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Along the highway in San Diego there is a
billboard that simply asks in big black letters -- Had Enough? I have no
idea whether the person or company that owns the advertisement sells
cruise vacations or a better brand of Vodka, but you have to admit it
gets you thinking on a long trip.
The older we get the more we hate change. The thought of leaving something familiar through repetition to
start over again can be intimidating. There is safety in routine. Still,
no one is locked into a relationship or a job. Free will dictates that
your life is yours to live. You can walk away from either situation if
it isn't working anymore, or better still drive away and watch it
disappear in your rear view mirror.
Why is throwing in the towel so painfully
resisted by human nature? Are we too embarrassed to admit another
mistake? Are past screw-ups mounting? Is it easier to put off quitting
until we're fired? In my working career I only got the boot once. But he
did it with such gentleness that no blood was left on the carpet. He was
wise enough to see my lack of enthusiasm; my readiness to fly. I thanked
him as we parted.
Not all ideas are good ones.
I-changed-my-mind is perfectly acceptable. Use it for heavens sake!
Humans are natural learning machines. It's inevitable that we turn down
dead-end roads. In time you begin to recognize the outcome before it
even happens.
Failures and moving on are all part of
the path of maturity. It's like trees in the Amazon designed to reach
towards the sun's rays and soak up every bit of sunlight they can get.
Not all acorns grow to mighty Oaks. The tree that captures the most
sunlight, wins. It will be the tallest and the widest. No one said it
would be easy.
The entrepreneur faces an equal struggle.
If it was a snap there'd be no dilbert-cubes. Yet these free-thinkers
hold a deeper understanding of 'going to happen' vs 'hope to happen'.
They are high energy people with long term goals. And they aren't afraid
to take a risk.
No better time in history offers the
entrepreneur a fighting chance thanks to the Internet. So close your
eyes, hug your computer's monitor and make a wish. It's almost that
easy. If you're going to leave the herd and seek your freedom, you have
to put one foot in front of another and start walking.
Currently 125,000 people a week go online
in search of a Home-Based Business. This alone is an amazing statistic.
As an entrepreneur you can now literally work from anywhere while
seamlessly running your business. Not any of your clients need to know
you are not in some downtown high-rise.
With the bare bones of a mobile office in
place you can spend a month in Mexico or on an island in the Pacific.
How about working today from a bench in the Park, or under an umbrella
at Ocean Beach or a booth in Starbuck's coffee shop? Your office-bound
clients and prospects will travel with you.
With smaller, more powerful laptops,
improved Internet connectivity worldwide, and variety of cellular and
web services to choose from -- we're no longer confined to the home
office either.
Having brought a smile to your face just
putting yourself in this picture, I must add that this freedom comes
with the personal responsibility for your own taxes, social security
contributions, and medical insurance.
However, when you can earn in one month
what you have been earning all year as an employee, this will not be a
hardship. Calculating your business-use-of-home income tax deductions
should offset most of this anyway. Uncle Sam loves a business owner.
For most employees, losing their job is a
fearsome and ever-present possibility. As your own CEO, you'll never
again feel like you're walking a tightrope without a net. Entrepreneurs
are -- the last free Americans.
© 2005 Esther Smith
About
the Author: Smith has published numerous articles and writes a blog for
all artists:
http://the-self-taught-artist.com/blog.html
She also coaches new students on how to leave the time-for-money trap and set up
Leveraged Income for life.
http://thepermanentventure.com/dcc.htm If you can’t sing or ride a
bull, you better learn how to make your money work for more money. |