Be Self Employed in Life

I have heard this many times and I am not quite sure who first said it but here it is,” You are where you and what you are because of what you have failed to do.” You are the designer of your own future. What you become is not up to anyone else, just you. And when I came across a passage in Brian Tracy’s,”Goals!” that said, “…see yourself as the president of your own personal services corporation…As the president of your own career and your own life, as the architect of your own destiny, you are free to make your own decisions. You are the boss. You are in charge”. I couldn’t help but think it was a brilliant philosophy. So with this shared philosophy, I believe if you want more you need to treat your life as if you are self-employed.

As the self-employed business owner of your life, you are responsible for strategically planning your life in regards to goal setting, establishing measurements, and performing to obtain results (just like you would be gauged if working for someone else).

Marketing You

As the president of your life, you are responsible for your self-promotion, marketing strategy, creating your image (how people see you), and packaging yourself in the marketplace. This will affect the jobs you get, the clients you attract, and the promotions you receive or earn.

Creating my image began as a new investigator. My ethics, integrity, and hard work established trust with those I worked for and worked beside. I continued my education in business and criminal justice, just because I knew companies look at that, and of course, because I wanted something to fall back on should working as a private investigator not work out. I later began my own business and of course, P.I. Advice sharing my knowledge with others which further helped me in the marketplace when working for other companies and in my own business.

Your Financial Strategy

You are the president of the business or (you).  You need to know what you are selling your services for (how much you are worth).  You are responsible for how much you want to grow your income year after year.

If you want to earn more then you need to be more valuable in the marketplace. This will be related to the “Personal Training” below.

Your Relationship and People Strategy

A piece of advice I read in Brian Tracy’s book “Goals” says, “Choose your boss with care.”  Your boss (which I have seen first hand) can influence your direction, what future jobs you receive, your raises each year, and how fast you get promoted.  I always recommend learning what you can while you are employed with someone and then starting your own business.

So with all that being said, the people you surround yourself with is a strategy as well. The relationships (friends, coworkers, etc..) influence your direction. I know personally, I maintained an excellent reputation while working for companies and as an employee, and when it came time to start my own business, people remembered that.  Those same folks that had their own businesses later circled back around with me and what had a good business relationship. This was able to happen because they trusted me and I trusted them.

A great book that has influenced me greatly is, How to Win Friends and Influence People. This will help with communication with others. It has helped me look at communication in an entirely different way. I am not just talking about business communication but even communication I have with my spouse.

Personal Training (AKA Research and Development)

In your business, if you are to grow, you need to identify the things you need to learn to reach the goals you have for yourself.  This means personal training (personal development) and constant learning. It is your responsibility to take ownership of understanding what skills and abilities you need to have to be in a good position to earn the type of money you would like to earn.  It’s your business of you, and you are in charge. No one will do this work for you.

I understand in the business of me (Being Self Employed), that I need to improve my speaking skills if I am to have a successful speaking career in the future or if I want to have more value in my podcasting.  So my wife and I attend Toastmasters in Colorado to help with improving my skills.  It is a safe place for me to learn and make mistakes. 

Are You a Stock Worth Investing in?

This is a wonderful metaphor to consider.  If you are a company, would people be confident that your stock would grow if they invested in you?  Would your income grow year after year? As a company, you have to become better and better, year after year if you want to increase your income.

I look at this from a mentor’s point of view. Would a mentor put time into working with you? I would never want a mentor to waste time investing in me if I wasn’t putting in the work.  That would be a waste of time for a mentor.

Taking Responsibility for it all

Since you are the president of you, you are responsible for it all.  You have to make sure it gets done. If it doesn’t get done, you are the one responsible for it not getting done. We can’t blame our past or the people around us.  We have all the resources in the world to learn anything we want in this life. Information is literally at our fingertips and in most cases it is free.

Do You Want More?

The major factor that takes you to another level is determining if you want to be more?  Do you want more in life? Are you willing to become more than you are now? Are you willing to do things that are hard and uncomfortable?  Are you willing to grind through the messy seasons of life to accomplish the personal and financial goals you set for yourself? You are the company. You determine what happens with the company.

If you don’t want more, that is ok too.  Everyone has different goals in life and there is no wrong or right answer. Some people want more and some people are comfortable with their current situation.  But if you do want more in life, it will require more of you. I personally think the price one pays to grow is worth it. I hope you feel the same way and this speaks to you. Be more.