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SECURITY
If you have always been employed by some company,
corporation or government agency, self-employment can be a frightening
experience. Taking that giant step away from a regular salary is
difficult. I experienced that once and it was one of the most difficult
things I have ever done. The fear was overwhelming. What’s
most
interesting is that I spent most of my youth self-employed. Then I got
a good job with the government managing federally-funded programs.
After more than twelve years I got very tired of it
and decided to start my own publishing and consulting business. My fear
was that I would not be able to continue paying my bills and
maintaining my insurance and a hundred other things that entered my
mind. It was the fear of being insecure. It was really bad because I
had become accustomed to the illusion of security that came from having
a good job.
 If you believe that you are secure because of your
job and your savings, you have not been keeping up with the news. Read
about the experiences of many thousands of Enron employees that not
only lost their jobs but also their life savings. And they are not
alone. Many other large companies laid off thousands of employees and
made poor and often illegal decisions that adversely affected the jobs
and retirement funds of all their employees. The greedy leaders of
these corporations left with millions and wiped out everything for
employees who had been producing for them for years.
To make matters worth, thousands of jobs are being
eliminated by new technologies and by companies who close down plants
in the U.S. to open new ones in foreign countries. With this strategy
they save billions in labor cost. Some companies have even moved twice.
They started by moving to Mexico and then dropped their Mexican
employees to move to China and save even more. Do you think that your
company is as concerned with your security as they are with their
bottom line? I’m certain that you know better than that.
Since your circumstances can change at a moments
notice, the only security you can count on is within yourself. Any
other security is an illusion that will come back to haunt you.
I’m not
saying that self-employment is the best thing for you. I just want you
to make the decision with the understanding that long-term security is
a foolish illusion and decisions should be made accordingly.
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