Own Your Time

Another productive Saturday. Amazing. Although this time, it's more out of necessity, than anything else. Work is a little (read: hella) hectic right now; so I'm in the office. But at least I'm able to go at my own pace, blogging all the while.

Since this self-employment gig began, my attitude towards work has changed. I'm doing this for me. Sure, I'm trying incredibly hard to serve other people something of value, but I'm only trying so hard to please others because I'm convinced it will translate into more Euros for me. I'm a selfish bastard, at the end of the day. But at least I'm honest about it, unlike you passive-aggressive, conniving, manipulative cretins out there.

Oh how I love the word cretin.

I digress.

At my previous job, I sometimes questioned why I had put myself in such a situation. I mean, it was tedious work, constantly turning tricks for the man. No matter what my monthly salary, hourly wage, or commission structure, I was still enslaved to the 9:00-5:30 routine. If I was hungry at an hour that wasn't lunch time, I was obliged to sneak away from my desk and clandestinely acquire a snack. Or sit unproductively and listen to my stomach growl as I waited out the clock. To overcome the idea that I was making my bosses rich for a measly commission, I scoured my situation for an iota of positive-spin. Even though I was committed to someone else's cause, I found a way to convince myself it was in my own best interest to hustle harder. It has something to do with that 10,000 hour thing.

And now, working for myself, I've realized I can continue to distill value on different levels. While it's mostly about stacking mad scrilla, it can also be about more than that. I know it sounds crazy, but allow me to explain.

A gigantic part of my role at this organization, and at the previous place that was lucky enough to harbor me, is B2B inside sales. That's a fancy way of saying I call people on the phone and sell them my ideas, all neatly packaged into day long events broadcast over the internet. If they think they might like my ides, they purchase the right to listen.

Obviously, I hear the word "no" a lot. Not everyone is THAT enthralled with my INGENIOUS thoughts, believe it or not. "Quel surprise!" The French reader might proclaim, in the most sarcastic of tones. The repetition of that same monosyllabic response can be tiring. Even with the prospect of financial freedom at the end of every conversation it can be tough to self-motivate. Paradoxically, self-motivation is exactly what you need heaps of, if you want to be a boss in this industry.

So I looked for other ways to derive value. Ways that were not to tied to the direct outcome of the call I was making. And now, 9 months or so later, if you give me the name and phone number of just about anyone in the english-speaking world I will have no problem calling them up and pitching them whatever idea or product you might have. I'm getting pretty good at it too. Of course I still have a long way to go, much to learn and more practice ahead of me (and countless rejections), but it's all just a step on developing the extremely transferable, and valuable, skill of being able to close anyone, anywhere, anytime.

So that's my strategy for getting the most out of work. What's yours?

What I'm hearing.