Be your own employee.

I have been working my ass off on the day job, and then at night, I have been full-on learning and creating content. Let me tell you this, it has not been a walk in the park, more a run through NY Central Park of the ’80s.

Why, you ask? Let me answer that by saying it is all-encompassing and fraught with some threatening ups and downs. 

It has been exhausting, but it has been life-changing, and I friggin recommend this lifestyle. It is exhilarating. Just like that run through the park in the ’80s.

I have been driven by a couple of crucial things over this last year. The first thing is that I want to retire early in life. I am possibly a couple of years away from the idea of retiring early, but that’s ok because I am using this time to get ready for when I do finally retire.

I have been full-on because this is the second thing I have been working on, and that is what I do when I retire because I don’t want to retire as such. I want to keep working, but I want to keep working on my own terms.

I want to be my own boss.

I have been driving myself so hard because I want to be my own boss, but I also want to be my own employee and be a good employee for myself. That is why I have been setting myself targets, challenging my time and pushing my production quality. When I am my own boss, I want to have a good employee that I can rely on.

Many people want to be their own boss, but many people do not want to do the work, and they don’t have the commitment, the stamina or the desire to achieve. 

That is what I am testing myself on now. So far, so good, I would say. I think I am passing my probation period, but I am not taking it for granted. I will keep working hard and sensibly, and I will not give the boss a chance to review my work with a critical eye and call me into the office for that talk.

As my own boss, I also want to avoid conflict and that awkward moment where I have to face the truth, give feedback and conclude with a difficult conversation about other opportunities. I do not want to have to face the mirror and discuss with that employee that they are not pulling their weight. 

I do not want to be the bearer of bad news to my own face in the mirror. I do not want to have to admit that I am not good enough for the life I have designed for myself. I want to avoid confrontation.

I don’t want to look at myself in the mirror and say…

Mate, you’re fired.

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