Yesterday afternoon I was chatting with a friend on the phone. He, like many (perhaps yourself included) is contemplating the idea of “firing the boss” and going to work for himself.<\/p>\n
But what I’d say is THE most common obstacle to making the jump stands squarely in his path.<\/p>\n
I’m referring to, of course, that “safety net” of a secure income and solid bennies that typically come with “working for the man”.<\/p>\n
I completely get where he’s coming from.<\/p>\n
And having thought about it myself for the past 24 hours or so, I’ve come to a startling conclusion.<\/p>\n
Had the big IT company I used to work for actually ALLOWED me to stick around rather than walking me out of the facility that fateful morning the layoff happened, I might STILL BE THERE.<\/p>\n
It’s true. A six-figure income, cushy pension program and an amazing insurance plan quite possibly would have been too good to simply walk away from.<\/p>\n
And had that been the way history played out, I might STILL be sitting in that cubicle instead of writing this newsletter to you.<\/p>\n
I might STILL be telling myself that my work truly was what I was “meant to do”, despite that empty feeling.<\/p>\n
And I might STILL be making more money for someone else than I am for myself and the people I love.<\/p>\n
All the while, I probably would still be thinking I was “safe”…at least until the point when the layoff DID actually happen somewhere down the road.<\/p>\n
But it all would have been a false sense of security.<\/em><\/p>\n After all, in this day and age it really is true that the company DOES NOT love you.<\/p>\n And besides, I would have silently, passively have given up on–if not flat-out overlooked–all the possibilities before me that I only now know in retrospect REALLY WERE possible.<\/p>\n Think about that for a second.<\/p>\n What does “safety” and “security” really mean to you? Is it all about bringing home a steady paycheck, or are you really longing for more out of life?<\/p>\n