Want to be free? Embrace uncertainty

Decision making, Failure, Planning, Uncertainty

Uncertainty is the price of freedom

I read somewhere that the price of freedom is uncertainty.  I have been reflecting on that a lot over the past few weeks and I agree with the statement.  When you have a nice steady job that pays the bills, you can live comfortably.  You have certainty.  Your salary will come into your bank account at the end of the month.  You can book your foreign holiday in 6 months time.  You can get a loan to buy a new car and know that in 3 years time you will be  happily paying off your car loan – ‘no worries’ as the Aussies say.

However if you are feeling unfulfilled and bored out of your mind and want to leave that job to start a business you will be trading your nice certain situation for uncertainty.  You may not know in 6 months if you can cover your bills let alone go on a foreign holiday.

The best advice is to start your business on the side as you keep your day job.  That way you can allow your business to grow as you keep your secure position.  When you see that the business works and can support you and when the demands of the business are such that you must leave then leave.  Your job is your safety net if the business fails.   The reality is that many businesses do fail or at least struggle to survive.  Statistics from the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA), show that 30% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 50% during the first five years and 66% during the first 10.

No regrets

Of course even if your business does fail it is not the end of the world.  Take the lessons of that failure with you and start again.  In many ways the worst failure of all is to live a life controlled by your boss which is safe comfortable, certain and ultimately boring.  Do you really just want to tip toe quietly towards death?  One of the top five regrets of the dying (from a book by Bronnie Ware) is not having the courage of living a life true to yourself and not pursuing your dreams.  The price of freedom is uncertainly.

Best wishes,

Tom

Check out my course 30 Experiments in personal change.  Get the course at the special price of $9.99 for readers of this blog.

Plan for career change

4th Industrial Revolution, Career, Technology
Who are you?

How do you define yourself?  How well do you adapt to change?  What new skills have you learned in the past 12 months?  How much time every week do you spend learning new skills?  Are you prepared for career change?  In today’s world and going forward these are very important questions to reflect on.  We have increasing automation of work processes due to new technology and the forces of globalisation (known as the 4th Industrial Revolution).  As a result our working lives are becoming increasingly impermanent and unpredictable, and will only become more so in the future.  Long term employment with one company or organisation (or even in one industry) is becoming a thing of the past.

Career Change

A UK worker will change employer every five years on average, according to research by life insurance firm Liverpool Victoria.  In January 2016, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the average employee tenure was 4.2 years, down from 4.6 years in January 2014.  When you look at the technological disruptions of the new technologies of the 4th industrial revolution the trend of increasing career change is set to continue and accelerate.

How about you?

What did you learn in school or college?  Is it useful and relevant to you now?  For example when I was in college in the 1980s Personal Computers were just coming in.  I learned computers for the first time on a mainframe computer in University College Dublin.  That was basically one big computer with many terminals.  Much of what I learned is irrelevant today.  Now I have a computer in my pocket called a smartphone.  Back then there was no commercial internet as we know it.  We had no idea that the internet age was around the corner.  If you wanted information you sought out books and journals in the college library.  The idea that I might one day self-publish a book or write a blog, or teach an online course was nowhere on the horizon.  In the past one year I have learned how to publish online courses.  I now have two courses and teach 1,737 students from 109 countries!  I am now working on my third course which is on changing technology and the skills we need to prepare for this new world of work and increasing change.

In summary

If we do not keep changing and growing we become outdated and irrelevant.  We must be perpetual self-improvers.  We must be life long learners.  What are your thoughts on today’s world of work and where you are headed?  Are you building new skills and keeping up to date?  Are you systematically preparing for your next job or career move?  In this world of the 4th Industrial Revolution, being ready for change and preparing for multiple jobs and careers is a very necessary response.

Best wishes,

Tom

course image

My online course ‘Transform Your Life: 30 Experiments in Personal Change’ will help you build the type of personal skills needed for the new world of work.   Please use the link above for a special discounted price of $9.99 (only for readers of this blog).