The Journal of Joe The Peacock. Yay.: Escape from cubicle nation

2.07.2008:

Escape from cubicle nation

9:15 PM

I started typing this extremely long missive about how I quit my day job and now do all this work for myself and it's great and blah de blah, and then I remembered that no one working a steady job wants to read about some guy who is doing what they wish they could do.

So, instead, I'd like to point you to probably the single greatest resource for learning how to do it.

Escape From Cubicle Nation

I have a number of friends who talk to me every so often and tell me that they have GOT to quit their job and do what I do, and they want to know how I do it. The problem is, to my friends, I'm just that tall goofy guy who cracks too many jokes and writes the poopy fart stories on the internet, so they can't take honest business / life advice from me seriously. So thank God for Pamela Slim's blog (and Seth Godin's too, by the way, if you're also into marketing your newfound freedom). Now I have a written resource who isn't me that I can point them to and say "here, read that, that's how I did it."

The article I've linked to is probably one of my favorites ever, because it applies to EVERYTHING - not just leaving your job and becoming a freelancer / entreprenuer. But I highly encourage anyone who's ever considered leaving the confines of the 9-5, paid twice a month world to earn the right to do what they want to do, when they want to do it, how they want to do it, with no manger, boss, or lord and master.

You WILL earn less money... At first. But think about it this way - you earn money at your job to buy things you like and go on vacations to earn some freedom.

To trade in some of that money to get a little more freedom... It's a raise. A huge one, at that, because all the money is good for is buying things to enhance your life - whereas the freedom gives you far more life to enhance.

No one says on their death bed "Man, I wish I'd spent more time in the office..."

And I promise you - if you're following your heart and doing things honestly, with passion, the money will come. That's not to say I advocate quitting your job today and hopping on the Xbox and hoping a check appears... You're going to have to work, and very, very hard. But when the work you do matters, it stops being "work" and becomes "your life's work" - and trust me, those two words make alllllllll the difference.

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4 Comments:

Teratohmy said...: That's all nice, but what about when you want to do a job that you have to go in everyday, such as working in a laboratory?; 2/07/2008 11:27 PM
CallieMo said...: Mangers! Damn I hate those. There's always some virgin traveling with her husband sticking who goes putting her newborn spawn into it. What a hassle. Don't even get me started on the mess the camels with those Wise Men make!

Seriously though, while it's all well and good for some people, working for yourself isn't feasible for everyone. Do you have health insurance through your wife's job or are you shelling out the big bucks for a policy on your own (or worse, taking the gamble that you won't need the insurance "because I'm young")?

Sir Geek did web consulting for like 7 years or so as a side business. The headaches of moron clients who insist they want "thing A" when they want "thing B" and you point out to them that they probably meant "thing B", which they deny wanting...until you give them "thing A" and they realize that it WAS "thing B" they wanted in the first place are really not any better than the headache of the 9-5 world. Sure, you can tell the client to go stuff it, but you've got to eat, pay the mortgage, etc. somehow.

There is no "perfect" profession. They all have their share of headaches. It's just a matter of what kind of headaches you can deal with and how risk-averse you are.

Besides, you DO still have a lord and master. Her name is Andrea. ;P; 2/08/2008 1:05 AM
CallieMo said...: Damn it. There I go leaving an extraneous word in my post picking on you for a typo. Karma's a bitch, ain't it?; 2/08/2008 1:07 AM
JtP said...: Haha, ok, then we're even CallieMo :)

Obviously, this post isn't direct at every single person, everywhere. I think that there are definitely people who are happy - truly happy - doing what they do, and they happen to get paid 2x a month and work 9-5 (or 8-10 in some cases :P).

My post is directed at the miserable, angry, tired person who has this "other thing" they want to do, this "feeling" of wanting to do it, and this "utter and complete paralyzing fear of losing the sure thing" playing against them.

As far as nightmare clients... Yeah. They SUCK. It took me years to learn how to fire a client, and then another set of years to learn how to recognize that type and avoid them... And I still get nailed from time to time. Still, the ability to say "fine, i'm walking. Later!" is the key.; 2/08/2008 10:09 AM