By Anirban Bhattacharya
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” – The American Declaration of Independence, 1776
It was 1776 when the American colonies had just declared their independence from, and war against, one of the world’s then two superpowers. The coming years would be the bloody crucible that would see the mighty sinews of their young nation forged. To ever thrust forward amidst adversity and to go boldly where no one has gone before—that forms the bedrock upon which progress is built. After all, if man had lacked his quintessential pioneering spirit, it would mean pre-existing professions get crowded, society stagnates, and dogma pervades. There would thus be an abundance of farmers, priests, and soldiers and not enough people to tell the difference.
What does ‘freedom’ indicate?
I took the example of America in 1776 primarily because it embodies what freedom means, especially when it comes to a person’s livelihood. Let us examine the situation dispassionately. Freedom means a cessation of servitude, obligations and restraints with respect to how one makes one’s choices in life. It also entails, in hindsight, being responsible for the consequences of those self-same choices. The nation of America, as it came to be called, was now free to set its own laws, rules, and customs free from the dictates of foreign powers, which their British overlords from half a world away undoubtedly were. It also meant that the fledgeling sovereign nation was also responsible for running its economy, industry and security from threats, both foreign and domestic. That would mean building a nation from the ground up.
Analogous to self-employment
The parallels are obvious. A self-employed person enjoys infinitely greater freedom of movement and career choices, even being able to change preferences mid-work, as long as he completes his obligations on time. The sky is making you feel blue today—have no fear, with the infinite nepotism and self-promotion opportunities available at Self-Employed Fools Inc. You can assign yourself a holiday! Just don’t breach a contract while you’re at it. Plus there’s always the lure of meeting like-minded entrepreneurs while you’re at it—a self-employed individual must simultaneously be a salesman, professional, marketer, savant, opportunistic, and somewhat an asshole.
The arrogance to presume you know the best and the confidence to follow it through means “the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do“- Steve Jobs. You’ll run, you’ll stumble, and you’ll fall. Illnesses, accidents and potentially world-changing events like a really bad day at the stock exchange can and will make your dreams crash and burn. You will never have the security or employee benefits, pension etc. that are attendant with a secure job as a worker drone in a government job or a daily 9 to 5 office grind. On the other hand, I can promise you this—you will also never have the humdrum uninspired tedium and routine of it where you spend decades along with the poor sap ahead of you, behind you and beside you, waiting for a raise or promotion, subject to the whims and fancies of others. The opportunities for advancement are practically limitless if you can sell what you’re offering—be it services, technology or unexplored niches. There is an avoirdupois joy in working for yourself—your job is what you grew out of nothing. When it flowers, like the worldwide sensation that is Facebook or Amazon or Microsoft, it’s magnificent.
A recap
So, to recap, on the one hand you can have a stable job as a bank employee—secure, repetitive and boring where you’ll be a responsible sob working at a job wherein you hate to provide for your family the money they don’t need, to buy shit they don’t want (sorry, I couldn’t help but reference Fight Club). No harm in that if you honestly believe that’s all you’re cut out for, and could ever want for yourself. The contrary is being the first person through a wall—you’ll always get your nose bloody (Moneyball, Brad Pitt). And it is liberating after that because there won’t ever be another individual telling you how to run your life because that’s all you’ll ever be, again. This is what I’ve been doing all this while to you. Freedom means rejecting the naysayers and the sycophants, the self-proclaimed didacts. Guess what’s a more satisfying and impossibly more fulfilling life? Hint: It’s the one Achilles chose.
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