Being self-employed comes with the illusion of total freedom, green grass, warm sun, blue sky all day and everyone around you singing “Kum ba yaaah”.

Or something like that,

I guess.

:)

The general notion is:

Do as you please.

No schedule.

No boss.

Nice.

But: total flexibility can lead to chaos.

That is my take at least.

Which is why I have created working structures and habits that keep me accountable and productive.

โ€œLess mental clutter means more mental resources available for deep thinking.โ€

โ€” Cal Newport in Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

I generally follow the advice of Cal Newport like

  • Creating a deep work environment by blocking out “noise” which means:
  • No notifications on the smartphone
  • No social media apps (I use them on desktop only)

Still, I am thriving for constant discomfort with the goal of learning and growing.

Take this website for example.

By publishing my thoughts and progress regarding my business I develop the feeling of people looking at my work.

This creates pressure.

Positively.

Which leads to me wanting to do wonderful stuff.

It’s just like someone once said

“You can’t have everything thing in life.”

โ€” I forgot who said that

You always have to pay a price.

My price of freedom is:

  • Financial instability
  • No clear path ahead
  • No long term planning
  • Doing more, managing less
  • Steep learning curves on all kind of topics like: business, tech, sales etc.

I have done a lot of planning and preparation and have tried to minimize the risks where I can.

E.g. having saved up money for this uncertain time.

But there are so many things you can not plan or influence.

You just have to accept it as part of the game.

Imagine being on a surfboard.

๐Ÿ„

You can not control the waves.

But you can learn how to read, understand and react based on your knowledge and experience with and about the waves.

That is my take on entrepreneurship.

I am learning, adapting and reacting to the sea of business.

In the hope of catching a wave that is actually fun to ride.

Or just crash full-blown into the water.

And get up again.

And repeat.