Going Against the Grain

One of my best friends ever is in the process of quitting his day job, and it's reminded me of this blog. It's been a year since I started it, and what was meant to be a chronicle of my freelancing escapades has been reduced to three lousy posts (four, if you count this one). My friend's excitement over entering this new stage in his life pretty much mirrors my own at the time I started, and a year's worth of experiences has taught me the value of one important thing: support.

When my friend told his parents he was quitting his day job and stepping into the wide world of writing, his parents nodded in approval. My parents, on the other hand, did that awkward smirk-thing people tend to do when they think it's a bad idea, but want to save telling you until you hit a situation where they can say, in full smugness, I told you so. My friend is happy. I'm... struggling.

See, I realized in the year that's passed is that not everyone is going to understand how freelancing can be a career. There are traditional-thinking folks who believe the only way to move up in life is to grab the rungs of the corporate ladder and hope no one pushes you off. That's the sort of family I'm in. That's how some of my friends think, too. Heck, the whole goshdarn world thinks this way.

So if you're planning on quitting your day job and going freelance, you've got to understand that you'll be going against the grain. Sure, you may be surrounded by people who understand you, but more often than not, there are going to be less-enthusiastic voices in the crowd. You've got to be prepared for that, if you intend on enjoying life without a day job.

To these people, working outside of the traditional office setting is a rogue act. You're not fitting in. You're a renegade. To most conformists, you're never ever going to be taken as seriously as you would have been had you stayed at your 9-to-5. You work on your own hours? Preposterous! You don't report to an office everyday? Sacrilege! Your client is located somewhere in Russia, and doesn't hold an office in the Philippines? Insanity!

The thing is, these people are bound to be in your life. They're going to talk behind your back, saying you're on the path to failure. They're going to secretly shake their heads in disapproval when you talk about your work with eyes all a-glow. And you'll never ever be able to escape them.

Now, you can be made of sterner stuff and pay them no mind. If you're weak like me, however, the opinions can get to you. You'll eventually make bad decisions trying to please them, and it's all going to blow up in your face.

This is where that all-important support comes in. To deal with those people who look down on you for going against the grain, all you really have to do is make sure you've got more supportive people than unsupportive ones. You've got to surround yourself with folks who know you can make something of yourself with going through someone else's routines. You can find support in friends, family, and even fellow freelancers.

Even more important, however, is that you embrace the fact that you're being non-traditional. You've got to be proud that you've found a different way to make a name for yourself, one that fulfills you more than your day job ever could. If you're going to go rogue, you should think that being a rogue is the coolest thing ever since the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In a career where the biggest determinant of your income is your motivation, this is quite possibly the most crucial key to success.

So, to recap, quitting your day job means going against the grain; that's just the way the world thinks. Some people aren't going to like it. What important, however, is that YOU do, and that you've got people standing behind you 24/7.