One of my healthiest on-again / off-again habits is that of running… and while there are safer alternatives all around me for “neighborhood jogs,” I always forgo the safety of the sidewalk for the freedom of a dirt road. Almost 2 decades ago, I made a similar decision to leave behind the “safety” of a J-O-B in favor of the freedom — and risk — of self-bossing**. If you’re thinking now about leaving a full-time job… or giving up your precious business in favor of one, this article is a must-read.
Yesterday morning, as I laced up my running shoes, I ALMOST took the neighborhood route. I love my farmland route because it is remote and wild. But, last week, a horse was killed by a pack of coyotes in my town and another horse injured. A HORSE. (Now, I’m nowhere near as small as I want to be =) but I’m a LOT smaller than a HORSE!) While coyotes are less territorial than wolves and less terrifying than a bear, considering a PACK of them taking me down on my morning run caused me a bit more pause than normal.
And I almost opted for the safety of a neighborhood sidewalk.
Almost.
But, the freedom of that farmland run… the dirt roads… the fresh deer tracks that seem to provide an imaginary and invisible running partner… the unobstructed views in all directions… the beautiful isolation… are all the things that make my morning run something I look forward to. Foregoing all of this — out of FEAR– was admittedly a momentary consideration, but not one I was willing to entertain for long.
This little inner dialogue– occurring as I laced up my running shoes– parallels the conversations surrounding would-be self-bossers as they consider stepping out into entrepreneurship. Between their own ears, they weigh the freedom, the flexibility, the satisfaction of being their own boss against the “safety” and security of a job. When they dare expose their business dream to colleagues, many are met with MORE fear-based statistics and well-meaning encouragement to “stay where they are,” to avoid the risk.
And — while many business gurus shy away from admitting it — those already IN business will still have this inner dialogue. Even after going all in, many business owners will admit to pondering the idea of a J-O-B… trading in the long hours, full responsibility and frustrating ups and downs of entrepreneurship in favor of the set hours, prescribed agenda and guaranteed paycheck of a full-time J-O-B.
Bottom line: You have to decide what’s most important to you. I’ve become incredibly unemployable. Writing my own paycheck, creating my own agenda, being FREE to create, direct, and build… these are all things that have become non-negotiable for me.
Are there days (or nights) when I lay in bed and think wistfully about the “civilian-life**” of being able to clock in and out, never worrying about overhead or employees or distribution issues or vendors who suck? Yup. There sure are.
But these are fleeting moments. The core of who I am calls out to be a self-bosser. The safety of the JOB is no more appealing to me than the safety of the sidewalk. Yes, I occasionally run into a snake on the path, I’ve swallowed bugs that seem to appear out of nowhere right when I’m gasping for air after a short sprint, and I may one day have to face down a pack of coyotes. But, as the Bible reminds me in Proverbs 31, my arms are STRONG for the task. I’m ready.
And I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Comment below if you feel the same.
**”Self-bossing” is a term I heard first from Barbara Winter.
** Using the term “civilian” to describe employees is something I learned from Lee Milteer.
