I quit trying to find the perfect job. After nine years of high expectations and much disappointment, I decided the perfect job was more elusive than real.
And if I wanted to work hard and earn a living in the process, I would have to be the career I was looking for instead of relying on luck and someone else’s good graces.
A recent post on Free Money Finance explores the issue of why becoming your own boss is the only way to guarantee success in the long term.
I have a good great job. I get paid well and the benefits can’t be beat. So, this isn’t a rant on my job. Nonetheless, current economic conditions are making great, and good jobs, much harder to find.
In terms of economics, a “Good Job” should provide two things: enough income coming to live a comfortable life, and a sense of stability that the job will be there in the future (hence, giving workers enough confidence to take a loan to buy a home, etc.)
I would add one more—a sense of purpose. A sense that what I’m doing is making a difference. That I can see my handiwork has benefited at least one person in a tangible way and that I’m not simply collecting a paycheck.
These jobs are hard to come by and may be disappearing altogether.
[S]omething has happened in recent times that is undermining this equation – “jobs” that both provide enough money to live comfortably, and also carry the sense of stability that comes from knowing that job will always be there, are quickly disappearing.
I’ve joked many times that I’m a career job seeker. Even in decent, well paying jobs, I’ve always felt there was something more “out there”. Then it dawned on me. If I’m going to do work I’m qualified to do and make it something I want to do, then I’ll have to buck up and make it happen.
It’s no longer an option to say I can’t start a business. It’s a matter of saying I can and asking the question, how? How do I create great work and get paid for it?
If you break down a “job” into trading time and skill for money, and add in the fact that no employment is secure, the prospects of working for yourself become a lot less daunting. And ask yourself – who better to take care of you than… you?
Inexpensive computing power, cheap bandwidth, and the Internet have combined to form the perfect opportunity for nearly anyone who has the desire and will to make it happen.
What about you? Are you tired of looking for a job? What if you created your own business, uniquely suited to your personality? That’s what I’m doing.
Read more about creating your own business at Free Money Finance.