Become your own boss - hire yourself!
One of the most cherished desires of people who work for others is to achieve work independence that allows them to become their own boss. It is the first step, the second is to achieve financial independence: work because you enjoy doing it, not because you "need" the income.
As incredible as this statement may seem, it is possible to live doing what you love. Many more people than you think are practicing it, now, at this moment. If your dream has to do with developing a new livelihood, know that a “smooth transition” from your current occupation to the desired one is possible—and desirable. I know it's not easy because it cost me a lot.
If you think that a lot of money is needed to start on your own, be surprised by what follows. The companies most admired for their success started with very little capital: just a few thousand pesos or dollars. The monthly payment of an average payroll! So this is not the barrier to entry. They started with very little (if by little it can be considered tons of enthusiasm, daring and above all, creativity). For example, Dell Computer started in a bedroom. Hewlett-Packard, Ford Motor, Microsoft in a garage. Louise Hay, the author of You can heal your life, started his magnificent publishing house (Hay House) in his living room (he has sold over ten million books by dozens of great authors!).
Since everything worthwhile has a price - nothing of value in life is free - I will tell you that working for yourself requires developing certain skills in sales, personal marketing, planning, personal finance, time management, product development and services, design, office automation, relationship skills, communication, etc.
Communication, oratory? Whatever you do you should explain it well, more than well. Who wants to listen to unsuccessful people?
No one. His terrible communication is the origin of his ills.
Computing? Do as I do, although I delegate this part, that does not take away the opportunity for me to acquire new skills in the use of my personal computer on a daily basis.
Sales? We all sell (or should). It is competition number one. Having talent or a good product is not enough; you have to offer it.
And yet the word “sell” has a very bad reputation.
Marketing? An excellent product or service without a great marketing effort and "personal brand" that makes it known does not exceed a year of life.
In short, a package of skills similar to the ideal of the Renaissance man.
There is a lot of talk about talent in the singular, I think that it is either in the plural or it is not possible. Doing something well is not enough. People with (a) talent in their field see their personal project fail because they do not raise their global performance to excellence. And we are not talking about “some”, but about “the majority”.
There are an incredible number of interesting ways to make a more than decent living in the world, and the number keeps increasing. The appearance of new qualifications reflects this phenomenon that new technologies accelerate.
The unstoppable trend: the majority will work in new fields and carry out different activities at the same time (two, three, four...).
More and more professionals of the future will put their talents to work from home for their clients. And it looks great to me. Absolutely great. In this scenario of absolute freedom, those who take their talents to absolute excellence will ensure the viability of their businesses.
Objective: “Yo SA”, registered trademark.
If this is your aspiration, allow me to explain my point of view about it. I am of the opinion that most should own their own businesses, or at least work for themselves. It is the only way to reach the much desired financial independence; and yet it excludes those who complain that they don't earn enough and blame it on everyone but themselves.
I'll give you an example:
In a company where I worked, an extraordinary measure was implemented: set the 50% of the salary based on the results of the worker himself, the other half remained fixed each month. The salary ceased to be fixed and became variable. That measure turned employees into shareholders” with monthly dividend payments! Can you ask for more? I do not think so. And what do you think was the reaction of the staff to the possibility of increasing their income? Total rejection—almost a riot. Many were unwilling to take responsibility for their salary or set it based on their performance.
If you are autonomous and essential in your business; begin to appreciate that what you have in your hands is a job with the “appearance” of a business. Beware, you may have all the disadvantages of a job and none of the advantages of a business. That sounds a lot like the "worst job in the world."
If you find yourself in a similar situation, I know how you feel because I went through it myself. I recommend reading the interesting book The myth of the entrepreneur, by Michael E. Gerber, to guide you in this matter (Editorial Paidos).
There are no problems but there are mental states that blindly believe in them
The average person talks about their problems as something that happens outside of them.
But:
A problem only exists from the point of view that attests to it, beyond that, it simply does not exist. Some people are astonished when I suggest that do not look for solutions to your problems, but change the mentality that creates them. I know it's hard to hear something like that but it's more painful to stumble over and over again with the same problems with different disguises.
Understand: the problem is the way of seeing the problem. You don't change the situation, but you change yourself. Recycling the stuff that problems are made of ultimately leads any experience to love.
The solution you are looking for is to answer this simple question: Is there another way of looking at this issue? And to keep in mind: "The ability to perceive or think differently is more important than the knowledge acquired" (David Bohm, genius).
What is said here is that you can access a level of consciousness in which that difficulty simply "does not exist"; and therefore does not need a "solution". This is what is called taking a quantum leap.
Ask yourself: What kind of person transcends this difficulty? Realize that you do not need a solution, but a new way of seeing things. The solution exists but it is on a different level of consciousness. What for you can be a problem for other people is not at all. Find out what person you should become so that the problem does not exist. Think for a moment what their mentality is. And model it.
In short, when faced with a problematic situation you have several options (and always in this order):
· change you
· change situation
· tolerate the situation
· leave the situation
Waiting for situations or others to change is of little use, because the problem will return sooner or later. Why? Because as long as you don't change, you'll still need it. Easy.