I don’t know… maybe I’m just crazy.
But, the answers to these kinds of questions seem so obvious to me. Was watching a Q&A that Jimmy O. Yang did at Google. He’s a comedian… was in a show called “Silicon Valley” and the movie Crazy Rich Asians.
He has an interesting story.
He immigrated here from Singapore and a lot of his comedy is based around his experience learning American culture and finding his way in this new country he was in. His comedy is hilarious to me… but it’s also informative. Gives you a real glimpse into what it’s like as an immigrant.
Anyway, in the Q&A, a lady asked him something along these lines:
“How do you make the choice between getting a good job, going the traditional route, stability, etc… and chasing an big idea/dream that you have?”
Which was the struggle Jimmy went through.
Getting a degree like this parents wanted VS…
Becoming a comedian which they definitely did NOT want.
And I watched this right before I went to bed and… my silly brain… I woke up at 3am and couldn’t go back to sleep because I had an “angry rant” boiling up inside me about it. 😀
But seriously…
It’s like… put it in perspective. And I mean real perspective. Human beings have been around, in some for, for millions of years. And the average life span is 70-80 years. So, there was all this time throughout human history where you didn’t exist.
Then, a brief window where you do.
Then you die and the rest of eternity you will not exist (in human form) again. So, you have this short 70-80 year window where you can do whatever you want. Why in the world would you spend a second of that miniscule chunk of time doing stuff you don’t want to do?
I just don’t get that.
Again, maybe I’m crazy…
But, that’s how I look at it.
It’s one of the reasons why I constantly say I’m not motivated by money. What the hell good is that gonna do me beyond a certain point? I’m motivated by time — by slowing down this experience as much as I possibly can and squeezing every last second out of it that I can.
That’s why I’m so big on freelancing.
It’s not just a “career choice” for me.
It’s borderline religion — and I have zero problem admitting that. It goes to the core of who I am and how I view the world and my life. Of course, I recognize that’s not how everybody looks at it and that’s okay. But, that’s where my passion and insistence on it comes from.
And, objectively, I still thinks it’s a smart career choice.
Anyhoo… one of my life goals is to leave behind a full curriculum of freelance training — for my kids and all the freelancers who come after me. To pass on every little tidbit I know to the next generation. I may not be the most entertaining or “electric” teacher on the planet.
But, I do put everything I have into it.
Nothing held back.
And squeeze every last ounce of insight I can into what I share.
Maybe you’ll find value in that, maybe you won’t. But, it’s one of the reasons I love Skillshare so much. I can just teach. I don’t have to worry about making courses that are “marketable”… I can just focus on what I believe to be *valuable* to my students.
And, there often IS a disconnect between those two things.
But… do with all that what you will.
If you’d like to learn more about ol’ Johnny’s freelance “religion”, I’m methodically building my “bible” over on Skillshare. Here’s a few of the key gospels:
- Beginner’s Guide to Freelance
- Premium Pricing For Freelancers
- Social Media Marketing For Freelancers
- Freelancing on Upwork
- Content Marketing For Freelancers
- Let’s Talk Freelance
And, as always, because those course are on Skillshare, you can get them essentially free. I created a page with all the details on how here: https://johnmorrisonline.com/skillshare
Later,
John
