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I don’t want to use this guide to obviously self promote or only to convey how wonderful it
is when you find work that matters because , like anything in life that’s worth having there is
some adjustment and pain along with a need to stretch outside that comfortable zone that
we all get accustomed to from time to time.
I’m really interested in focusing on how I might be able to help you make the leap into self
employment easier and what you should expect when you get to the other side so you can be
better prepared. That aside, I know that it helps to understand other people’s stories in
reconciling our own experiences and beliefs.
Any practical advice and wisdom offered within this guide comes from my own experience
and a multitude of others who have been kind enough to reach out, share and lend a
supportive hand on the journey. My journey continues to evolve as I grow, adapt and learnnew tricks. I’m not one of those serial millionaires that tell you how easy it is to set up
multiple sources of revenue and I trust that as you read this and perhaps, should you decide
to connect with me, you’ll find me deeply honest and authentic about what’s involved.
I think I’m pretty well qualified to talk about what makes work worthwhile and understand
the day to day and often harsh realities of operating at a senior level within a large
corporation. I experienced firsthand my own shift in thinking but only after a major dose of
burnout , corporate bollocks and some life defining moments. I went through a period of
being paralysed, stuck in the grip of this dissatisfaction with my work but not able to lift
myself enough to face the courage I required to let go and progress forward. I rationalised
my need to stay with a rather idealistic belief that my people needed me and I was somehow
making a difference. I now realise that I wasn’t helping myself by taking care of my own
needs and was, therefore, hardly helping others when I was not hundred per cent motivated
by my own environment or work.
Additionally, I spent thirteen years; the coincidence of the number is not lost on me, working
for an international recruitment business. Those years were filled with frontline knowledge
regarding the changing nature of work and how to get the best out of people through
coaching and talent management. I was at the forefront of the growth in temporary and
8interim recruitment services throughout the early nineties. At the time, there was the same
resistance to change that the Internet brings today. Most hiring Managers were hesitant to
recruit contractors initially. Those that found themselves out of a job during that particular
recession fell into contracting and temping more by circumstance than any burning desire.
Of course the market grew and took off as the demand for supply grew through
globalisation and skills shortages and there began a prolonged period of economic growth
and nearly a decade or so of the war for talent. During these years, I witnessed candidates
positively embracing the idea of more flexible employment and a changing perspective of
employers who began to see the advantages of a contractor’s experience, variety and
breadth of cultural exposure.
I saw employers devise grand schemes to entice and retain employees, the introduction of
‘pick and mix’ benefit schemes, career sabbaticals, flexible contracts and remote working to
hang on to great employees. The overriding philosophy, however, was still one of control and
command tactics with a few exceptions. I grew tired of hearing the words ‘our people are the
business’ s greatest asset’ from both my own employer and that of my clients when, in
reality, I was witnessing leadership practises that fell far short of a more humane ,all encompassing and enlightened perspective. Ultimately the bottom line came first and people
were dispensable assets everywhere.
During all of these years, working primarily within the professional recruitment space,
recruiting Accountants and Lawyers for the Private and Public sectors and a multitude of
professional firms, one thing remained constant. Candidates who loved their work they did
were very much in the minority. Whilst many enjoyed the specialist nature of the work itself
they were frustrated by a culture which didn’t meet their needs or align with their values or
an ineffective boss or a multitude of other factors such as travel pressures, peer group or just unmet feelings of value, recognition and worth for their considerable efforts.
Many of the candidates I had met had fallen into these careers for the wrong reasons but
appeared to put up with a less than acceptable existence and bury the dream of following
their passions due to an overwhelming feeling that the reality was just not possible.
This overriding contagious disease of conformity to the rules and norms of society and work
cultures is destroying the spirit of many a worker. I resolved to change my own life and in
doing so have become deeply passionate about my vision to inspire others to find work that
really matters, imbued with meaning, purpose, fun and creativity. I now think it’s time to
We reflect on an important aspect of the self, perhaps the loss of freedom and the loss of
ideals and dreams and at the very heart of this aspect is the loss of who we were supposed
to be. Our social conditioning, gender, family life, workplace culture, have determined what
characteristics are acceptable and in doing so
we’ve lost aspects of our true selves to fit in and
get on.
Midlife provides a classic crossroads to reflect
on what we have become and to ponder what
direction we want our second half of our life to
take. Often letting go of our egos is incredibly
difficult hence we grip tightly to everything we
have or have become. We can struggle to give
up our view of ourselves and our world even
though it doesn’t serve us anymore. Our soul is striving for expression and often that
threatens our well ordered neat life and sense of identity we have created for ourselves.Under these conditions letting go enables us to become all that we are supposed to be yet
this is frightening in the extreme.
Midlife is our wakeup call and mine came very promptly around my late thirties. I was a
classic achievement oriented workaholic who had measured my existence up until that point
by what I had outwardly achieved and the wealth and respect that my status had brought in
society. All very shallow I know but coming from a working class background with four
siblings I hadn’t grown up in a household where money was free flowing. My parents had
always worked hard and my saving grace from a similar existence was education.
I am fairly conventional in the sense I’m degree educated and followed a similar existence to
the majority in getting a good job and working my way up the corporate ladder. My family
upbringing had left me with a strong work ethic and a rather false belief that you have to
work incredibly hard to get on in life, to compete with everyone else in a marketplace where
good jobs are hard to come by. My upbringing also influenced by belief about wealth
creation , the philosophy ‘that money doesn’t grow on trees’ again reinforcing a perception
that acquiring anything is incredibly difficult. I have now come to place greater stock in the
concept that it is not how hard or long you work it is how effective you are being and how
12I knew that my life had to change and all my previous values and illusions of work no longer
served me. I needed greater individual expression, more autonomy and balance to really live
and work in a way that was more true to the person I was becoming.
I also began to appreciate that investment in experiences are far more rewarding than
having the latest gadget or designer must-have. Experiences stay with us.
I now understand that this is a fusing of head and heart and an open heart leads one down
the road of a desire for greater connectivity and compassion for self and others. This type of wisdom fuels the courage we need to get unstuck and to get active doing the type of
purposeful work that brings the greater meaning and fulfilment we all need.
So these days I focus on helping individuals discover their innate talents and passions rather
than purely skills so they can be whole, balanced and unstoppable and breakthrough and
breakout from self limiting beliefs and roles than no longer serve them.
I know that many people never get this breakthrough and in settling miss out, in my opinion,
on the chance for a richer second half. I hope that my story and this guide will help you see
that anything is possible and we’re all far bigger and infinitel y more powerful than we can
ever imagine.
How to Use This Guide
It would not be fair of me if I didn’t consider my potential audience properly when pulling
together this material. Given that most of you reading this are likely to be overworked
employees right now, short on time, highly distracted, potentially stressed and adept at
speed reading I have provided a short summary at the end of each chapter of the key points
and considerations. So if you want you can skip the main chapters though I warn you that you may miss some hidden gems.
I also offer some personal reflection questions and signposts at the end of each chapter with
space for your notes. This enables you to take the process deeper to encourage thought,
contemplation and intended outcomes from you. When we write things down it can have a
magical impact in shifting our perspective. Vocational work needs time to come to fruition,
for thoughts and ideas to simmer and build and then we create the necessary momentum for
forward action. Thoughts without action are merely wishes which often turn out to be
There is absolutely no doubt about it the nature of work is changing brought about by
political, technological, social and economical factors over the last fifty years or so.
Let’s examine each of these in turn;
Political
Life today, whilst not always perfect, is radically different from that of our ancestors. Here in
the Western world it is easy to knock democracy, the current political systems and parties
and to take the right to vote for granted. Advancements following the Second World War
have accelerated improvements in the workplace including equal opportunities and workers
rights legislation to protect minorities and different groups and to reduce working hours,
improve working conditions and establish minimum rates of pay.
We have moved from the class bound society to the classless society where the provision of
education for all has brought about greater mobility and standard of living for a significant
proportion of the population. Whatever shortcomings and inequalities that still exist and we
know they’re still out there; it is a marked improvement from the nature of work pre
Industrial age and through it.
Political changes encourage greater individual powers as society recognises the importance
and emergence of a greater desire for self government, freedom of choice and speech, alongwith more flexibility and choice and less reliance upon a beaurocratic state.
At the same time this is coupled with an increasing knowledge and awareness that many
want to contribute to a better way through free enterprise, fair trade, respectful ecology and
15The happier and more engaged in our work we are the greater our impact, in terms of our
ability to affect others positively. When we’re doing the kind of work we love, we stop
searching and we start being.
Technological
Rapid advancements in technology have created dynamic yet chaotic change. The Internet is
still only seventeen years old. Constant advancements have created entirely new sectors
supporting the Internet and facilitating ways of doing business online. The work of technology has released jobs and costs from the corporate sector and continues to do so,
increasing job insecurity and uncertainty as more routine tasks are replaced every month
that goes by.
We have all witnessed firsthand the information overload of the knowledge age brought to
us as a result of all these new technologies. But it is precisely this information and
technology that is creating opportunities everywhere for individuals looking to capitalise on
this. Solo entrepreneurs, freelancers and stay at home types now have access to faster
broadband access and cheap technology offering them the same competitive advantages of big business. There are no longer any barriers to entry other than the ability to learn, some
relatively low investment costs and the ability to adapt to these new technologies, to think
differently and more broadly about future employment options.
Social
Our society today is diverse and we need to respond by treating people individually. A ‘one
size fits all’ policy will not work in society at large or in the w orkplace evidenced by the
growing dissatisfaction of people everywhere.
The workforce is aging and we are all living longer and need to consider the prospect of
working longer. There is no such thing as a job for life these days and the average twenty-
something is likely to have at least fourteen career changes by the time they reach
16There is no such thing as a typical family anymore. People marry later, if at all. Relationship
types are more fluid and family composition changes more frequently over the life time.
Women are significant contributors to household incomes with increasing numbers sole
breadwinners often creating increased tension at home and a corresponding increase in
stress, burnout and depression from the challenges of trying to do and be it all.
Loneliness is a growing and worrying trend.
Improved living standards and media output have created increasing expectations with thevalues of acquisitiveness, materialism and a belief that you must compete to get on in the
world where resources are scarce.
Many people are turning their backs on this type of outdated philosophy and choosing a
different way, an improved quality of life, a chance to slow down and achieve more, a
chance to acquire less but have far more. Downshifting is on the increase with many
reporting increased happiness as a result of reduced hours of working, career changes or
stopping work altogether.
Work life balance has taken centre stage
with constant debate amongst employers
seeking to retain talent against the back
drop of our busy manic world,
information overload, family and
individual needs, responsibilities and
desires.
The explosion in social media, a
technological development in itself, hasgiven rise to increased online
connections. Whilst there are many that
would debate the quality and depth of
these social connections, these platforms
offer the very real prospect of engaging
with like-minded individuals and building
social movements ,communities or tribes
extensively and quickly, due to the viral nature of communication which have not really been
We live in an ever-changing universe with the pace of change accelerating. We can
choose to be in control of that change process or we can let fear hold us back and
become victims of change that is thrust upon us.
With every crisis is opportunity and we stand at one of the most important times in
history where we have, for the first time, irrespective of class or significant wealth, the
chance to break free from the outdating practises of the Industrial Age and work how we
want, when we want and wherever we want. Most importantly we can work for
ourselves without the major constraints that were once apparent to setting up business
on your own.
Information and knowledge are valuable commodities that can be traded online globally
and relatively easily.
The explosion of social media acts as an enabler to support small business and the self
employed get their message out and connect with their kind of people eliminating a
feeling of isolation that, sometimes, working for your self can bring.
The corporate sector and big business is under increasing competition where a survival of
the fittest mentality puts a sharp focus on performance and productivity, creativity and
innovation.
Workplace norms and culture, in the majority of cases, actually erode productivity and
creative thought. There is a lack of emotionally and spiritually intelligent leaders acrossbusiness that are able to inspire, connect and engage individuals consistently.
Talent management best practise appears to have been primarily focused on measuring
behaviours and reinforcing competitive cultures rather than deeply understanding an
employee’s intrinsic motivators for working.
Ask most employees in today’s modern workplace and the majority would sacrifice pay
19 Downshifting is on the increase with reported levels of increased happiness.
The workplace in general, despite initiatives to tackle improved work life balance is
characterised with longer hours, less resources, a lot more stress and generally less
support .Most well intentioned employee initiatives to improve morale just don’t work.
Most employees end up distracted, frazzled, fried and disillusioned.
As our basic needs get taken care of with improved living standards we look for greater
belonging, purpose and fulfilment within our work. The desire to do something that’s
bigger than our selves becomes an increasingly important requirement. We seek mastery
as well as variety and responsibility, support and feedback. This is conducive to healthy
self esteem, personal growth and maximising our potential. Those who desire greater
control over their own destiny look increasingly inward to resolve these questions.
Engagement in our work is about going with the flow not driving harder. It’s about
bringing about the conditions under which people can work more effectively and self employment is meeting this need head-on for those that want more from their work.
The body, mind, spirit connection of a worker cannot be ignored. True engagement with
the work we love to do connects all three areas creating inspired and creative thinking, a
healthy body and a free spirit. A house divided cannot stand. A person divided by the
same token cannot function fully.
The big difference today is consciousness is evolving. More individuals are waking up to
the fact of the importance of work as a means to create, connect and fulfil one’s purpose. Individuals are more determined to do something about it without being
controlled by it because they are free spirits with imagination and value to offer.
A career is a line of work, a specialty like being a Lawyer or an Accountant.
A career takes professional training, lots of it generally.
The emphasis is on progression upwards though latterly more sideways with
continued personal development and growth.
The perception is considerable work autonomy and engagement in creative and challenging work. The reality sometimes meets or exceeds these expectations but
frequently falls short and very rarely sustains an individual throughout their entire
working life.
The word ‘career’ is actually taken from the French word meaning racecourse which
probably explains why many people feel like they are going round in circles on the
career track!
Think of purpose as a vocation, a calling.
It is something you can discover but you must listen for it.
This kind of work lasts a lifetime, there is no retirement.
Its authentic work which provides our unique place in the world.
It comes naturally and not something you train at or a skill you learn.
You create your own personal development plan.
There is no set time to work you decide when and how much and losing track of time
whilst living in the now is a frequent occurrence.
Your values are aligned.
Your work is totally integrated with your life.
It is a way of life.
You get paid for using your natural gifts and innate talents.
26 It is all about legacy where you can look back on the journey and feel that you have
made a difference.
Reconnecting the flow
The first step you need to take is to slow right down. Flow loves balance and balance is all
about being centred, calm, carefree and curious. It’s about paying attention to the present
moment where all possibilities exist.
Try telling that to someone who is frazzled and fried. Perhaps that is you right now, if so,
you’re train of thoughts might be running a little like this....yes ok what’s your point, can you
be more succinct, I’m manic. This is a little heavy for my concentration right now; I can’t
cope with all these questions.
Forgive me I don’t mean to sound patronising or preachy I merely wish to get the message
hammered home that I get it because I too was once like this, getting annoyed and irritable
at the smallest of things such as my computer not working fast enough.
It’s a sure sign we are in survival rat race hell but worst still we’ve become anesthetised to it,addicted to the competitive stress and that need to prove that we are exceptionally busy
people. Busy responding to emails, busy phoning everyone, being busy for busyness sake,
we’re indispensible right ?.
Being seen to be important but, in reality, carrying out
routines that are hardly truly valuable.
The busy society breeds a ridiculous no win path to addiction,
divorce, breakdown, depression and disease. The busyness
drowns out those difficult and challenging questions that keep
popping up. That’s your soul by the way getting awfully
assertive.
Balance is not about compartmentalising our lives and
designating set times each week for work, play, kids, etc.
Balance is about being in tune with our inner voice. It’s about
a head/heart alignment and that is what brings the peace and contentment and the inner
chapter two, passion for our work combined with a balanced life makes our heart sing
and keeps us in this high energy state with a
positive can do attitude. To the workaholic
who has neglected their self care and
become cut off from the full aspect of life’s
pleasures the resilience aspect is likely to be
very low.
Low resilience equals high resistance. When we learn to listen to that resistance and
understand the information and its message we’ll be in a far better position to make the
changes we need to in life. In this sense resistance can be helpful in so much as it gives us
that information and builds up the energy within us again. The longer we ignore it the more
opportunities we’ll be presented with to learn these lessons. The phrase ‘resistance is futile’
comes to mind here.
Are you beginning to see how it is so easy to fall into the trap of the corporate treadmill
existence?
The harder you work the less you seem to accomplish and the greater the pull to do more.This affects your health and relationships as you get sucked in to more and more time
working, travelling, and thinking about the challenges maybe neglecting your health and
well being. Meanwhile, before you realise it you’ve become withdrawn, turning down
37‘When a person really desires something, the entire universe conspires to help that person
to realize his dream.’- The Alchemist
It is human nature to focus on what we don’t want rather than give our attention, time and
contemplation to what we do desire. A common issue is also that many people are not really
sure what they want and thus only really focus on want they don’t want because they never
step outside their busy lives to reflect upon these questions and then wonder why thingshave a bad habit of happening to them. Energy follows thought so invariably what we thing
about we bring about.
The more internal your mode of control then the greater your desire to control your own
destiny. This internal restlessness will show itself in a number of ways but you’ve got to be
alert for the signs.
Self awareness and self discovery are essential to identifying your unique signature gifts. This
is the starting point to identifying work that matters. This can then be built upon by
analysing what knowledge and interests you have and, of them, what you do that is second
nature and fills you with joy.
We often fail to spot what is under our very nose in terms of our natural abilities because we
don’t think about them as they are automatic. This is also often why we can dismiss our
passions as fun and enjoyable but not necessarily something we could ever make money out
of or create a business around.
So many people make the mistake when starting out of completely ignoring their talents and
following what others might be doing. This is one of the crucial building blocks to laying the foundations of a long term profitable and fulfilling business.
When we are fulfilling our passions in life then we don’t have the same tendency to cram our
life with stuff we don’t need and spend for the sake of it to top up our happiness tank,
momentarily. This is often a tell tale sign of someone who is running away from an
unfulfilling existence. So the life we have created is not always the lifestyle we truly desire.
If you’ve grasped the importance of identifying a clear purpose and generating a business
around your passions, strengths and values you’ re half way there. The other fifty percent is
really all about programming your mind for success with a clear vision and daily action.
Any business takes time to gain traction and build relationships; quick fixes and miracle
success stories rarely exist. Most people’s overnight success can be attributed to years of
experience building, tweaking and perfecting. It is easy to get fixated on achievement and
success where you can pressurize yourself into feeling you are running out of time especially
if you have been in a high stress, high powered role.
What we focus on is critical. An entrepreneurial mindset requires unwavering faith, self
belief and absolute confidence.
There is a significant shift that needs to take place when transitioning from corporate land to
working for yourself so you can remain true to the motivations behind setting up on your
own and not resenting the very business you have built because it takes all your time and
energy. The task of creating your own income is not the same as having a monthly salary,irrespective of seniority of job role. One needs to prepare for both fluctuations in income and
the ability to build a long term sustainable pipeline, preferably multiple sources of income.
The functions of running a business, the skill set, can be more easily acquired and specialist
help can be sought but you are ultimately responsible for adopting and building a winning
mindset and setting a clear vision for yourself and to attract others. Continued investment in
personal development, therefore, is essential but this can easily be neglected at the expense
I finished working full time a few weeks before my first son, Noah,
was born. Whilst at home with a newborn I started freelancing for a few clients and then that grew into more and more work and I
realised I had a business. I registered the business name after
attending a networking event in October 2007 and haven’t looked
back since!
JOHANNA’S BUSINESS
Our writing and PR consultancy will tell your business story through media releases, promote
your expertise in articles, outline your solutions in case studies and much more, throughcarefully crafted words and publicity. Writer and PR consultant Johanna Baker-Dowdell
started Strawberry Communications in 2007 to help businesses tell their story. Strawberry
Communications is based in Launceston, on the Tamar River, Tasmania, but servicing clients
Motto in Life - ‘ Do what you have to, to get the result! ’
Reasons that led to work that really matters.
I was made redundant just before I turned 50. Although shocked
at first I have never looked back. I knew I didn’t want to have towork for anyone other than myself and with my experience as a
PA set up On The Go as a Virtual Assistant in November 2007.
LESLEY- ANNE’S BUSINESS
On The Go provides on-line secretarial and social media services. These include spreadsheets,
presentations, word processing, audio digital transcription, mail merge, database
creation/cleansing and network research. Maximising the business opportunities that Social
Media provides On The Go has the knowledge and expertise to set up and maintain your
social networking activities on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. On The Go is based
in Wiltshire, UK – however, being virtual, provides on-line services worldwide.
On The Go – for people on the go!
www.lesley-anneonthego.com
Advice to those starting out.
Network – network – network! I built up On The Go entirely through networking for the first 18 months. Make sure you know the areas of work you want to cover. When you first start
out it is easy to take on all work that comes your way and although you are capable of doing
it, actually, some of it may not be what you want to do. Remember you work for yourself -
therefore it’s your choice as to who you work for and who you don’t. Good luck
If you’ve got this far then I salute you for investing the time to digest and reflect but the final
question has got to be what will you do with this information?
I have attempted to demonstrate that we live in an exciting moment in history and we have
for the very first time a real chance of breaking free from the unsatisfactory and unfulfillingexistence of trying to balance work and home and hold down a job or career to being able to
integrate them seamlessly. In doing so we can follow our own path to work that really
matters and that we love to do whilst still having time to play.
Overwhelming opinion suggests that the majority of individuals in society want to work less
hours and I ‘m sure you’re one of them. I think this is both a result of unsatisfactory and
unfulfilling work but also as a result of a desire to have more family time.
When we opt to do work that really matters and that we love we;
End up happier, more engaged and enthusiastic.
Passion for our work keeps us healthy and full of vitality.
Allows us to use the creative potential we can all access.
Gives us a far greater chance of standing out, becoming an expert because there is
no competition being you.
Feel fully connected because we’re working alongside people who are like-minded.