Rat Race: Quit or Die Trying
July 19, 2008
“The trouble with the rat-race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat.” – Lily Tomlin
It’s Friday afternoon, another week gone by, another weekend beginning. And so it seems the cycle continues week after week. The rat race must go on. As much as I like being a part of it, I want more. I want to reach out of of my comfort zone and achieve more…oh and be able to take 3 month vacas without having to check with someone. Seems like you only become more of a salve after school, much to my dismay. I want to be free.
I read somewhere,
”Your mind is your first and biggest stumbling block when you consider breaking free of your comfort zone. Add fear, insecurity and painful experiences of past failures, and it all becomes one humongous frightful monster of a vicious cycle. You end up pushing your dreams aside because not doing anything means you won’t fail!”
The mind is a strong weapon. We can only go as far as we picture in our minds.
So here’s a few things I deem important on a journey to being a successful freelancer. Mind you I haven’t ‘arrived’ to my success point as yet, so you can either take this or skip to read some articles below.
1. Change your mindset to believe you can get there. Make goals and set dates.
2. There’s a lot of blogs and such online with really good advice on these topics. Google them, search them, read them, soak them.
3. Avoid talking about your goals or strategies to people who aren’t optimistic about it. You need encouragement, not the opposite (i think we get enough of that on the news).
4. Get yourself out there. People cant hire you if they don’t know you exist. Invest in some advertising. Put yourself up on free classifieds like Craigslist or Kijiji. Send out a mass email to everyone on your contact list, so they can forward to their friends and so on (6 degrees of separation does work). Most of your clients will be a friend of a friend of a cousin of a sister….you get my drift.
5. Granted you are starting out, but be ready to invest into your business. Marketing, printing, websites or whatever else you need. You get what you pay for, so don’t cheese out on this. Get it done right the first time, so you don’t have to keep investing.
6. Remember there will be down times, but remember your goals and keep moving ahead. If one strategy doesn’t work, try another and another…
Here are a few articles I came across in my daily browsings,
Breaking Free Of A Salaried Existence – Being Your Own Boss
