The greatest barrier to your big escape from the 9-5 and becoming your own boss is your endless inner dialogue.
Should I? Shouldn't I?
It can confuse you into paralysis and doing absolutely nothing about it.
But the truth is this: if you're ready to quit the 9-5 and be your own boss, then you absolutely MUST do exactly that.
You must find a way to smash through the indecision, procrastination and fear that is stopping you from making the leap.
The first thing you must do is became absolutely clear on what you want to leave behind. {I have listed 12 suggestions below!}
While leaving to start a business can be a very scary thought -- especially if you don't yet have an actual idea -- you can still find resolve in the decision to escape the 9-5 and be your own boss. This alone is both a relief and fuel for inspiration.
It's means you've made the first critical decision. And can now make the next one. It's a matter of small steps, not a giant leap.
You can do this by analysing what it is that you don't like about your current role or career so that you can strategically pivot, look forward, and decide what it is that you do want. You probably don't even need to think too hard about it.
When you spotlight the parts you don't like, you can begin to form a vision of what might work better for you. Make you happier. Give you more freedom. Help you create more wealth. Whatever your goal is.
Decide what you don't want to be, do and have, so that you can decide what you do want to be, do and have.
So, without further ado -- and with the aim of clearing the trees so that you can see the wood -- here are 12 exceptionally good reasons to escape the 9-5 and be your own boss.
1. You're bored.
You spend hours upon hours staring at the window {or at the wall} wondering what else you could be doing with your time.
2. You're so done.
You've told yourself: 'This is the last year.' {For the last three years.}
3. You're unhappy.
Life's too short, honey! It's time to move forward and experience the joy you were born to feel and share.
4. You hate waking up in the morning.
One day very soon you'll wake up and you'll be 90! It's about time you start enjoying the glorious start of each and every day. {With a spring in your step, even if it takes a cuppa Joe!}
5. Your colleagues are idiots.
Ever heard that you become like the top five people you spend the most time with?
6. Your job likely won't exist in 10 years.
That's right. With technology, global outsourcing, a booming freelance industry {hello Indonesia!} & sophisticated robotics, expensive salaried staff are getting the boot. Companies are streamlining, and increasing productivity efficiencies will have you out on your ear. Soon.
7. You have no career trajectory.
Look around you. 85% of your company are under 34. There are 4 people in their 40s, and one is the CEO. Where exactly can you go?
8. Your pay check will never satisfy you.
5 pay rises {across how many companies?} and you're still not earning enough. You never will.
9. You're not learning anything new.
In fact, you know that 5, 10, 15 years of experience you have? You just repeated your first year of experience 5,10, or 15 times. Ouch.
10. Your retirement plan won't support you.
Inflation will chomp on your pension/super/401K funds like Pac-Man and your dreams of living a comfortable life after 60 will be replaced with working at Starbucks till you're 80.
11. You're not in control.
Your boss could ruin your life tomorrow. In fact, how many people around you get to determine what happens to you?
The CEO? The CFO? The COO? the CSO? {See how they keep inventinting C+ Suite titles to give people somewhere to go?!} And that's just four.
What about your manager, and their manager? Take back control. Be your own boss!
12. Money will never make you happy.
Remember when I said your pay check will never be enough? That's because money will never be e-n-o-u-g-h. It only feels good when the amount you receive aligns with how you want to show up in the world. And frankly, you spend it all every month anyway.
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Is it time to escape the 9-5 and be your own boss? If you agree with any one of these statements then set aside some time every week to begin brainstorming a solution to that problem. If you can't find a solution to it within your current role or career that makes you absolutely happy, then it's time to plot your escape and be your own boss!
Which reasons resonate with you most? What would you add to this list?
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Stephanie Holland is the creator of The Freedom Philosophy, a guide that helps corporate misfits escape the 9-5 and be their own boss. If this post strikes a cord, sign up to get 'The Ultimate Roadmap: Escape the 9- and Be Your Own Boss' now.