Hire your boss – don’t let them hire you!

Life is about perspective and a change in perspective can radically change the outlook you have on your life. I’ve been working for a great company for almost half a year now – it’s quite different from the teaching I did in Korea / Philippines and China over the previous 5 years in a very positive way. I’m learning a lot though the hours are double that I did teaching it does even out at the end.

Self-employed

Since I was a teenager, other than small jobs here and there, I was mostly self-employed, had a staff and a downtown office. I was a boss! I had contractors and employees looking at me to give them a job to do in return for a salary, I had clients that were looking for excuses to give me money and life was pretty good! Way back then though, I realized that I really didn’t like the “office” idea – I felt chained down as employees had to go somewhere as did client meetings in our boardroom. Although I spent a lot of time in my “offices” now like before – I never felt tied down as I felt back then. My business was booming but then the .com burst and two successive recessions took their toll on my client base. Things were falling apart and I decided it was the best time, an opportunity, to make my dream of getting out of dodge a reality. Got rid of the office, most of my possessions and traded all that for a backpack! I still ran my business, I had the internet… but the money I was making went to me, not overhead (office, staff, advertising etc.). I felt good!

Contractor

After a few months, I began working for a newspaper company in Cairns, Australia – the environment couldn’t be any more different, I left winter for perpetual summer! My work hours were now 11pm till 7am! I didn’t see the Sun for weeks but I was where I wanted to be so it was all good! I grew tired of this though so I flew to Korea to be a teacher (more like a contractor – you sign-on for one year each time). Life was good, worked 18 hour A WEEK, had free apartment, flights and being in a foreign land making very good money working very little was fun! Each day was like a vacation other than those hours I spent teaching… that’s when I was reminded of the trade-off I had made – so I changed my perspective and treated it as a break from my company! I did that for a few years across Korea, China and the Philippines but then I wanted to get back to my original dream – living in Australia.

Employee

Getting to Australia is TOUGH unless you have money or an “in-demand education” – I was poor and self-taught across business, design and machine operation – none of which was valued or accepted though was worth more than any equivalent education could ever be. It was the first time I ever came into an office where I was the employee, not the boss… it wasn’t tough, the company is amazing, but it was a transition. I wasn’t the guy people looked to solve their problems, I’m given a lot of freedom and that in itself is an incredible responsibility. Sure, I could run outside for hours but then I’d have to answer for it MYSELF (my boss later).

I hired my boss

Before I took the job that I’m working at now, I decided what I wanted to do and where – I was lucky enough to find a boss – after years of working in the laser field – that was exactly what I was looking for. I didn’t want to teach rug rats the alphabet anymore, I wanted to progress in the CNC field and looked for an employer who could offer me that! I have friends who fell into jobs, and turned that into a career – some lucked-out and became passionate about it but most have not. They HATE their job, they HATE being there and they HATE their boss – I’m extremely fortunate that I’ve traveled the world, been on every end of the employment spectrum and never took any of it for granted. EVER!

Your boss hired you

I think the mistake people make is first, they let themselves be hired into a position or field they don’t have an interest in – and see the 40+ hour a week, week by week, month by month and year by year as a ton of bricks that just gets heavier – taking its toll on their lives, health and relationships. The moment you realize this, you MUST get out and hire your next boss. Whether that boss is a client, a fellow partner or opportunity you are seeking – always realize that you have control, you hired your boss, they didn’t hire you! Employment isn’t a right, it’s a privilege that goes both ways, the moment it no longer makes sense is the time you need to both move on with life.

People need to realize the power they have, even if it’s just at the level of their perception, over their lives and stop looking at their job, bosses, employees… for their passion and reason for being in life unless you are lucky enough to have them one in the same.