A Fixed Income Is a Sucker Bet (Blog)

[MidasGirl]

I think the problem with the whole being employed thing is that employees seem to tend to complain A LOT. It's hard to find employees that don't complain. Most seem so unhappy with their work situation -- they've built the resentment Steve was taliking about in the article. It's really hard to feel grateful when you have an inherent belief that your employer is screwing you.

Most seem stuck, and I think this is the reason Steve does these articles to challenge them to realize they are the ones that have chosen to be stuck. When you hate what you do, you CANNOT be happy. You have sealed your fate. You can of course just choose to be happy, and the perfect situations will align with your state of mind. Jim Rohn talks about the fact that everyone is self employed, most people just don't get that. You are the CEO of your own employ. But most people just have a terrible attitude so they perform mediocre-ly and end up miserable and then they wonder what's going on.

I am getting ready to go back into the corporate world ( I've missed it so much) but ha ha, I'm careful to not choose a job that puts a cap on how much I can earn. But I've been self employed so I will never feel like I can't just walk out any day and do it again!

I too share Steve's disdain for the way employees seem so pathetic acting as if they are caged animals. If you don't like where you are or what you do, all you have to do is shake your world by scaring the **** out of yourself and doing the unthinkable--walking out.

[Angela]

The only downside I've noticed about working from home is that a cleaning service doesn't come in at night, as used to happen when I was an employee. That would be great to wake up to a magically clean and tidy office every morning again.

Other than that, I haven't noticed any downsides about WFH -- it's wonderful!

[MidasGirl]

Good for you Angela. Most cleaning service is self employed though, so they tend not to have any problem working with customers that need them to go in at night.

[MidasGirl]

Originally Posted by JoeRad

Some of us just struggle everyday to support others...some of us are not in control of our own destinies!

I wonder why you would choose to hold such a belief........what if you believed you were in charge of your own destiny? Scary eh?

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by MidasGirl

I really like the setup that ALG's wife has.

I must confess that I was behind it all.

If you do a search on the Intention-Manifestation section, using terms like "Acting Like Godot" + "wife" + "work from home" + "write your own , contract", you'll see how I used the LOA to create all that.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by MidasGirl

Good for you Angela. Most cleaning service is self employed though, so they tend not to have any problem working with customers that need them to go in at night.

I'm sorry, MidasGirl; I'm not catching your point -- how does that apply to what I said?

[MidasGirl]

Originally Posted by Angela

I'm sorry, MidasGirl; I'm not catching your point -- how does that apply to what I said?

Sorry. I misunderstood you actually, now that I look at your comment one more time. I thought you meant you like the idea of the cleaning service coming in during the day. Nevermind my comment.

[Lamusa]

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

As I said, there are all kinds of both kinds.

Many self-employed persons that I've come across do not strike me as being particularly independent, say, with their time. In fact, their schedules are heavily dictated by their clients' demands.

I know this doesn't apply to Steve, but it applies to lots of self-employed people who provide services (eg personal trainer; swimming instructor; driving instructor; financial adviser; property agent; babysitter; plumber).

If you can't come at the time I need you to come, I won't engage you and I'll get someone else. So you don't get paid. If you do want to get paid, you have to serve me at the time that I want to be served. The customer dictates the time, not the self-employed person.

This seems like it could be remedied through intentions and visualizations so that you attract the type of customers at times that are suitable to you or at the very least the both of you. For example, intending to work with customers only before noon on Mondays and Tuesdays, on Wednesdays you work with them only after three and so on. By making this your intention you would attract the people who have schedules that resonates with yours. This puts you in charge.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by MidasGirl

Sorry. I misunderstood you actually, now that I look at your comment one more time. I thought you meant you like the idea of the cleaning service coming in during the day. Nevermind my comment.

That might interfere with the hypnosis process, but I guess I could include it: "...and as you relaxxx totallly.... your mind is being swept up, all your tension is just being taken out with the trassshhhhhhh.... your unconscious is becoming more and more tidy...."

[MidasGirl]

Originally Posted by Angela

That might interfere with the hypnosis process, but I guess I could include it: "...and as you relaxxx totallly.... your mind is being swept up, all your tension is just being taken out with the trassshhhhhhh.... your unconscious is becoming more and more tidy...."

I can only take so much hypnosis from you. I'm already hypnotized by your "new money story" video.

Oh wait, you mean the cleaning, he he!

[Angela]

Originally Posted by MidasGirl

I can only take so much hypnosis from you. I'm already hypnotized by your "new money story" video.

Oh wait, you mean the cleaning, he he!

Wait till I get you on my Deep Trance Sofa! Don't go there until you're ready to be more relaxed than you've ever been.

[cylon]

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

Speaking for myself, I go to work 5 days a week, but basically no one really cares what time I go to work, and how long I go for lunch, or what time I leave the office. The general idea is that as long as I get my work done, no one should bother when I come and go.

That's how it SHOULD be, and when it happens people are much more satisfied at their workplace. But at least out here, many still have the mindset that if you're not at your desk working 8 hours a day, you're ripping off your boss. We still have the assembly-line mentality.

At my last office, I more or less had the freedom you described, until the economy worsened. Then all of the sudden people were getting in trouble if they used the restroom more than twice a day. It became like a prison. I was a senior employee and I saw all those perks I had taken for granted, drift away over time. I was capable of managing my own work-load, and regulating how much time I devoted to each project, but the owner decided eventually that he wanted to make everyone's decisions for them (one person micro-managing the actions of dozens of people, all day), the company fell into total chaos. I'm not sure they're going to make it, and I'm glad I'm off the sinking ship.

Doesn't mean ALL companies are like this... but it is a big mental block for me when thinking of getting a new job. I most definitely was treated like a slave, and I was at the company longer than most others, and was more productive and efficient than most others. Eventually that stopped meaning anything to the owner.

[ericabiz]

Originally Posted by Angela

The only downside I've noticed about working from home is that a cleaning service doesn't come in at night, as used to happen when I was an employee. That would be great to wake up to a magically clean and tidy office every morning again.

Make it so...all it takes is money.

-Erica

[Angela]

Originally Posted by ericabiz

Make it so...all it takes is money.

-Erica

Except that my hypnosis studio is also my home, so it would take something else, too.

What if I could program my subconscious mind to sleep-clean? I could get my rest and also wake up to a nice clean studio. Hmmm....

I've just taken on a "job" and a "boss" - a few hours each week selling and arranging delivery of soup around L.A. I do this out of my home, or anywhere really, as all it takes is an Internet connection and a cellphone. It's "location independent" -- don't you love that term? It pays pretty well and doesn't interfere with my practice; the "boss" even encouraged me to do my other work when orders are slow. Found it on craigslist; just to let you know these kinds of opportunities are out there!

[praxis22]

Originally Posted by spirit4711

You have a link for that study?

If the study is correct, the argument goes both ways: some salaried employees could make a lot more self-employed than they do in their salaried jobs.

Yes you can, thought it depends on the job. Working as an IT contractor I could earn between 2 - 4x a salaried post, (depending on how aggressive you wanted to be) which works fine in the good times. But I knew contractors that burned through all their savings during the tech bust, they didn't find work again for years.

Then of course there's all the time you have to worry about paperwork, lawyers, accountants, etc. You have to be very disciplined to last long as a contractor, otherwise you get into the reductive logic of time & product vs money, taking no holiday, working all hours, maximising income, and then you burn out after a couple of years. Seen it a few times. Stupid.

Now is not a time to be taking stupid risks.

Also, freelancers have trouble buying a house: New York City Real Estate - The Catch-22 for Freelance Workers Trying to Buy Homes -- New York Magazine

[alexb5784]

The article was great and well intended. I liked it very much, thank you

I went to Walmart this morning with my sister and became extremely annoyed when I heard her and other people in the store saying:

"Is it on sale? Oh it's not? Then let's get something else."

"My kids are eating me out of house and home. I'm tired of spending extra money on them. They don't know what it's like to have a job!"

"I should have bought gas here instead of the other place I went to yesterday. I could have saved an extra 10 cents per gallon."

"I'd like to live in California, but the cost of living is too much. I need to find a cheaper place to live."

"I'm going to work extra hours to pay for this..."

"Did you bring the coupons?"

"Let's only get what we need. Everything else might have to wait."

Hearing this self-talk from all of these people, gave me a headache.

When I saw something I wanted in the store, I picked it up. I didn't care what it cost, if it was on sale, or if I had a coupon. All I knew was that I wanted it. And I got it. Quick decision! I'm not going to degrade myself by saying "Oh, I can't afford it. Better get something else". That's self-abuse. If I'm in a position and I don't have the money to get what I want, then it's my responsibility to find a way to get it.

The downside to having a stable income is that you get stuck in mediocrity. You do just enough to get by and nothing more. Plus, you end up spending all your time fussing over bills. And on Saturday mornings, you spend 20 minutes cutting coupons at your kitchen table to save $2 at Walmart.

It's not really the amount of money you make monthly, that's irrelevant. When you spend every day or month, expecting the same results, life becomes boring and limited.

As far as having a job and running a business on the side, that's a personal choice. Lots of people keep stable jobs while building a business and then quit those jobs to run the business full time. Again, a personal choice. Personally I would not want to have a job and run a business. To me it's a waste of energy and attention. I liked a job that much, then I would find a way to make the job my business. For example, if I loved teaching school and didn't want to give it up, then I would start my own school, perhaps a Monstessori type private school.

A Fixed Income = A Fixed Amount of Contribution

Yes you can contribute to society through your job. Yes you can make a difference. But what if you could do more? Using the teacher example, by opening your own school, you could empower hundreds of families, instead of a classroom of 20 kids. Why earn $38,000 doing what you love, when you can earn $380,000 doing the same thing on a much more massive scale?

It's not about the money, it's about allowing yourself to increase your level of contribution.

[spirit4711]

Originally Posted by praxis22

...But I knew contractors that burned through all their savings during the tech bust, they didn't find work again for years.

How many contractors did so, percentage wise?

I know people who lost their jobs in this crisis and haven't found new ones.

Then of course there's all the time you have to worry about paperwork, lawyers, accountants, etc.

Can be outsourced.

You have to be very disciplined to last long as a contractor, otherwise you get into the reductive logic of time & product vs money, taking no holiday, working all hours, maximising income, and then you burn out after a couple of years. Seen it a few times. Stupid.

Yes I agree.

Now is not a time to be taking stupid risks.

If not now, then when?

Also, freelancers have trouble buying a house: New York City Real Estate - The Catch-22 for Freelance Workers Trying to Buy Homes -- New York Magazine

That is a problem indeed. But only if you want to buy a house. You need to put up a (much?) bigger down payment.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by alexb5784

The downside to having a stable income is that you get stuck in mediocrity. You do just enough to get by and nothing more. Plus, you end up spending all your time fussing over bills. And on Saturday mornings, you spend 20 minutes cutting coupons at your kitchen table to save $2 at Walmart.

I think that you have confused the word "stable" with the word "low".

For example, if I loved teaching school and didn't want to give it up, then I would start my own school, perhaps a Monstessori type private school.

Surprise. It doesn't quite work like that.

If you loved teaching, and you started your own school, it's quite likely that you have much less time for teaching.

Instead you would hire teachers to do the teaching. Your time would be spent on issues like HR, finance, operations, customer service, sourcing for school equipment etc.

I understand this quite well, because my brother was a teacher who became a school principal. (He's not self-employed - it's a government school). While being promoted to principal is a sign of career progression, he does sometimes regret that he no longer gets to do what he loved to do ... teach.

Instead, for example, this year a lot of his time is spent on designing a new HR appraisal system to assess the teachers' performance, and on managing the budget for upgrading the school laboratories and renovating the sports facilities. He also pores over the curriculum, the classroom teaching plans, the exam papers etc .... BUT he no longer gets to do actual teaching.

This is, once again, what a lot of people don't understand. It is fine to be self-employed, and do all the things that a self-employed person has to do, if you like it. But you may not like it.

Instead, sometimes, getting a job is the best way to make sure you get to spend the most time actually doing the specific things that you like to do.

--------------

What has now happened in my country is that the Education Ministry has designed different career paths for different teachers, depending on their aspirations.

As a teacher, you select the kind of path you want, and as you progress in seniority, you move along that particular path.

All the teachers start as teachers. But depending on your own preferences, you later either remain as a teacher (becoming something known as a "Senior Teacher"); or you follow the administrator path (eg your career path is that if you keeo doing well, you eventually become a vice-principal or a principal); or you follow the curriculum path (eg you may end up not teaching, not being a principal; but your tasks will be in designing curricula, setting national exam standards etc, at the Ministry itself).

[spirit4711]

Originally Posted by alexb5784

...
It's not about the money, it's about allowing yourself to increase your level of contribution.

I agree with all you wrote, but this sentence is the most inspiring for me.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by alexb5784

Why earn $38,000 doing what you love, when you can earn $380,000 doing the same thing on a much more massive scale?

But I made more than $380,000 last year, as a salaried employee.

[spirit4711]

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

But I made more than $380,000 last year, as a salaried employee.

So how many, percentage wise, are there in your salary group?

'Better to be a rich slave than a poor free man'?

[Arboretor]

Originally Posted by alexb5784

Why earn $38,000 doing what you love, when you can earn $380,000 doing the same thing on a much more massive scale?

I am currently earning about $6000 per year doing a certain kind of illustrations. I would be happy to do the same thing for $380,000 (or even a mere $100,000), but I am run out of ideas how to do that.

Any practical advice would be appreciated.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by spirit4711

So how many, percentage wise, are there in your salary group?

Exactly. And the same question needs to be asked of the self-employed. Such as those who think that they can just set up their own school and make $380,000.

Remember who first came up with that figure? The "pro-self-employed" camp. How come at that point you didn't chip in to ask: "So how many, percentage wise, are there in that non-fixed income group?"

I hope you understand that I am not advocating the salaried job as a superior choice over the self-employment option. I am not saying that either is necessarily superior to the other.

But some people here are saying that the self-employment option is superior to the salaried job, and their rationale just seems to be rather flawed to me (for all the reasons that I've pointed out).

I think that it would be better to say that whether the salaried job or the self-employment option is better, depends very much on your individual circumstances, including your skills, knowledge, education, capital, personal interests etc etc.

To hold out the self-employment option as automatically superior is just .... well, it seems very foolish to me.

[aelle]

I don't really understand how this debate came to be so polarized, self employed vs. employees. I didn't read the article through that perspective. As others have pointed out, it is about creating more value, about allowing more people to access this value, and about imporving your own life in the process.

I don't have a fixed income. I have several sources of income, or in other words, several means of producing value and putting it out there. So far, the main contribution to both (money, value) is my day job. How is this a bad thing? The value created by my personal streams of income will increase with time, hopefully, but so will the value of my job! That's why I work there! And the values of my employer, of my company, are perfectly aligned with mine! That's why I work there!

Why the blinders that'd make one think that there is a limited number of ways to have a variable income? I'm not used to seeing this limited thinking around here.

[aelle]

And while I was writing, ALG edited his post to something I very much agree with

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by Arboretor

I am currently earning about $6000 per year doing a certain kind of illustrations. I would be happy to do the same thing for $380,000 (or even a mere $100,000), but I am run out of ideas how to do that.

Any practical advice would be appreciated.

Well, I don't know much about illustrations. But I guess one way would be to get a job at a company like Dreamworks (founded by Steven Spielberg, among others).

Dreamworks makes cartoon movies like Shrek, Kungfu Panda, Madagascar etc. Since a successful cartoon movie can gross up to more than USD 100,000,000, there should be reasonable opportunities for a talented illustrator working in such a company to earn $380,000.

Alternatively, movie production companies in general (even those which don't do cartoons normally) would probably also need illustrators of some kind, if they make movies which have lots of special effects (eg movies like Harry Potter; or Lord of the Rings).

[aelle]

Originally Posted by Arboretor

I am currently earning about $6000 per year doing a certain kind of illustrations. I would be happy to do the same thing for $380,000 (or even a mere $100,000), but I am run out of ideas how to do that.

Any practical advice would be appreciated.

An illustrator I love (Garance Doré) has had her life changed by her blog. She used to have to draw vegetables for cheap magazines to get by. She now travels the globe working on fashion shows and shootings, her passion. Her progression is inspiring.

[Arboretor]

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

Well, I don't know much about illustrations. But I guess one way would be to get a job at a company like Dreamworks (founded by Steven Spielberg, among others).

Dreamworks makes cartoon movies like Shrek, Kungfu Panda, Madagascar etc. Since a successful cartoon movie can gross up to more than USD 100,000,000, there should be reasonable opportunities for a talented illustrator working in such a company to earn $380,000.

Alternatively, movie production companies in general (even those which don't do cartoons normally) would probably also need illustrators of some kind, if they make movies which have lots of special effects (eg movies like Harry Potter; or Lord of the Rings).

Thanks for your input, ALG. Illustrators aren't usually paid very much (I realize that this is a limiting belief, but it is not easy to change if you see what people get who are working in illustration.) More important, the type of illustrations I do is not of the kind a movie company needs.

But I'll think about your suggestions, perhaps I can get something out of it.

[Arboretor]

Originally Posted by aelle

An illustrator I love (Garance Doré) has had her life changed by her blog. She used to have to draw vegetables for cheap magazines to get by. She now travels the globe working on fashion shows and shootings, her passion. Her progression is inspiring.

Thanks for that link. Interesting blog!

[Acting Like Godot]

I love Kung Fu Panda, by the way!



For those of you who are LOA/IM users, if you watch the movie, you may very well pick up a few tips and tricks.