Photo by 401(k) 2012, used under Creative Commons licence.

How are you feeling this Monday?  Pumped up and ready for the week ahead? Or tired, demotivated and sorry for yourself?

Unless you have a mission in life, a reason for doing what you do – you’re going to struggle when times get tough – or just on Monday mornings – to find the reason why you’re working.

I encourage my students to become self-employed, or least if they are not, to think about themselves as free agents who must work to advance their career, rather than wait for someone to do it for them.  Here’s why. 

I realised I needed to jump – before I was pushed

My first career was in graphic design and I enjoyed it. I worked for a large and well-known company and the firm was supportive of me when I wanted time of work to travel to tournaments and fight – at first.  I think they liked the prestige of employing the champion that I was becoming.

But over time, as I needed more time off to travel to tournaments, and time off to recover from inevitable injuries, they became less keen. Eventually I realised that this situation could only end one way, and decided to jump before I was pushed.  After that I did more than one job, working as much as I could to raise money to open Panther Taekwondo Black Belt Academy.I could see that it was going to be vital to be my own boss, to be able to have time off when I needed it and not have to answer to someone else.

No-one’s going to hand it to you on a plate

Maybe working for yourself is an option for you – if not now, then one day in the future. But whatever happens, you can create an ‘I’m-doing-this-for-me-and-my-passion’ feeling around your life. You can do this by being focussed on your personal goals. No-one’s going to give you what you want. No-one’s going to hand it to you on a plate. Not your boss, not your teacher, no-one.

It’s up to you to go out there and get it.