People who take the path of entrepreneurship come from different walks of life. Some never had a job, while others are making the shift from the “secure” world of employment to the freedom of entrepreneurship. One of the biggest challenges that a former employee must face is breaking the addiction of a paycheck. Many of us have been conditioned to work for money as opposed to create wealth from the inside by thinking of new ideas and processes to deliver goods and services. We begin to trade hours for dollars, not realizing that we’re sacrificing our own freedom for the sake of the illusion called security.
Breaking the addiction of a paycheck is not an easy task, especially when the people who surround you possess that same mentality of pursuing and maintaining a “safe, secure job”. The sad part is that what can be given can be taken away by forces beyond the employee’s control. Downsizing, outsourcing and globalization are leading America to what it once was before the Industrial revolution: a predominantly self-employed nation.
Now, I’m not down on people who presently have a 9-5 job. What I am saying is that a new economic reality has emerged. What people have been taught about money no longer applies. You can no longer rely on a job, a 401k or a company pension to take care of you and your family. Your skill sets will have to emerge where you can produce for yourself without a job. Your mindset will have to be that of an entrepreneur, even if you are working for someone. The future workforce will consist of independent contractors that will be brought in for specific projects.
My concern is for the parents that are investing thousands of dollars into their child’s tuition in charter schools, military schools and parochial schools. Are they hoping to get their child into a good school and get a good job? If that’s the case, they would be better off taking that same money and pouring it into getting their children a real estate license. Jobs as we know them are a thing of the past.
I’m not a religious man, but I will use a biblical story to conclude. When Noah got word that the Earth was about to be cleansed through a flood, he began constructing an ark to withstand the 40 day, 40 night “transition”. As the economic flood comes to your door, make sure you and your family are on the right of the boat.
