Job Security vs Entrepreneurship

Paul is in his final year of college, and of late he has been thinking a lot about what he wants to do for the rest of his life, after graduation. Growing up, Paul had always been told by his parents to study hard, get good grades, so you can be accepted into a good university and graduate with a good degree.

Because having a good degree will land you in a good-paying job and in return, a good life. You see, this is the mentality that a lot of us were told. For some people, this belief is hard to throw away because it’s what we have been told since childhood.

YouTube comments:

“Not everyone is wired to start their own business. Entrepreneurship needs a strong conviction. It’s what makes the risk psychologically bearable.”

“I literally watched people get hired at my job and then get fired only months later. I’m now a full time entrepreneur myself because I saw the risk as staying an employee with any company.”

“One thing I want to point out is if you like your 9 to 5 job and it is allowing you to save money, there’s nothing wrong with that. One of the most important things to do is to like your job. If not, your spending most of your life being miserable. That’s why I want to be a teacher, and not what someone else wants. For me, being around children would definetly be better than sitting in a cubicle, waiting for my boss to walk by with my paycheck. So, if the regular lifestyle is something you like doing, go ahead.”

Pay raises are a joke

YouTube comments:

“The old man used to always tell me that being afraid to talk about money was a great way to not have any.”

“This is spot on. Went from $70k per year to $100k then to $115k then to $147k then $170k and now to $230k over the span of 10 years. If I had that stupid “quitters never win” mindset, I probably wouldn’t be making over $100k today. Oh, and did I mention that I have a history degree?”

“I work as an advanced practice nurse practitioner making 140K in a medium sized-city in Texas. I started nursing making 60K 8 years ago, never stayed with a company more than 2 years, and always left for hospitals that offered better pay. I had hospital admin ask me to stay for the ‘patients, friends and staff’ because they could not afford to pay me another raise. I had a new job within 2 weeks with a 10% salary increase – it took them nearly 2 years to fill the position I left behind. Those ‘friends, staff, and patients’ don’t contribute a single thing to my salary and they do not pay my bills – no thank you. Do not blindly think your organization cares about you, know your worth, and leave for the organizations that can afford to pay you what you are really worth.”

I got laid off at Microsoft

If you are another creator and care deeply about helping others, please reach out — would love to put our heads together, collab, and continue to help others.

https://youtu.be/-mZbLX8EsWk

YouTube comments:

“The one takeaway is you can NOT NEVER EVER trust a company. They are not your friend, they are not your family. No matter how hard you work for a company the ones at the top will feed themselves first. It’s sad but it’s a true fact. We need to start to learn to be self-supportive.”

“I got laid off in early 2000s. I stayed in the IT sector. Earned 24 IT certifications and focused on DOD military networks and secret clearance type position focused around security and cyber security. After making this move, I never had to worry getting laid off. At the end of the day, you have to focus on yourself.”

“Many kudos to you: bright, articulate, and well-grounded. As a hiring manager and someone who’s been in the industry for a very, very long time, I can say these layoff decisions are often not even something corporations consult us on. When you work for a corporation and you’re generating revenue for them, you’re amazing, awesome, outstanding, and irreplaceable. When times get tight, you’re simply a line item on a balance sheet. The single best way to not have a layoff negatively impact you is to be relevant. Keep your skills current; always be learning; and don’t be afraid to self-promote if you’re manager isn’t seeing it. Have no regrets. Look forward, not backward.”

“Let me be honest and frank. Don’t get stressed and/or emotional over being laid off. You are expendable. Your loyalty should be to yourself and your family, not to any one company. Do not get too attached to co-workers. It only makes the layoff that much harder to deal with. When looking for employment, do not make job security one of your main objectives.”

Quitting my job was a big mistake

YouTube Comments:

“No matter how much I suffer after quitting my job, I will never suffer more than having worked from the job I quit.”

“I went from being an entrepreneur with 6 figure income to an employee. I can honestly say, being an employee is not that bad since i do get to “slack” at times and still get paid since I’m efficient at my work. Definitely not the same for self-owned business. I think a balance between the 2 is the sweet spot for me.”

“I own two successful businesses, and I recently went through the same exact thing. There are days where I wonder if I made the biggest mistake of my life not going to law school after I crushed the LSAT. But then I had a moment where I wanted to spend time with my new wife. We were exhausted, run down from our businesses, and… we made ourself relax in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday. We didn’t have to ask permission, we just did it. As I looked around that day at people with their heads down working, I realized what the sacrifices were really about. We look at things differently. We plan and look forward based on ambition, not quotas and box checking. We were, truly, masters of our own destiny. And most importantly, it felt like we were. You’ll feel like this again. And it will pass again in the wake of your successes. Just remember: nobody on this earth can threaten your livlihood if you don’t appease their corporate/company byline. If the unthinkable happens and you DID fail… you’ll just innovate, adapt, and overcome. You said it yourself in one of your videos, if you focus on your failures, you ignore the massive volume of wins you’ve ever had. It’s all a race for financial independence and peace. Godspeed, and I’ll see you at the finish line.”

I quit my $120k job

I decided to quit my job after I realized these 3 lessons. Although I heard of these 3 things before, they never clicked inside my head until these events happened in my life.

YouTube comments:

“If you don’t have a dream, someone will hire you to build their dreams.”

“I think the scariest thing for most people (myself included) is leaving the security of the job that you have. When you sent have another form of income already leaving that job can be terrifying.”

“I can relate to your experiences when you told the story about the interaction with your parents. I have a similar experience and I realized this has gotten worse when I put my well being: mentally and physically on the back burner for work. The biggest turning point for me is when I started to see my parents physical changes from old age; graying of hair, memory declining and just not recovering as quickly as they used to. That’s when I realized I f’d up. The excuses of I’m too busy to see them or the free time that is being sacrificed is for what? To out-compete your colleagues or hustle more than what is expected from the job description? We are expendable as you said. I took a seat back and started to see this toxic culture that it is “ok” to work off hours or be on call at a moment’s notice EVEN when you are on vacation; it’s not ok. It’s starting to crack and wake people up. The pandemic just accelerated it and you see stories of people wanting to take their lives back by pushing for WFH or do what is expected from you. Nothing more nothing less. My point to this story is that this isn’t unique. I feel there are many of us who are feeling this way and it’s not too late to change. Just need to make a commitment and walk that path.”

Quits $80K job to work in grocery store

Yves quit his job even though he had it all: a big salary, health benefits and a pension plan. He sold his downtown condo, too. Why did he decide to drastically simplify his life? Because he was unhappy and unfulfilled. A couple of years ago, he went on a 10-day silent retreat and, after much soul-searching, realized that his job and his stressful lifestyle needed to go.

Now, a year and a half later, he’s living a minimalist lifestyle in a small bachelor apartment, riding his bike to work, and working 3 days a week at a grocery store. He has more time to spend with the people he loves, and a lot less stress. Does he regret his downshifting decision? Watch this video to find out!

YouTube comments:

“I can relate to this guy. I worked in a gov job for 20 years and was in the same situation. I was miserable all the time. Unlike him though, I have a wife and kids to take care of, and cannot simply walk away.”

“I’m 26. I quit my stressful job this year, lowered my expenses, and work 3 days/week at a hospital now. Not a single regret!”

“Saw this 2 yrs ago and i laughed at him thinking he was a chump. 2 yrs later after being in a toxic environment i realize i’m the chump.”

“This guy is telling my story. The only difference is, he actually had the courage to leave once he hit his breaking point. I just made 26 years at my job this past Friday and have been suffering in silence the whole time. Bravo sir for acknowledging your inner voice and taking charge of your life! Thanks for sharing his story.”

Safe is the new risky

Most people are looking for job security. Not understanding that jobs are in the best interest of the company not the employees. Everyone knows about the 40-40-40 Plan, Working 40 hours a week for someone else, for 40 years of your life, to retire off of 40% of what you struggled to live off of. That’s not freedom, its a cycle that needs to be broken.

New York City rich and poor

January 2021 Even before COVID-19, New York was already defined by a gap between the rich and poor. Yet during the pandemic, wealth has become a determinant of survival. The pandemic hit New York in the spring, with almost 800 people dying from COVID-19 each day in April.

The city has been uneasy since then. People’s lives have been shaken by months of stay-at-home orders, changing public health measures, “Black Lives Matter” protests, the presidential election, and above all the economic consequences of the pandemic, including ever-widening inequality between New Yorkers.

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