Most people think that freedom and security are synonymous, but they aren't and never have been. The two words are totally different. The founders of America wanted freedom and they got it. Every revolution in history, regardless of where it occurred, has been based on the idea that the people wanted freedom, not security. If the 13 colonies wanted security instead of freedom, they would have opted to simply follow the lead of the British crown as opposed to forming their own nation. Most Americans today agree that the decision of the colonists to go for freedom as opposed to security was a good thing.
As we near the end of the first chapter in this book, you must decide whether you want security or freedom. We all seek some form of security, however as elucidated in the previous pages, the employee path is not as secure as you have been brainwashed to believe. I will reveal in the following chapters the path to freedom. Ironically enough, even though freedom and security are two different words that mean two different things, they are both closely related to one another. The people that want the most freedom often end up getting both security and freedom, while the people who want security often give up freedom as a consequence.
Think about it for a moment. During this current economic crisis, who has more security, the typical American that relied on a regular day job, or Mark Cuban, a successful billionaire entrepreneur? While Mark Cuban has a high degree of freedom, he also has security as well. When you aim for freedom, you will usually get security as well, but when you aim for security first, you will inevitably lose your freedom.
One thing that you must understand is that the path of the self employed is the road less traveled, and unlike the road traveled by employees, which is nice and smooth, the road for the self employed is very bumpy. Many people have attempted to become self employed, only to fail and be forced back into the job market. However, what separates you from these people is that if you take the time to read this book, and follow all the steps you are shown, you will be able to succeed in any industry you choose to be self employed in.
This is not a book on becoming rich quick or overnight; if you're interested in that type of material, there are plenty of con artists out there who would be more than happy to take advantage of you. The information laid down in this book will take at least five years to accomplish, but it is a winning formula that is just as relevant as the laws of gravity. If you fail to succeed, it will be from your own efforts, not from the principles discussed in this book. If you're a normal person that has a normal job, but you have the ambition to achieve more, then this book will serve as a powerful guide that will help you along the way.
The Ultimate Internet Freelancer is best thought of as a light that will guide you along the dark and bumpy road of self employment, allowing you to avoid the pitfalls that so many people fall victim to. There is nothing worse than trying to reach a destination you don't know how to reach without a map. For example, how would you feel if you needed to get to a destination you weren't familiar with, but had no map or guide to get you there? It is obvious that you would most likely never reach your destination.
Many people fail when trying to start a business or become self employed because they try to reach a destination without a map. They have the right motivation, but all the motivation in the world is useless if one doesn't also have a guide. More than likely, you're reading this book because your destination is wealth and freedom. If that is your destination, then this book will act as your guide, but you have to use it.
In this chapter, we've gone over the perils of being an employee, and if you didn't like the idea of working for others “before” you read this chapter, you're probably very apprehensive about the idea now that you've completed it. However, in the next chapter, we will talk about the advantages of being self employed, and the reasons you must consider it if you want to become truly rich. Very few people become rich by working for others, but there are many wealthy and famous people who became highly successful by becoming self employed.
While self employment is a beautiful thing, it is not without its flaws. Nothing in this world is perfect, and there are some disadvantages that self employed people will have over those who are employed. However, in my opinion, these disadvantages are nothing when compared to the many benefits you will enjoy. At the same time, if we didn't list the disadvantages of being self employed, we wouldn't be doing you justice as a reader, and we would not be able to assist you in avoiding the many pitfalls which are related to being your own boss.
Many people make the decision to become self employed because “they don't want others telling them what to do.” If this describes you, then you must change your line of reasoning immediately, because someone will be telling you what to do, and this will be the clients you will be working for. While some would say that these clients are no different from the boss you have at a regular day job, this is far from being the truth. There are a number of differences between having “clients” and having a boss, and in the next chapter we will explore them.
To succeed as a freelancer, you must have the right line of thinking. You have to begin thinking more like a business owner, and less like an employee. When you're self employed, you actually own your job, and this is the key difference between being self employed, and being an employee. You have more control over many things, but if you aren't careful, this greater amount of control will cause you to make mistakes.
Your success as a freelancer will be heavily dependent on your ability to control the way you think. If you have the wrong thought process, your attempt at becoming a freelancer will be a failure before you even start. In the following chapters, I will talk more about this in detail.