No April Fool's

It's amazing what happens when you quit your job and go to work for yourself. Sure, lots of things happen and you experience a change in many areas, but what I'm present to today is the fact that holidays show up completely differently for me now.

For one thing, now that I work for myself, I no longer look forward to holidays like a drooling mutt looks forward to table scraps. Instead of relishing on one measly day off work, I'm focused on whatever we're planning for the holiday.

Most minor holidays go completely unnoticed by me now. In fact, I didn't even realize it was April Fool's Day yesterday until that evening, even though I wrote the date on a couple of different things during hte day.

In the past, I would have relished the chance to break the monotony present in so many jobs by creating an elaborate April Fool's prank. I would execute it with the intention of shaking things up a bit, having fun and getting attention. Antyhing to take my mind off actual WORK, of course.

And I also would have been a little paranoid about getting played myself.

But this year, it didn't even cross my mind. Interesting how that works.

While thinking about this, I realized that there were a lot of things I did to take my mind off of work itself. I think most people who are in unfulfilling jobs can relate to this. It's no wonder birthdays result in an office celebration -- cake is great for temporarily numbing the boredom of the typical workday. Moments of brightness pepper the gloom, at least that's how I remember it.

What's also interesting is that people who claim to love their job are often times the first ones to complain when things go wrong, and to excitedly anticipate their two weeks of vacation per year.

When you work for yourself, you get to indulge when you feel like it. Go skiing on a Wednesday. Take a 3-hour lunch on a Monday. Stay in your pajamas until the afternoon...every day. Just a few of hte perqs.

Of course, not everyone is cut out for hteir own business. Most people need the constant accountability of having to be in a certain place by a certain time fo ra certain number of hours each day. It's not easy to be self-disciplined; we just aren't cut out for it. Plus, our environment doens't support it.

Yet home-based businesses are growing faster than ever before, and more and more people are finding success and bliss in working for themselves.

Then you turn out like me: psychologically unemployable.

But (as usual) I digress.

Here is the long-awaited (long after reading this whole posting) question of the Day (QoD):

If you are self-employed:
What is the most significant change you notice now that you're self-employed?

If you are not self-employed:
What's holding you back from starting or growing that business you've always dreamed about? Where will you be a year from now if you don't do anything differently?