments are being made, but let’s take an honest look at what it is we are doing, yes?
We are giving our time (a major chunk of our lives) away to help someone else live the lifestyle they want, right? I believe it is no oversight that the national minimum wage average is somewhere around $7-8/hour. In order to make more than that, people choose to go to school learning a skill or a trade. We can save “who owns?” said schools for a whole other conversation, eh?
Cool, we’ve spent probably tens of thousands for our education (some professions spend much much more). Now what? Well, most of us get a job, right? We work for someone else! Even with our education and specialized skill sets, we STILL are working FOR someone, and again, giving our time and a chunk of our life away helping others run THEIR business.
A study published in USA Today stated that 72% of people want to work for themselves, but do not ever branch out, due to fear (there’s that magic word again) …due to fear of not making enough money, fear of not knowing enough, and probably fear of losing healthcare coverage –amongst other fears. And yet, “fear” is the whole problem… with most everything, if I may generalize.
So, I invite us to detach from the fear. Unplug from the TV. Shoot for the stars. Of course, I’m not encouraging us to be reckless and make horrible business decisions, only to bankrupt ourselves –no. I’m encouraging us to Identify our passion, find a mentor, and get on our path. It’s my belief that entrepreneurship is the wave of the future, an inevitable natural progression of the working force …and a future that’s not far away at all.
“As an entrepreneur you have the incomparable thrill of freedom. Not only the freedom to make your own decisions and do things the way you want them to, but the freedom to work when you want and to make what you want. Compare this to an office that has set times, set pay and no flexibility, and you can see why freedom is one of the biggest draws of self-employment.”
“There is also an increased amount of satisfaction that entrepreneurs are able to get from their work that individuals working in a traditional office setting simply cannot reach. The money you make as an entrepreneur is based entirely on your hard work. Every dollar you make is equal to the time and effort you have put into your career. This feeling cannot even compare to the small bonuses you get over time with job promotions.”
Despite the Risks, Entrepreneurship Will Always Beat a 9-to-5 Job by Timothy Sykes. Entrepreneur.
Finance & Entrepreneurs: Practices to Make It on Our Own.
Speaking of starting out on our own, I’ve come across some excellent tips and suggestions for those of us ready to do the research and take the plunge. Here are a few extremely helpful suggestions — at least I find them most practical, and I hope you do too.
This story shares nearly three dozens tips and practices designed for people just like you and me to break out of our shell and get started. We are first encouraged to select the “musts” over the “shoulds.”
“Must is who we are, what we believe, and what we do when we are alone with our truest, most authentic self. [What’s] the hard thing about Must? It’s a daily practice and a recurring choice. The good news? You arrive at these crossroads again and again, and you always get to choose…. [While,] ‘should’ is how others want us to show up in the world — how we’re supposed to think, what we ought to say, what we should or shouldn’t do.”
Another “fun-tastic” yet practical suggestion is the 20-40-60 rule. At age 20, we are way too preoccupied with what others think about us, oftentimes preventing us from stepping outside our comfort zone and starting our own business for fear of being judged. As we approach 40 years old, we gain the confidence not to care what people are saying about us. And at age 60, we realize that no one is actually talking about us (wink wink). I believe the moral of the story is to save ourselves 40 years, and simply have the courage, confidence, and commitment to follow our dreams at age 20, and began leading the life we were born to live!
The final tip I’d like to share from this story is to embrace the RIBS quiz. Ask yourself these quick and simple yet incredibly insightful questions. “Relevant: Is your company solving a real pain point for real people? Why does your solution deserve attention? Inevitable: If it doesn’t seem like whatever trend or movement you’re a part of will eventually come to pass, you’ll be fighting [an uphill battle]. Believable: You have to convince people that your company is the one that can make it happen — that you’ll be the ones to carry the ball over the line. Simple: ‘Take your messaging and edit it down,’ says Head of Technology Communications at Facebook, Caryn Marooney. ‘Get it to its essence. What is the one line you want people to remember? You only get one.'”
The 30 Best Pieces of Advice for Entrepreneurs to Achieve Their Goals by Most Read.
Finance & Mentorship: What Not to Do When Owning Your Own Business
Now that I’ve shared some “do’s” in building our own business, we must also embrace the “don’t’s.” First, do not believe it’s “all about you.” As my undergrad psychology adviser would say, “I don’t want to yuck your wow,” but we must remove our ego, in order to truly be successful as a business owner.
“Remember that the world doesn’t revolve around you and your company. When you have your entire life wrapped up in a new venture, it’s easy to get tunnel vision. This can make you alternately feel like you’re the greatest person in the world, or like the world will end if your company goes under. Neither one is true. It’s simply not all about you. Relax. This is a great opportunity, but there are many others as well.”
Another point to remember is not believing that we can do it all by ourselves. I recall saying this before when discussing Unity Consciousness. Prior to December 21, 2012, the end of the Mayan Calendar, we lived within the energy of Duality, which meant that we naturally competed with one another. Astronomically, Lady Gaia and her sister planet Venus were moving away from one another, creating a polarizing force that encouraged individuality and separation.
Yet, the very next day, upon turning the corner, literally, our planet is now heading toward our sister planet, which in turn, brings our energies together; this is called Unity Consciousness. As such, we can no longer go it alone. In fact, in order to be successful, we must work together. We must find and gather our people, basically in all endeavors, in all aspects of our lives, because it is the energy of Oneness that governs our world now!
So don’t swim upstream, dear Ones. Embrace unity, love, and togetherness. Find your team and make your stand.
Please enjoy the rest of this story in-full for much more practical advice on what not to do as we shift into the most logical progression of the working world. If we “must” work to earn money to survive in this cabal-created aspect of society, by funneling money into their coffers, then let’s do what we love …and stop working for other people, allowing us to funnel that same money into our own bank accounts.
7 Harsh Truths That Will Make You a Better Entrepreneur by Sujan Patel. Inc.
Across this beautiful world, We Are All One.
Gavin