There are workers who will never step away from a corporate job, and for good reason.
Benefits
People will take the insult of anonymity, low pay, slow to no opportunity and a revolving door of bosses for the security that a corporation can offer. Ninety percent of the time, the anonymity is a worker's greatest asset. Just doing the job unnoticed is a safety net. But is it a guarantee? No.
The economy if finally starting to slow. Jobs are harder to find. Stocks are falling in price (probably correcting). That means hanging on to a job is even more important; even if you're miserable there. But why is it that work has to be miserable for many people? What makes it so difficult to really feel invested in a job? Clinging to benefits is not the same as being invested.
Health insurance in the U.S. is like a shackle on the American worker. It's completely unaffordable for an individual, so the corporation is the solution. Sometimes I can go right down the conspiracy rabbit hole right here. It's like a kind of slavery that chains us to someone else's dreams in order to satisfy our own. But honestly, how close can anyone get to a dream while toiling away at a corporation? Yeah. Sure. Dream of owning a home. Dream of buying a new car. Dream of a European vacation. But mostly, assurance of health and some little bit of retirement savings.
I'm not talking about everyone. Plenty of people excel in corporate America. What I'm talking about is much more existential. That need to satisfy something within oneself that goes beyond the material. To take that leap, we're talking about a modern manifest destiny that includes no security beyond one's own ability stay afloat in an attempt to realized a dream of becoming a self made person.
Layoffs are in full swing. More are likely imminent. It's often the layoff that can toss us into the existential dream even when we're not ready to go there. That's where I'm at right now. I don't have the security of corporate benefits beyond my severance package. It's a great time to take that final sprint towards retirement in the saddle of my own dreams, but can I do it? Can I afford to buy my own insurance? Will have enough to retire?
Welp. Here's the truth. NOTHING is a guarantee. Maybe it's too late for some of us to jump into the journey of existential satisfaction, or is that a myth we've turned into fact? I want to understand what drives and assures the dreamers who become successful. Is it self-confidence? Is it some secret nest egg? Is it a family that is willing to catch them if they fall? Is it dumb luck? Or is it the willingness to hit the bottom?
Whatever it is, I want to try. And I know I'm going it alone. But I have to try. Part of me thinks I'm going alone because other people want to know if I can do it. If I can pave the way. At this point in my life, I'm not sure I want to be risk aversive. I'm interviewing when I get the opportunity, but I'm not chomping at the bit to work for someone else. I may do a lily pad job. I may find someone or something that inspires me. I hope I don't cave for the benefits because today the biggest benefit is pursuing passion. I am not afraid of freedom. The 100% authentic me is the only one for hire. If that's too much, then I'm happily on own.