Have you ever noticed the same things happening over and over in your life? Have you ever wondered why?
Or maybe it seems that bad things just keep happening to you and you have no idea why.
My personal belief has long been that the universe/God/<insert personal belief system here> keeps sending you the message, louder and louder, until you take notice and learn. Despite this belief, I have to admit I am still a bit of a slow learner at times.
You see, for the last eight years I have earnt a living as an IT/business consultant. For the first 5 of these (2 as a permanent and 3 as a contractor) I was constantly employed. However, for each of the last 3 years I have had a couple of months off between roles (and generally around Christmas)
For the most part, I have actually enjoyed having the time off. I would get to be at home with Helena (my gorgeous wife) and do the things I wanted to do.
Of course, the down side is that without any money coming in, the reserves dwindle fast and the debts begin to pile up. Each time, when the pain got too much, I would (grudgingly) head back to work again, generally within a few weeks of starting to look for a new role.
This year was way worse. I just couldn’t seem to find a role at all, and Christmas was looming fast. Money was so tight that declaring bankruptcy was starting to look like an option. I couldn’t understand what was happening.
Thankfully, this time the universe spoke loud enough for me to sit up and take notice. On reflection (and with the help of my good friend and sounding board, Joey Martin) I realised:
- Although I originally I loved the challenge of consulting, working 8 hour days, 5 days a week is not a lifestyle I want to continue.
- I want to be able to spend my time with my wife and family.
- I want to be able to work on what I want, when I want and not be tied to someone else’s schedule.
- There is no financial security in working in a traditional job - if the job disappears (as it can so easily), there is no more cashflow.
The funny thing is … within days of admitted all this to myself and developing a plan to address it, another consulting role appeared out of nowhere. It’s like the universe has rewarded me for finally learning my lesson and given me some financial breathing space to put the longer term solution in place.
So what is the solution I came up with? I’ll share that with you in future posts…
written by Warren Denley