Breaking
the Financial Trap; Part III
Is
Self-Employment the Answer?
Working
for yourself is a great improvement over being an employee - mainly
because you have the right of self-determination, especially once
you understand how important marketing
is to your success. There are also some tax benefits (even though
most were eliminated in the Tax Reform Act of 1986 and subsequent
"fixes"). But the bottom line is, of the four
ways to earn money in a capitalism-based economy,
this one actually winds up a distant third on the success
chart.
You
see, the biggest problem with being self-employed in the traditional
sense is, the toll that the lifestyle eventually takes on
your body and your life over the long haul. According to noted experts
Paul and Sarah Edwards, the average work week for a self-employed
person is sixty-one hours long. That means many entrepreneurs work
a lot longer than that. You start out happy to be able to work "when
you want", and end up working "all the time".
Because
you are highly trained, better than most at what you do, and in
demand, you actually become the business. Your clients
come to depend on you - and only you - to do the work you're
so good at.
Ask
any successful doctor, chiropractor, attorney, accountant, computer
consultant, web developer, or auto technician what would happen
to their small business if they left it for six months. Most will
tell you they feel like they can't even leave for a six day vacation.
...And
of course, the more money you make, the harder the tax
man cometh.
In
other words, you don't own your company; your company owns you.
You have, in fact, traded in a "full-time" job for an
"all-the-time" job. Many entrepreneurs can't even find
the time to market their business effectively, so
they work even harder. And while they may be financially successful,
even greatly so, they sacrifice time with their families in order
to provide for them monetarily.
To
me, real success is more. To me, success means having both money,
and the time to enjoy it. Some may say that's being greedy.
Some say you can't expect to be wealthy and happy at the same time.
Some
even say there's no way to beat the system anyway,
so why bother trying?
I
say life rarely gives us more than we demand, so we should demand
all that life is willing to give. I believe that wealth, comfort,
and financial
freedom were created for everyone to enjoy, not just
miserable people who abuse their gifts by inflicting pain on others.
I
believe the only hope the rest of the world has, comes from good
people who have gotten their needs met and can afford to give to
others. So I want all the blessings the universe has in store for
me...don't you?
 Next:
What Really Works
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