How many times a year do you hear this from your well-meaning (?)
family and friends:”Oh! You are so LUCKY to be self-employed! You have no idea what I put up with everyday at the office (or the store, or the school or the loading dock – fill in the appropriate phrase).”Hey! Guess what? I DO have a very good idea of what you are putting up with everyday. It’s WHY I am self-employed now. I still put up with a lot of the same stuff everyday – it’s just that now, I have the luxury of deciding how to deal with it myself, instead of being TOLD how to handle the situation.But most importantly – LUCK has nothing to do with the fact that I am self-employed and you are still in that office (or store or loading dock or whatever). You see, being self-employed means taking risks, and working your tail off -sometimes for a LONG time – before you see any reward.Being self-employed means that I don’t get a paycheck from anyone every Friday, no one else contributes to my health insurance or my pension fund, no paid two week vacation, no sick days and believe me – no paid holidays.And chances are – I am still working every evening while you are watching Desperate Housewives and voting for the next American Idol.No, being lucky and being self-employed have very little to do with each other. I took a lot of very big risks to get here, and have had more than my share of the 3 am “heebie-jeebies”, wondering if I did the right thing – but I will never return to a “job” again!I will be the first to admit that I still put in some long hours – but it’s my choice. I love what I do now, I only set the alarm clock if I need to catch a plane, and my income grows daily – whether I am on vacation or sitting in front of the computer. I work hard, and I play hard, and life is very, very good.I work from home, I set my own hours, and I control my income. No store to open, no products to ship, no boss hanging over my shoulder!Thanks to the internet, my dream of a portable business with multiple streams of income is now my reality, and my reality is a wonderful and rewarding way of life – both emotionally and financially.There is an old proverb (I think it is Chinese) that goes something like this: “the harder I work – the luckier I get”Can you do the same thing – break out of your rut and join the ranks of those “lucky to be self-employed” folks? You bet – virtually anyone can – it just takes the courage to look beyond where you are today and the willingness to create your own luck!