Am I born to be happily jobless?
Are you born to be happily jobless? I do believe that every one of us, in some way or other, has a yearning to be free from having to hold a job. We are born to be happily jobless, but then we enter the world, and the world forces onto us rules which we accepted. Rules like, "you're not normal unless you get a real job", "people who are jobless are lazy and unproductive".
As it takes a lot of effort to remain jobless and happy, the majority of us end up accepting the rule that to survive in this world, we need a job.
I have not been the Happy Jobless Guy my whole life, but I have always yearned to be happily jobless. I believe I have had this feeling since small. After finishing high school, I started a business while the rest of my friends went off to college. By the time they got out of college, I have bought and paid for my first home.
Then my business collapsed, and to be honest, that was when I felt so lost. All my friends now had jobs and I was jobless and without much direction. So, I was forced to go back to school (evening school, actually). I got good grades, reinvented myself, and ended up in the job market.
Throughout my working life, I held a total of two different jobs. The first for just two years. While I was there, I discovered my first major hobby: building websites. That was back in 1995, when the Internet was just becoming popular. Two years after my first job, I job-hopped to a major computer company, and remained there for close to ten years (9 years 10 months).
It was a good job with a high salary. I was single, and spending money as fast as I earned it. I did not have much savings. I did buy a second house while holding this job, but while I actually earned a higher salary on that job than what I made during my early years running a business, I found it harder to pay off the mortgage.
That's because discovered my second hobby: traveling. I love to explore, discover exotic destinations, lost cultures, ancient civilizations. I had the money to support this hobby, and at that time, I could maintain this lifestyle forever.
Then my two hobbies came together. I started my first travel website in 2003. At that time, it was built entirely to support of my passion for traveling. I used it as a travel club, so that fellow travel enthusiasts can sign up and go on trips with me. It was only in 2005 that I learned I could earn an income from my website.
As the web income starts to grow, I started to lose an interest in holding a job. Also around 2005, I invested into a travel company and became a minority shareholder. I was earning an income on top of my full-time job.
Then the fateful day arrived. In November 2007, my company downsized and closed my department. I was out of a job, but I couldn't be happier. They offered me a handsome severance package. I cleared my mortgage and am now debt free.
Although I don't hold a job, I earn two full-time incomes, one from my travel websites and one from my travel business. I spend more time on my websites than on the business. That's because my idea of a happy jobless life is one without bosses and, ideally, without customers.
As I look back on my life, I realise that I am born to be happily jobless, except that, growing up, I do not know exactly how to express it. It takes over two decades for me to find myself.
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