I was sitting up in bed this morning, coffee mug to my right, NPR quietly murmuring to my left, and a borrowed copy of Robert Kiyosaki’s
Before You Quit Your Job…
(Warner Business Books, 2005.)
open in front of me. There was a line that so delighted me that I just cracked up–hooted actually–out loud. (…startling both Tucker and Zoee [cats] who have a ritualistic attachment to our morning QUIETude. They left the room with looks that said, “Get a grip and maybe we’ll be back.”)
In this book, Kiyosaki describes the essential and defining differences between entrepreneurs and employees. A key difference lies in the entrepreneur’s intrepid (my word) quest for FREEDOM vs. the employee’s just-as-determined quest for SECURITY.
I have had my own experiences (as I can imagine you have as well) in each of those quests (for security and for freedom). Sometimes they have seemed clearly separated and distinct; more often I have experienced them as jumbled up and confusing. Each time, I have ultimately–eventually–come to grips with my own truth, which comes down on the side of choosing freedom; ergo, an entrepreneurial life. For me, that is where my authenticity lies. I can, however, deeply and poignantly relate to the perspective of the person attached to Employee (security) mode. More people, in fact, choose this.
Kiyosaki talks about the employee mindset as being one of buying into a management structure where those “above” say “JUMP” and those “below”…well…JUMP. (Let’s be clear that even “those above”–managers, Directors, CEO’s, etc.–are still employees and they too are expected to JUMP on command.)
So here’s the line that cracked me up: “If you say, ‘Jump’ to an entrepreneur, he or she usually responds with some rude comment or gesture.”
Okay…so it might not be hysterically funny; it grabbed me for its raw brilliance and the “That’s it!”-moment it gave me. I had new imagery for defining a key difference between those who are true employees and those who are true entrepreneurs. It suggested a kind of “princess-and-the-pea” litmus test for authenticity. (Too many metaphors?) This is what I mean:
I happen to know–as you do too–that plenty of employees keep their skills up in the “rude comment or gesture” category. And plenty of entrepreneurs would not dream of (or bother with) actually making an anti-social public display. So it isn’t actually the matter of the gesture-comment; it’s the mindset; the worldview; the guiding frame of reference behind the mindset–that either accepts or rejects the “power over” relationship as reason for “jumping.” Employees accept it (even if they don’t like it); entrepreneurs simply reject it (for themselves). They don’t need it because they aren’t looking for security at any cost. They’re after freedom!
Entrepreneurs see action and opportunity differently–more cooperatively, more collaboratively, more creatively. Because their quest is for FREEDOM, not security, they have no need to strive for the artifacts of security–job retention, salary, promotion, tenure, etc– at any cost.
To be sure, entrepreneurship–valuing freedom above security–is not for everyone. How about you?
************
What have been your experiences around the goals of freedom vs. security? If you have a comment or story, please share it!
From Employee to Entrepreneur At Midlife: Tickling My Career-Change Funny Bone
I was sitting up in bed this morning, coffee mug to my right, NPR quietly murmuring to my left, and a borrowed copy of Robert Kiyosaki’s
Before You Quit Your Job…
(Warner Business Books, 2005.)
open in front of me. There was a line that so delighted me that I just cracked up–hooted actually–out loud. (…startling both Tucker and Zoee [cats] who have a ritualistic attachment to our morning QUIETude. They left the room with looks that said, “Get a grip and maybe we’ll be back.”)
In this book, Kiyosaki describes the essential and defining differences between entrepreneurs and employees. A key difference lies in the entrepreneur’s intrepid (my word) quest for FREEDOM vs. the employee’s just-as-determined quest for SECURITY.
I have had my own experiences (as I can imagine you have as well) in each of those quests (for security and for freedom). Sometimes they have seemed clearly separated and distinct; more often I have experienced them as jumbled up and confusing. Each time, I have ultimately–eventually–come to grips with my own truth, which comes down on the side of choosing freedom; ergo, an entrepreneurial life. For me, that is where my authenticity lies. I can, however, deeply and poignantly relate to the perspective of the person attached to Employee (security) mode. More people, in fact, choose this.
Kiyosaki talks about the employee mindset as being one of buying into a management structure where those “above” say “JUMP” and those “below”…well…JUMP. (Let’s be clear that even “those above”–managers, Directors, CEO’s, etc.–are still employees and they too are expected to JUMP on command.)
So here’s the line that cracked me up: “If you say, ‘Jump’ to an entrepreneur, he or she usually responds with some rude comment or gesture.”
Okay…so it might not be hysterically funny; it grabbed me for its raw brilliance and the “That’s it!”-moment it gave me. I had new imagery for defining a key difference between those who are true employees and those who are true entrepreneurs. It suggested a kind of “princess-and-the-pea” litmus test for authenticity. (Too many metaphors?) This is what I mean:
I happen to know–as you do too–that plenty of employees keep their skills up in the “rude comment or gesture” category. And plenty of entrepreneurs would not dream of (or bother with) actually making an anti-social public display. So it isn’t actually the matter of the gesture-comment; it’s the mindset; the worldview; the guiding frame of reference behind the mindset–that either accepts or rejects the “power over” relationship as reason for “jumping.” Employees accept it (even if they don’t like it); entrepreneurs simply reject it (for themselves). They don’t need it because they aren’t looking for security at any cost. They’re after freedom!
Entrepreneurs see action and opportunity differently–more cooperatively, more collaboratively, more creatively. Because their quest is for FREEDOM, not security, they have no need to strive for the artifacts of security–job retention, salary, promotion, tenure, etc– at any cost.
To be sure, entrepreneurship–valuing freedom above security–is not for everyone. How about you?
************
What have been your experiences around the goals of freedom vs. security? If you have a comment or story, please share it!