How I Went From A 9–5 Hater To Doing The Job I Truly Love
Originally appeared on Growthzer.
It’s been a while since I wrote a new article. The reason is a combination of both lacking time and excuses. Moving to the United Kingdom have led me to new responsibilities so I didn’t spend as much time on my blog as I’d like to. It’s Friday 9.30 pm while I’m writing this, I’m in the office in the city center of Liverpool. Perfect time and circumstances to finally write a post I had in my mind for some time.
In this article, I want to give you a short introduction of my journey and current situation as well as tell you how my mindset changed after meeting amazing people and becoming part of an inspiring company.
If you read my blog, you already know that I’m not an enthusiast of 9–5 to say the least. Most people get a job they hate so they can maintain a life they hate likewise which isn’t the best way to spend your time on this planet. I decided I will be different and will choose my own path instead of following the crowd. Did I give up my dream by getting 9–5? Absolutely not.
After finishing high school in Germany this year, I decided that I don’t want to go to university like most of my friends and would rather take advantage of the incredible time we live in where you can achieve unbelievable success with just a laptop and connection to the internet. But I wanted something new. Fresh environment, new challenges, a place with new opportunities. Another requirement for the new destination was an English speaking country so I can give you fewer chances to hate my style! As you can probably tell, The United Kingdom was a no-brainer.
Initially I came here with my best friend, both willing to get a part-time job and spend the rest of our time on personal projects. As they say, life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans which forced me to look for a full-time job in order to stay in the United Kingdom. Time has come to create the first CV in my life. Even though I don’t have a degree, I worked on various projects so I have a pretty broad range of skills that a digital agency would appreciate.
Good old uncle Google has helped me to find the right place. The plan was to type in various keywords related to digital agencies and contact the ones that looked most promising via email. One of the places I found was a site run by a guy who does SEO in Chester and other areas. For those who are not familiar with the term, SEO means search engine optimization which is getting websites to rank high in Google. SEO was how I made my first dollars on the internet back in 2012. It’s been my passion since then. From Graham’s site I jumped to a company he cofounds: a digital agency in Liverpool named We Are Web. This is where I work now as a Digital Marketing Executive though it’s not my title that matters.
The Lessons I learned About 9–5
Although I started recently, there are already some important lessons I learned that I’d love to share with you. 9–5 itself is not a bad thing. It’s the meaningless 9–5 with no further opportunities for growth that makes it so depressing. I don’t share the problems of many full-time workers including the I-hate-Mondays attitude. To be honest, I’m on a new exciting journey and not just at work (though I still believe that most of the jobs will probably just give you a salary in exchange for your 40-hour weekly time investment).
Your Brilliant Business Idea Means Nothing
I don’t really struggle with coming up with new ideas for potential businesses. What I learned after pursuing some of them, however, is that the execution means everything. The fact is, to execute your idea properly (aka make it profitable) you need great people and resources. This is what I lacked while trying to pursue entrepreneurial projects on own my own/with a friend. To build a real business, you need a variety of people with different skills and experience (at least for the ventures that I pursue). Right now, I‘m highly convinced that I’m exactly in the right place with the right people at the right time which brings us to another lesson:
The Atmosphere Can Make Or Break Everything
Working with people who treat each others like friends is a completely game-changer for me. Let’s face it, most people won’t be able to produce great results while working under the pressure and feeling stressed. I’m one of them and if someone tries to exploit me or treats me the wrong way, I obviously won’t play along.
We don’t lack people with an entrepreneurial mindset who are after something bigger which is incredibly motivating. Seeing others working hard and at the same time having great relationships with them is just an inspiring work environment. Take that aspect into consideration if you go for a full-time job. For 2 days I was lucky enough to work in a company that gives you countless reasons to hate it. Even though the boss does a good job convincing people it’s a huge opportunity to be there, it doesn’t take long to realize he’s exploiting his workers and lying to his customers. It’s one of those places that gives birth to a lot of 9–5 haters. This brings us to another point, which is:
It’s Not Just About The Salary
If a 9–5 would be just about making money, people wouldn’t feel miserable doing their jobs though plenty of them live just for the weekend. What I realized is that getting a full-time job at the right place can be a huge opportunity for you and I don’t mean the work-until-65-and-retire-happily kind of opportunity that is a scam of today’s world.
Learning from experienced people and going after something bigger with them is a much more valuable factor that you should look at. You can always find another place that will offer you a similar wage but you won’t be able to get your time back wasted on a meaningless work.
The last lesson is a message to all the bosses out there:
Don’t Be A Boss
Even though I work a 9–5, I don’t have a boss. There are obviously people above me who lead the team but our relation is incredibly friendly. Maybe it’s just me, but I have a negative association with the word “boss”. If you call me your boss, it’d make me feel like you’re do something for me whereas to be successful, we have to always do it together. If you’re at the top, that’s the only way to inspire and lead.
2016 is coming and I have plenty of goals that I’ll be trying to achieve. Now that I’m part of something fresh and inspiring, I feel like the next year will bring plenty of new experiences and countless opportunities to maximize. With the right skill and enough self-discipline, you can definitely make it count!
If you believe that my message is worth spreading, please click the ♥ below so it could reach more people. Each heart puts a smile on my face ;)
