You don't need a job to earn a living

      




You don't need a job to earn a living. That's something I have realised all along. Although I do hold a job for over ten years, I have long ago decided that holding a job was not for me. I am the kind of person who hates having a boss. It's bearable when the boss is good, but I have been through a number of lousy bosses, and they make me wonder why should I stand for all the crap. I want to earn a living based on my own skills and my own capabilities. If there's anybody I want to be my boss, it would be myself.

If you also hate having a boss and holding a job, and wonder how you can get out of it, I hope my sharing here will help you.

As a wage earner, have you ever longed for the next pay raise or promotion? Most working people have. It's completely natural. Me too. I have been there. There were nights when I literally dreamed that I have gotten the raise I so badly wanted. I thought I qualified for it, and it was long due. Morning brought me back to reality that once again that promotion had eluded me.

When I was holding a job, I sincerely worked hard. So naturally I felt I deserved a raise or a promotion. So it was quite disheartening when none was forthcoming.

Today, I can look back at those chapters in my life, and wondered how I could allow myself to be put through the indignity. The strange thing is, I have hundreds of colleagues, and most of them seem to have resigned themselves to this type of life, of kow-towing to bosses. It's something I couldn't accept, and three years ago, I finally won my freedom.

Today is 10 March 2011. It's now over three years since I held a permanent job. After close to ten years in that big computer company, whose name rhymes with "sell", my department closed down and I was laid off. Back then, I celebrated by starting this website. I don't have to hold a job ever again.

Of course in Oct 2007 I also went through a phase of soul searching. Although I was jubilant that I finally got my life back, there was another wondering of me wondering what the future holds, and whether I would be able to support myself.

Well, let me tell you, I've not only survived, I've prospered.

I knew I have always to earn a full-time income from the web, so my being made redundant gave me the time to get my websites up to speed. At the same time, I explored other possibilities - sort of back-up plans. Among others, I became a licensed tour guide. I also got myself more involved in a tour business that I have invested in some years back, when I was still working.

Of the different options I explored, the one that is supporting me best today are my websites. My sites have grown many times the size they were back in Oct 2007, when I went full time. I do admit I spend a lot of time working on my sites, but then again, I also remember working hard at my old job, hoping that my boss will give me a raise.

(I did get a raise, but not from that boss, rather a different boss, later on, and when I was not expecting it. Life's like that when you hold a job, you are not in control of your life. Whether you get a raise depend on the decision of someone else.)

Today I am a living example that you don't need a job to earn a living. I have a much better life today that I had when I held a job. Now I don't answer to any bosses. And to my surprise, earning a living is much easier than I have expected. To be sure, it is not "easy" and it's not for everyone. I know I wouldn't be earning what I am earning today if I were lazy. On the other hand, I quickly learn that the more hard working you are, the better you earn.

If you have ever want to earn a living without holding a job, I would advise you to explore the option and go for it. It is completely do-able.