So many people dream of being self-employed. I’m living that dream.
It’d be easy to look at my life and assume it’s heaven. I wake up when I want. I can take long lunch breaks. I hit up Starbucks whenever I like (I’m at one right now). But it’s because of those freedoms that self-employment is one of the most dangerous things that have happened to me.
You see, this morning I woke up early. I did one of the easiest things on my to do list to get into my groove. But as I looked at the other pending items, I realized I was dreading every single one of them. I didn’t want to do anything on my list. Seriously. Not a single thing. And they were fun things.
- I had only 600 words left until I finished the first draft of a book I’m writing.
- Add seven photos to Mopho.to…my new exciting project.
- Add four stage designs to ChurchStageDesignIdeas.com—new, exciting looks.
- Promote my recently released e-book.
They were easy and fun things. But I didn’t want to do any of them. And I didn’t really have to. Nobody would miss anything from those projects if I slacked off a bit. I work really far ahead.
But I’ve learned something excessively valuable in being self-employed. I’ve learned to bully myself into doing things I don’t want to do. I’ve learned to stop whining, stop making excuses, and start working.
That’s what I’ve done today. And I’m darn proud of myself.
Let me let you in on a secret too. You’ll probably never get to achieve that dream of self-employment until you learn that lesson. You see, I started all these projects while employed. I didn’t have to do any of these things. They were bonus. And I often felt like watching TV instead of developing these fledgeling projects.
But what did I do? I did it. I bullied myself into doing it.
Don’t let lack of motivation and excuses hold you back from a dream—even when the dream starts feeling tedious.
Spot on man. I love the self motivation and desire to compete. Im constantly talking to myself no matter what Im doing. For me I find myself dogging myself a bit too much, in a weird way I get in my own way and then snap out of it to encourage myself and find the motivation to succeed. My own worst enemy is ME!
I’m right there with you Mitch.
Thanks man! I definitely agree we need to give ourselves some grace. Satan is the accuser of the brethren…but we’re the accuser of our creative sides. 😛
Great post Jonathan. I work at a larger (1,500+) church and it’s often easy to slack off. Especially when you see others around you doing it.
But luckily I came from a secular job where I HAD to move and I HAD to work. There was no choice.
It’s helped me a lot to check my work ethic constantly every day.
It is a bit silly what we allow at churches that wouldn’t be tolerated in the real world. Like…firing…that’s one of the best things that can happen to some people some times. 🙂