What. Was. I. Thinking?

“Doing the same thing will bring you the same results” is a cliché to be sure, but clichés are almost always grounded in some truth.  A recent poll found more than half of the workforce is unsatisfied, but much of this cohort chooses to stay mired in sameness, because sameness brings consistency and people would rather have predictability than mystery, even when that predictability is dull or toxic.  But while you know what you’re getting at such jobs, you also know what you’re not getting. 

After years of working for one version or another of “The Man,” I left the cocoon of sameness and predictability.  It was no small step walking away from a guaranteed paycheck every other Friday (plus benefits) and into the uncertain.  But the anxiety is laced with exhilaration, the fear tempered by anticipation, and success or failure based on what I do.  Or don't do.  No; no pressure at all.   

Ironically, the poll cited above is the polar opposite of what you find among entrepreneurs.  I have yet to run across someone running his/her own business who would trade that for a return to the corporate arena.  I know one professional who said no to an offer that would at least doubled, and possibly tripled, his income.  It would have also come with many of the strings that he is not bound by in running his own shop.  Even people who have experienced serious turbulence on their own -  realtors in the wake the housing bubble collapse are a good example - have told me they would not have it any other way. 

The biggest adjustment, of course, is not having the daily camaraderie that comes with an office full of other people.  On the other hand, there is none of the drama that seeks company, either.  Like everything else associated with being on your own, you will have to generate interaction with others.  As a bonus, the interaction will be almost exclusively positive.  You’re not going to call people, setup appointments or lunches, or join networking groups in order to have gripe sessions.  And that early morning time in your home office will be far more productive than the first couple of hours in the typical cubicle farm.  Plus, think of all those meeting you won’t have to attend. 

Will it work?  Don't know.  But the present is not going to appreciably change; there is as much chance that, left as is, conditions will worsen rather than improve.  That sort of predictability is highly over-rated.  One of my go-to sayings is "first show up, then see what happens."  I'll keep you posted.