Do you think that escaping the 9-5 and becoming a solopreneur will set you free?
The best time to read this post is now because you don’t have time to hurry later.
If you’re in a 9-5 job, thinking of escaping it, a capable boss can be a blessing. They can catch you doing this right (as opposed to doing things wrong), provide constructive feedback, encourage you to excel to your full potential, unearth possibilities for advancement, and be an inspiring mentor for the adoption of a healthy lifestyle.
But if like many of your sisters and brothers, you’re on the short end of the stick, unlucky to be misled by an incapable boss, the important thing to remember is that there are more opportunities than you can imagine outside of working for a boss…provided you let go of working for a boss first. Yup, there is risk involved becaue ir means you have an exit strategy before you sign on the dotted line of the contract to work for a boss.
If your goal is to be certain, chances are you’ll never be a solopreneur. But when you accept how dangerous everything is, nothing on the path of solopreneurship is frightening. Don’t get me wrong, being a solopreneur is hard because it means being your own boss, in charge of your branding, marketing, product development, selling, logistics, accounting, recruiting, and tracking, with nobody to blame when things go wrong, which they will, especially in the beginning.
Universal truth
The universal truth we tend to ignore is no one comes out of this journey alive. Of course, it’s not just about you, we’re all on this together.
In business as in private, everything worth doing is fraught with risk and danger. But if you accept it, you’re safe. Just don’t believe the grind-for-the-sake-of-grinding stories that are considered medals of honor in some circles of social media.
Solopreneurship is to enhance your journey, not to run it, and that personal fulfillment is highest on your totem pole of values. Being a solopreneur means working only for the sensation while working, and not for the sensation for when the work is completed.
I sometimes think about why many word-users shy away from danger. I think it’s because we’ve been conditioned to believe that success ought to be easy.
But there are two kickers:
- Nothing worth doing is easy.
- Success doesn’t equal fulfillment.
My mistake
I wish I had known this before I embarked on a career of working for bosses both capable and disastrous. But because I didn’t, I finally quit only in 1999, and have been a solopreneur ever since. Before that, I climbed the corporate ladder without seeing it lean against the wrong wall.
Sure, it got me bigger titles, more money, a charmed lifestyle, and a better network. But the long hours, the family sacrifices, and the constant rat race took its toll. To top it all off, I left work every day drained instead of energized.
Then I pivoted and decided to take the path of solopreneurship instead, including the uncertainty of no regular income, the weight of the decisions alone on my shoulders, and the fear that it might all go away. But it’s different. I now feel excited and it’s 100% mine, with no one to blame, all that time gained and a huge weight off my shoulders.
I don’t look back in regret and now enjoy being the captain of my solopreneur-ship instead. “Ships in harbor are safe, but that’s not what ships are built for (Grace Hopper).”
So, what’s your exciting?
There’s nothing wrong with taking the road most traveled… as long as you remember that by the end of the day it’s your level of fulfillment that alone matters. Because how you feel determines what you go after, and what you avoid to the end of your days.
If you don’t feel energized and fulfilled now, carve out something of your own. What will kickstart the fire within you that people will come from miles around to see burn? What gets you out of bed excited every new day? What more are you willing to endure for the sake of what fulfills you and makes you feel good?
I can’t know it for you, but I can help. An email to beat@schindlersword.com is all it takes. Alternatively, you can book a free 1:1 call at https://calendly.com/beatsword/101coaching
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