What My J-o-b Has Given Me

I often talk about and write about being self-employed. And, I have begun taking the steps to make this dream happen.

But, at the same time I feel the need to acknowledge all that my current career and day job has given me in preparation for moving forward.

• Confidence in myself and my abilities.
• Opportunities to try new things and venture into new area’s; areas that I had no experience in, but I had the desire to learn, to help others and to succeed.
• The opportunity to be mentored and more importantly, in recent years, to be a mentor to others.
• Opportunities to travel all around the United States.
• Opportunities to teach others and to speak at industry leading national conferences.
• A salary in recent years that has allowed me to support both my family and my Mom.
• Access to the latest technology, software and ‘tech toys’.
• The opportunity to meet so many wonderful people and to establish potentially lifelong friendships.
• And, most importantly the incredible opportunities for self discovery. I am very grateful for these opportunities and all of the discoveries they led to…
• I love solving problems.
• I am good at solving problems.
• I like being the decision maker.
• Being autonomous and self-directed is one of the most important aspects of anything I do.
• I need to have an outside view of nature, a window.
• I love to organize and plan projects (and, again, I am good at it).
• I need to have the opportunity to learn new things and to be exposed to new ideas and concepts.
• I can make quick, accurate decisions, but prefer time to think things over.
• I enjoy meeting smart, motivated, positive people who love what they do.
• I work best with a 3:1 ratio of time of working independently to time working with others.
• Although I can contribute as a team player, I prefer to be the team leader.
• I enjoy helping others reach their potential, helping them discovery things they are good at and helping them grow and discovery who they are.
• I enjoy change. I enjoy looking at ways to do things differently and trying to make them more efficient and/or productive.
• I prefer ‘brain’ labor versus ‘physical’ labor.
• I am not very good at building things or putting things together.
• I prefer to work indoors at a desk versus working outside.
• I love computers and technology and I have a knack for these things.
• I love power tools, but I am a danger to myself and others when using them.

All of the things my day j-o-b has taught me are helping me create a vision and a map to a new self-employed future.

How about you? Are you still working a day job? What can you learn from it?