Are You Really Self-Employed…

Blogger Steve Pavlina wrote an article recently stating that “everyone is essentially self-employed and that even if you’re an employee.”

I’ve long been a fan of this method of thinking and it has been a huge help in my business life. Ultimately, it involves taking responsibility for your work and career and making conscious choices in how you ‘operate your business.’

This whole notion fits in with another idea that empowers you by taking responsibility – ‘you always have a choice!’ When you work inside someone else’s business, you can often feel like you are out of control. Corporations make sweeping changes that can leave employees feeling like they have no choices and they must follow the whims of the executive. Difficult bosses can create the same feeling. But, when you take responsibility for your actions, it becomes possible to transcend the situations and decide how you wish to behave rather than react to someone else’s behavior.

People often have a lot more influence and choice than they realize. But, they give it away every time they claim that ‘their idiot boss’ is responsible for their behavior or throw their hands in the air and claim ‘what option do I have?’

In my work life I’ve experienced a lot of turmoil and questionable business decision making. More than once I’ve been told (only later to be un-told) that I would be relocated to another city. While these circumstances battered my colleagues, I knew that I work for myself and my family. Our business was not planning to relocate so we began to look for other customers in our location. In the end, my ‘customers’ re-thought their choices and decided to remain my customers and I never got overly anxious about the periods of indecision.

What are your thoughts on the subject? Who do you work for?

The Go-To Guy!