Many people want to break into the world of entrepreneurship because of the freedom that it espouses. If you are working inside corporate walls, you can often feel smothered, choked and oppressed. As my best friend Desiree likes to say, “you feel the boot of The Man pressed up against your neck!”
The reality is a bit more complex. Your freedom is not defined by the walls you are in, whether they are the soft beige of a cubicle or the cheery walls of your own home office.
Why? Because freedom is not a state of employment, it is a state of mind.
If you truly want to live an “empowered” life – one where you feel strong and secure and joyful and able to take on tough challenges, you first must free yourself.
Don Miguel Ruiz in the book The Four Agreements describes it this way:
“Your whole mind is a fog which the Toltecs called a mitote (pronounced MIH-TOE’-TAY). Your mind is a dream where a thousand people talk at the same time, and nobody understands each other. This is the condition of the human mind – a big mitote, and with that big mitote you cannot see what you really are. In India they call the mitote maya, which means illusion. It is the personality’s notion of “I am.” Everything you believe about yourself and the world, all the concepts and programming you have in your mind, are all the mitote. We cannot see who we truly are; we cannot see that we are not free.”
This manifests most clearly in the way we see ourselves as corporate employees. We say things like:
“My company never lets me express my creative self.”
“I can’t speak my mind in this company or I will get fired.”
“The corporate politics here suck the life right out of me.”
Here is the truth:
YOU choose not to express yourself inside a corporation. YOU choose not to speak your mind. YOU let the life get sucked out of you.
Someone once told me when I got out of a very unhealthy relationship “No one can take advantage of you without your permission.” I remember being quite angry when she said that, since I was still in the state of victim, nursing my wounds from what I perceived to be unfair and cruel treatment. But upon reflection, I realized that it was absolutely true. I alone had chosen to stay in an environment that was unhealthy. Once I got that lesson, I never went back to that unpleasant emotional state, and now have a respectful, loving and healthy marriage.
If you don’t take responsibility for your own actions right now as an employee, nothing will change when you go out on your own as an entrepreneur. You will just replace a few words:
“My company (replace with client) never lets me express my creative self.”
“I can’t speak my mind in this company or “I will get fired” (replace with my customers will leave.)”
“”The corporate politics” here (replace with The headache of managing the details of my business) suck the life right out of me.”
So how to you begin to break free?
When you wake up tomorrow morning, look in the mirror and say to yourself, “I am choosing to go to work today so that I can receive a paycheck and take care of my financial obligations. I am going to learn everything I can today that will help me reach my next goal of opening my own business. If I don’t like what is happening, I can and will change it. I accept any consequences of my actions.”
All this might sound like crazy psycho-babble coming from a true California granola head. I can’t force you to try it, I just encourage you. Taking responsibility for my own career has made me feel truly free and prosperous. When I start to feel oppressed or out of control, I take it as a sign that I am not doing the right thing, remove the boot of The Man off of my neck and move on to the next stage of my business.
モンクレール ポロシャツのご購入は当店にお任せください。何処のモンクレール 店舗に もなく、どのモンクレール アウトレットにもない激
Hey, nice blog but there is a issue whereby on occassion I am redirected to the base page when I view different webpages within this site.
I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this
website yourself or did you hire someone to do it
for you? Plz reply as I’m looking to design my own blog and would like to know where u got this from. many thanks
Thanks Jake for the book recommendation. I’ll definitely add it to my want-to-read list. Reading the book blurb on Amazon, it sounds like companies that implement Semlor’s philosophy may also be more open to hiring and accommodating employees with disabilities, which would definitely be a good thing. (That is an issue my husband and I have been facing our entire working years.)
Anyway, even though I have been self-employed for the past seven or eight years in a field I’m passionate about, I’m now realizing that fun has been severely lacking. The work has been more work than play. However, recently as I’ve been writing and promoting my soon-to-be-released autobiography, I have been having a blast! And, to be honest, I want more of that! I’m not sure I’m ready to completely flush the past eight years of work and contacts, but I’m definitely ready to transition into a new direction and to start playing with my work like I see so many other people doing. I want a piece of that!
As a side note, we did book a cruise! A 6-night repositioning cruise to Anaheim – we get to cruise and to go to Disneyland and the Crystal Cathedral all in one trip! That will definitely be fun! And I will be sure to mention by my book to anyone I can, a little work while I play. Now that sounds like the kind of life I want!
“I’m wondering where is the balance between work and play. Or, is that why it is so important that work feel more like play?”
As Glenda asks about the balance between work and play, I believe for true balance to occur, work and play need to be treated as one and the same. Why can’t work be fun? Often times because we don’t allow this to happen.
An excellent study on this idea of “living out of the box” is the latest on my reading list: “The Seven-Day Weekend; Changing the way Work Works” by Ricardo Semler. Take a look with an open mind and you may find the true connections between living (i.e. fun) and work. Best of luck with the cruise (I might recommend the BVI) and with making more permanent changes for the better, Glenda.
You know, Pam, this may be psycho-babble from a granola head, but it makes sense. With the recent passing of my friend Shaun, I’m once again reminded that life is too short not to do what you love. I think Shaun was an extreme example in the other direction tho. He so loved what he did and he was so busy, he dropped dead from a heart attack. I don’t doubt workaholism killed him.
I’m wondering where is the balance between work and play. Or, is that why it is so important that work feel more like play?
Because of Shaun [and other factors], Darrell and I are looking at booking a cruise this fall. We can’t really afford it, but we can’t not afford it either.
And I’m not sure how this comment really relates to your post. It just what came to mind. I still think you’re right and you gave wise advice. Don’t stay stuck where you are unhappy. It simply isn’t worthy.
“YOU choose not to express yourself inside a corporation. YOU choose not to speak your mind. YOU let the life get sucked out of you”
And it is fear that stops people from making change. I finally got so fed up ok pissed off would be more accurate that I decided to go on my own.
Life is way to short to be miserable. If you have a dream Go For It. What will be the cost if you do not go for it?