Why I Will Continue Being My Own Boss for as Long as I Can

Many of us know what’s so great about being your own boss — you don’t have to rush to work at 8 AM, you get to work at midnight if that’s what you want and you don’t have to deal with annoying managers.

Sounds amazing.

Flexible working hours and the freedom related to them often seem to be at the core of why people want to break away from the usual office crowd and choose their own path. There’s more to it than meets the eye, though.

When I first thought about working for myself, I wasn’t sure what it entailed. Almost a year later, with more money on my bank account than the usual student part-time jobs could have ever given me and much more experience with freelance writing, the picture is much clearer.

It’s not easy. One month, I earned so much I got drunk on the feeling of being so financially free after years of struggling, only to earn very little the next. Writing for a living (or doing any sort of freelance work) has its highs and lows, the unpredictability of your income being one of the biggest problems — but I think it’s still worth it.

Here are three reasons why I will continue being my own boss for as long as I can.

You don’t wait for anyone to choose you

The freedom that comes with freelancing or becoming an entrepreneur isn’t just about being in charge of your time or not having to deal with assholes. It goes much deeper than that.

In his book Choose Yourself, James Altucher says that in today’s world:

“You no longer have to wait for the gods of corporate America, or universities, or media, or investors, to come down from the clouds and choose you for success.”

We have so many opportunities to make a living on our own terms in the 21st century, from freelance writing to becoming an Instagram influencer to creating a digital product you can sell to literally anyone on the internet. Altucher refers to this new age as the “Choose Yourself era”.

Today is when you can follow your dreams, fight for yourself and make decisions that will lead you to success without having to rely on any boss, any manager, any mentor who might or might not choose you depending on their mood.

What I always hated about working for other people was that I felt like I had to make them like me because my salary was directly dependent on my relationship with them. Even when I was good at my job, I still felt anxious because I could have been fired at any given moment.

Although being your own boss presents many issues of its own, the biggest advantage is that you’re no longer dependent on other people’s moods or attitudes — you don’t have to wait for anyone to choose you for success.

You choose yourself. You’re in charge of your time, your effort, your mindset, your whole life. You can follow any path you set your mind on without having to consult people you’re financially dependent on.

Altucher describes how he felt before he chose himself:

“Maybe someone would SEE me. And call me and offer me and give me and want me and like me and love me. Maybe they would press the LIKE button on my face. Brilliant.”

Well, not anymore. You see yourself, and that’s enough. You call and offer and give and want and like and love.

You press your own button.

Ideas drive the world where machines cannot

The amazing freedom the 21st century offers us isn’t without its drawbacks.

For one, technology is getting more and more developed. We’re now in the 4th Industrial Revolution, often called “Industry 4.0”, where everything is becoming dependent on technology and robots only grow smarter.

See this quote by Daniel Burrus:

“The general definition of Industry 4.0 is the rise of digital industrial technology… Industry 4.0 transformations allow us to work alongside machines in new, highly productive ways.”

Notice the word “alongside machines”? That’s because they’re capable of replacing us. The more machines, the fewer workers, the more opportunities in areas where machines can’t keep up with humans yet.

Altucher agrees:

“But across every industry, technology has replaced not only paper (“the paperless office”), but people. Companies simply don’t need the same amount of people anymore to be as productive as they’ve always been. We are moving toward a society without employees. It’s not here yet. But it will be. And that’s okay.”

There has never been a better time to work for yourself than now — not just because of the opportunities that are already there on the internet but because of the ones that will slowly disappear from the usual industries.

It’s time to re-locate if you can.

When you work for somebody, you’re easily replaceable. But when you create a product, a brand, a portfolio full of powerful stories and ideas, it’s all unique only to yourself.

You’re not another cog in the machine. You’re you. You sell your creativity, your unique set of skills and your capabilities, as well as who you are as a person. Many people can replace you at an office desk — not that many can come up with the exact same idea as you and execute it as such.

Writing has earned me more money than any other job so far, and the demand for ideas and human skills will likely only grow as time goes on. Being your own boss might offer less stability short-term, but it might actually be a great decision in the long run.

You’re in charge of giving your life its meaning

According to Revise Sociology, we work about 92 120 hours in our lifetimes. That’s about 3838 days. And that’s about 10.5 years.

35% of your waking hours in your 50-year working life are spent working. The idea of spending so much time doing something I don’t enjoy makes me shiver.

Of course, people can work for others and still love their job. Things get a little problematic when you want to do art or build your own business or become a digital nomad and blog about travelling — giving all that up to work a job you don’t like sounds like throwing all those waking hours in the bin.

The thing is, you can give your life any meaning you want when your salary doesn’t depend on your boss. You can build a shelter for animals or travel the world or create an eco-friendly business or write, and you can structure your life around this job as you see fit.

Not only do you choose yourself for success — you choose yourself for a meaningful job that makes you want to wake up in the morning. Work can always get annoying, no matter how much you love what you do, but the point is to make it the most enjoyable and meaningful you can.

When you stand on your own, the whole world is open for business. All your dreams are achievable, in any time frame you like, in any way you want, without waiting for other people to give you their consent.

Choosing the purpose of your life and making a living out of it is what I consider the biggest freedom of all.

Final Thoughts

There you have it. Flexible hours are a big perk of being your own boss but they’re not what keeps me going when my income plummets.

I want to continue working for myself because I’m tired of letting other people be in charge of my time, my wishes, my ideas and my purpose.

I want to continue being my own boss because I’m not another cog in the machine. I’m me. I’m enough. I deserve to achieve the outcomes I desire.

And you do, too.