Do or Die
Man, I LOVE my job, I think a big part of that is because it’s not a job. I don’t have a boss. No one tells me what to do that I don’t want to tell me what to do. That doesn’t mean I don’t want people to have insight and authority in my life, it just means it’s all volitional.
But then again, traditional employment with bosses and workplace politics is volitional too, right? A lot of employees have an attitude about their job like there are all kinds of things imposed on them against their will. But that’s not true, is it? If we don’t like it, we always have the choice of quitting. We are not enslaved, they compensate us for our sacrifice.
Everything in our lives is something we either accept or oppose. When it comes to our jobs, we accept the parameters that come with the position we are paid to hold. It’s wholly inappropriate for us to complain and begrudgingly carry out our role because none of that stuff is imposed on us. We accept it or we don’t get hired.
I couldn’t abide a lot of the limitations that came with traditional employment, there were several things about that whole system and structure that rubbed me the wrong way. So I built a few businesses outside of my job on my own time that grew profitable enough for me to quit my full-time job and still be financially stable. (You can find my retirement story here.)
Instead of complaining and settling in my undesirable situation, I got to work and changed my situation. I don’t hate traditional employment, I hate powerlessness and small thinking. There is an attitude that comes with someone else dictating our hours and income and lifestyle options that is simply unacceptable for some of us. I couldn’t swing it so I got busy.
Now I actually spend the majority of my “working hours” speaking life into people and working hard to convince them their dreams are worth pursuing, their abilities are up to the task and the world we live in is actually suitable for their hope. Don’t get me wrong, it IS work, (man there are some low-level beliefs out there in the world that people are wrestling with) but it is so rewarding when I get to see that twinkle of hope come back into their eyes and they join the fight against mediocrity and compromise and to stand for something stronger than comfort and convenience. (I’m always open to working with people who want to change their financial situation and are actually looking for a way to do it. You can email me at contact@mikemaeshiro.com with “opportunity” in the subject line if you’d like to open up that conversation.)
The question really isn’t “Should I have a job or not?” The question actually is, “What am I still alive for?” And then we go and make decisions and put work into building the answer. Whether you’re self-employed, the CEO of a major corporation or you flip hamburgers at McDonald’s, be what you were made to be and don’t let anything occupy space in your heart that tells you your destiny isn’t real or not worth it. It IS real and you must honor it or you’re already dead.