Job Security Vs Freedom Lifestyle - Which One Wins In The End?

By Dusty Rollins

Job Vacancy, Employment Jobs, Employment

We hear a lot today about security. Everyone wants security, everyone thinks that security is attainable. Many of our freedoms have been taken in the name of more security. Probably, this is good and bad....

But with all the focus on security, it seems we are less secure than we have ever been. When you look at economic security, it opens a whole different discussion. Several generations have been told that the key to financial security is to get a good education and get a good job and save for retirement and then you will be okay. However, the recent economic meltdown has shown us that years of saving and retirement plans can go down the drain in a matter of months.

One friend worked his whole life for the phone company. Starting at Bell Atlantic and staying with them through all of the mergers and changes until he was with Lucent technologies. Well, he was all ready to retire from a lifetime of work and his stock portfolio literally disappeared and he could not retire. He had thought that he had a safe secure job and that he was building financial security, but sadly at the end, when he was out of options and time, the system failed him.

There just cannot be security when you bet your whole future on a company to take care of you. There is no security when you leave your money in the hands of Wall Street and hope the Stock Market will take care of your retirement needs. I believe that there is no such thing as complete security. Life itself has its dangers and troubles. There is no ultimate security in this life, but I believe that we can structure our work lives to give us more economic security than the vast majority of people. You can prepare yourself so that not only do you survive economic downturns, but you thrive in bad times.

I have been blessed and have positioned my businesses so that during the recession, my business is growing. 2008 was our best year and then we grew in 2009 and our doing even better in 2010. You can structure your work life so you can do the same thing....

You will not be able to gain much financial security if you depend on a company to give you a job. The company is driven by other goals than giving you job security. So, as long as it makes sense for the company, you will have a job. But when things change and it is best for the company to let some employees go, they can upend your security in a matter of a few weeks.

So, having your own business or controlling your own job situation is vital. One option is to start your own business. This is not for everyone, but is a great route. At first, when you are starting your business, it will seem like the people with jobs are winning. They have bigger paychecks, they have regular paychecks. They get to go home at a set time and leave their work at the office. When you are working long hours for no guaranteed check, it can seem hard to imagine this is the security route.

After a few years, if you stick with it, you will begin to notice something.... Your paychecks get bigger and more regular. You have much more control over your life and time and money. You have many more options that the person with a job does not have. You can shift and move your business as the economy changes and opportunities open up. This gives you much greater financial security, because your security is not in a job that can be taken from you, but in your ability to produce results.

Producing is your only real financial security. When you know you can go out and generate income and seize opportunities that the changing economy gives, that is security. But what if you are like many people and not a natural entrepreneur? What can you do?

In our coaching programs, we help people create a work life structure that is custom to them. This may mean you create what we can a Hybrid Career....Half job and Half self employment. Maybe you are doing consulting work or project work. In the new economy, there are many, many opportunities for non traditional work. You only need the vision and faith to move toward ultimate security. In the beginning, it will seem like the job is the safe route and your own work life is risky. But, if you stick with it, soon the roles will reverse and you will see that the real risk is putting your trust in someone else to give you a job. The only security you can create is your ability to produce your own results.