enormous iNCoNgrUiTieS|A Beacon of Intermittence

Boy, do I have some bad news for this guy:

I decided to test the water for a while and bask in the sun. I’ll head back to work this year and have the utmost confidence that recession or no I will find fulfilling work because I’m good at what I do. Most of all, I have no problem saying “no” to inappropriate jobs and environments. So I’ll have no problem. Thank goodness I am American and not European. We truly live in the land of opportunity.

I am probably better at what I do than Bill is at what he does and I would have to advise caution to anyone thinking like Bill. The people in charge of the hiring aren’t nearly as smart as me and Bill and to them we are just another “candidate” who for whatever reason hasn’t had a “real” job in several years. It’s been almost five years since I closed my business and I have not spent a lot of time since poring over job offers.

Yes, one must be confident and optimistic to quit their job, but a reality check is not a bad thing either.

And then there is Peter:

So true, all you say. I spend my days equiping people in exactly that situation to start their own business. The trick is to do it without capital, and to start up part time with some income coming in,

Yes, that is a neat trick but, again, I have to advise the opposite. Do NOT enter any venture without adequate capital. If you do this you have chosen a most difficult path that is littered with abject failures. It will require a grand stroke of luck to succeed. This rule of mine is right up there with never, ever go into business with a family member.

Finally a reality check, from SC:

People should have better manners than to be so rude. What you do and what risks you take are your business.

That being said, let’s talk about risk- I’m glad for those of you for whom your hard work has paid off, but by far the majority of businesses fail, and sometimes with people who work hard and smart but are not lucky.

I’m married to one of those guys- he has been very unlucky, and our ventures have not worked out. Liquidated all assets 3 times (including 401Ks), bankrupt twice, barely held onto the house, lost the car… It is truly traumatic. There is a reason for the insecurity.

Being a wage slave might be something you choose to get away from, and the people who stay should respect your decision, but let’s be honest- you truly are risking real trauma to your families that they are not. So you should respect that their negative reaction has some genuine roots.

Losing your job and having to look for another one is not the crisis of losing all your assets, and your childen’s home, and the humiliation. It’s not pleasant to be throwing up every morning wondering how long you can juggle the balls and knowing that you are inevitably going to crash, when bankruptcy becomes blessed relief.

Now the hubby works a job, is a rising star (he genuinely is smart and hardworking), and making well into the six figures. I’m pathetically grateful now to be able to pay the mortgage every month.

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