Nine Years of Being Self Employed

Nine years ago today I walked into my day job for the last time. I had just spent almost a decade waffling around trying to figure out what I was supposed to be doing with my life. At the time I thought I was starting a business that was much different that the one I'm actually running right now. I've learned a lot both professionally and personally. On the anniversary of my final shift I like to think back on what I've learned in the past year. This previous year brought a lot of lessons about understanding how a see myself and how that translates into how other people see me.

They way we define ourselves provides clarity. It also creates limitations that we set on ourselves. Don't let the way you currently define yourself box you in. Especially if it's leading you down a path that is unfulfilling. In fact I'd would say the more you step outside that box the more likely you are to succeed.

There is a point at which it is important to master your skills. But ultimately what people will recognize you for, or find you remarkable for, are the things that you bring from outside your area of expertise. People might like a really good baker, but a baker that is a amazing story teller or good at organizing their community will do better every time and I suspect be happier in doing so.

Another thing I think is important to success and one that I am still working on, is being remarkable. I don't mean that in the sense that you should be amazing and wonderful at everything you do. I mean it in the sense that if you want people to tell their friends about you then you need to do something that is worth remarking upon. People tell each other stories. So ask yourself what is it that you are doing that people would be interested in telling their friends about?

The last big lesson I feel like I learned this year is about rest. It sounds dumb to have to say it out loud but you really do your best work when you are well rested. This could mean getting plenty of sleep or taking an extra day off in terms of physical rest. But I'm also talking about the mental rest of not thinking about your job all the time. As a creative person I like to think about my job. I like coming up with cool things to make. But if I try to draw water from that well too many times I'll end up pulling up dry buckets. So putting it all down, not trying to grow or develop , and just giving my brain some time off has proven to be really important. Go do some weeding.