Well, I’ve done it. I’ve quit my job and moved all my office furnishings into my dining room.
It’s exciting, really, even though I left in a hurry, with no savings or anything. Sometimes, you just have to stand still for a moment and let the wind pick you up and carry you to your next destination. Or, in my case, destinations. I’ve held a lot of very different jobs in my life, and today is the day I begin taking what I loved from each one and parlaying those elements into my future.
An old colleague of mine works for himself now. He once warned me that being self-employed isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, because your new boss is a real asshole and there’s no escaping that person because, well, it’s YOU.
It’s a chance I’m altogether too glad to take, however.
I’ve decided I won’t *officially* start my freelance odyssey until Tuesday, the day after Labor Day. I am taking this weekend to detox and give myself a true emotional dialysis from the life I used to have. In the meantime, I’ve transformed the lovely glass-and-wrought-iron dining room table into my new executive desk. I’ve got tons of Passion Parties catalogs piled up (hint, hint — host a party with me, pretty please! *bats eyelashes*).
One thing I’ve decided is to not fret about where the next paycheck is coming from. I’m sure that day will come and probably sooner than I’d hoped, but I’ve never had any doubt as to my ability to land on my feet, and this is my chance to see if I’ve got what it takes to become my own personal corporate empire.
Barbara J. Winter, one of my favorite authors, says that the joy in working for oneself is that all of one’s days are pre-paid. Meaning, work your tail off, but know that you can take a break at any time because you have earned it. No more begging a boss to let you take off a month because you don’t feel like working. That’s unheard of in the land of strict leave policies. Now I get to set my leave policies, and let me just say, it’s divine, because I’m taking three weeks to myself to travel. Three weeks! I intend to return as refreshed as one can be. I will see family in Pittsburgh and in Springfield, Ore. And when I come back, I will definitely be project-hunting and writing for sale like there’s no tomorrow, but I look forward to my next break — probably in the summer. This from the girl who’s never had a real vacation in her life. I’m so excited about being me — truly, I’ve never been this happy to be alive. I’ve never been this scared, either, but I’ve no time for fear right now.
A teeny, tiny part of me wants to be successful to spite those who said I couldn’t make it happen. But really, I want to dazzle for the benefit of those who never expected anything less from me.