You see it every year.
Local TV news reporting on high school kids scrambling for summer jobs.
We see young people submitting applications at the mall or fast food joints.
The conclusion is always the same. Some kids find jobs. But many more come up empty.
At which point I scream at my television…
MAKE A JOB!!!
These kids could wash windows… detail cars…. fix and sell bicycles…
They could help seniors or at-home business owners solve computer glitches… babysit…
They could do lawn care… run errands…. refinish and sell discarded furniture…
They could walk neighbors’ dogs or care for their cats…
They could create an app…or teach others how to do it… tutor other kids…
They could find free stuff on Craigslist and sell it…
They could approach local businesses and offer to sweep their sidewalks or or do other odd jobs…
The point is, there are all sort of ways to make money that does not require being anyone’s employee.
Don’t these teens understand that when you work for yourself there’s a direct link between effort and earnings?
Or that in addition to making more money than they would flipping burgers and getting to learn important lessons about marketing, customer service, money management, and resiliency, they’d very likely be a lot happier too?
Look, I don’t blame these kids – or anyone – for failing to think outside-the-job box.
After all, the media diligently broadcasts the government’s monthly jobs report. But we never hear how many small businesses were launched that month.
College career centers and traditional career coaches are job-centric too.
They excel at helping people do things like write a resume, conduct a job search, and ace the interview.
But showing people ways they can build on their gifts and interests to create their own job? Clueless.
It’s really little wonder that…
We’ve become a national of occupational sheep passively waiting for someone to give us a job.
As a society we’ve somehow lost the ability to see opportunities; never mind seize them.
Somehow as a society we’ve forgotten that we really can use a gift or interest as the platform to create a livelihood.
And that’s a shame.
Because when you work for yourself, you don’t need to depend on an employer deciding how much you earn… You don’t have the hassles of commuting or workplace politics…
When you make a job, you get to be the boss of you!
It’s why for the past 21 years the Changing Course Newsletter has introduced readers to ways people have done just that.
When we first began, being self-employed was a relatively novel concept. Today it’s more common to follow your own road.
Still, there’s millions more who, just like you, yearn to escape from job jail.
That’s why, over the next few weeks, we’ll be bringing you a new series called…
Some of the ideas may draw a straight line to your own gifts or interests.
Others may simply offer a means to support your art or otherwise pay the bills so you can work when, where, and how you want.
Some of these ideas could replace your entire income.
Others may be better suited as one of multiple income streams, a part-time, or a seasonal thing you do to bring in extra cash… supplement your retirement income… or otherwise allow you to make money well outside-of-the-job box.
Some of the ideas will come in the form of full-blown articles.
Others require only a few paragraphs.
What I hope you discover is that you really can follow your own road.
And that Changing Course starts with a great idea!
So stay tuned for the new series and all the great ways you can Make Your Own #*!#& Job!
Don’t Want to Wait?
Click here to learn everything you need to know about scheduling a 1-1 Work at What You Love discovery and planning session.
