10 Reasons You Should Only Work 5 Years of Your Entire Life
Listen, Little Boy, in this business there’s only one law you gotta follow to keep out of trouble: Do it first, do it yourself, and keep on doing it - Tony Camonte
My name is Shawn Freeman, I’m a passionate tech geek and proud Canadian. I am always in pursuit of something bigger than myself.
The day of working 25+ years in the same career, never mind the same company are long gone. Consulting and outsourcing is becoming a corridor for living a fulfilling life and career.
Whether or not companies are willing to accept it they are going to have to get used to it.
Employees sell their time to entrepreneurs to do tasks. You come into the office, slog it out for eight to ten hours, do whatever you’re told, and in return get a paycheck…By contrast, entrepreneurs sell ideas or products. They get paid not for their time and tasks, but for the value they bring to the table in solving problems for the world and creating jobs. — Jake Johnson
ONE..
As long as you are doing what you love, you only need 5 years of mentoring to obtain the 10,000 hours that has been shown to make you an expert
…unless you take as many vacations as me.
You don’t have to be cutting edge, you just have to love doing it and people will want it.
TWO..
You were born an entrepreneur. You had to negotiate with your parents to get candy and you had to work and show value so you could watch your favorite cartoons.
Now you’ve been brainwashed to think your current employer cares about your long term success and that it’s the most reliable way to get your candy and cartoons — they only care about if you are making them profit, that candy is going to be stale before they give it to you.
Even if you have shares in the company, you still have the shares. Let them build your stock portfolio while you do what you love.
THREE..
You’re worth WAY more than what they pay you. Trust me, private health insurance and other benefits aren’t that expensive. You get paid to do all the work that benefits the company, and your manager gets to live in the lime light because you are so awesome.
In the wild, your compensation is a direct result of how efficient your efforts are. If you want a raise, rather than hope and beg for one — you make it happen.
“I really love that I get two weeks vacation without even asking”
— Said no one ever.
FOUR..
It’s riskier to work for someone else.
Working at any company, you have one client. Doing what you love for yourself, you have many. We’ve all taken kindergarten math... right?
FIVE..
Who’s going to fire you now?
Perhaps if a project falls out due to unforeseen circumstance one of your clients will end the relationship (or your might even fire them!), regardless — if you’re doing what you love, you’ll have dozens more to fall back on to.
SIX..
You learn a hell of a lot more. “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere” — this is the motto of an entrepreneur.
If you are doing what you love, it will show in the finished product and it will spread like a wild fire — you might even blow away your own goals.
And the world is a better place.
SEVEN..
There is a ton of help for you — you just have to ask.
So many people are willing to give the small guy’s (and gal’s) a break and help them get started with awesome and usually free advice. You just have to be humble, ask and be willing to give back when your time comes.
We’re all in this together. Build your network — relationships will be the difference between your success and your failure.
EIGHT..
Save yourself from the government. You can be making top bracket tax income but defer the tax until you really need the money (and then pay less tax). Get a good accountant and learn what a holding company is.
Also, get a company credit card with points and your vacations will literally be free. Not to mention all that cool tech equipment you need to work from a beach… tax free. That MacBook Pro just cost you 26% less than your working class heros’.
NINE..
I almost forgot… perma-vacation. Want to wear your flip flops to your temporary office you just rented for a month in Hawaii? Do it. With virtual offices these days your many clients won’t even know you’re getting a tan while they freeze their asses off at their “real jobs”.
Also.. casual Mondays. That’s corporate Blasphemy…like a Boss!
TEN..
If you really hate not having a boss, you can always find a
“real job” again, there are plenty out there. If you only want to work Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday — or even less, you’ll find a way to make it happen.
ELEVEN..
If you’re actually doing what you love, you won’t work another day in your life.
If you stop loving what you are doing or the value disappears, do something else — you won’t have to build it in to your bullshit “goals and objectives” either.
