Don't settle

"Do what you like in life!" and do not even think back.

This should be taught everywhere, to every body.

There's nothing more boring, or mortifying than doing a job you hate, but ... what are we doing because of the fear of scarcity, what are we giving up for money ?!

Aren't we becoming slaves to jobs we don't like simply because of a paycheck ?

And for what ?! to last longer at doing something you don't want to do in the first place !?
what's the point !?



Isn't what Steve Jobs was talking about during his speech at Stanford ?!

[VOSTFR] Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement... by Cladouros

You have to find what you really love and then "Do it for the rest of your life".
"Love what you do!" 
don't settle, follow your heart and intuitions.

Inspired by : The Strangest Secret in the World. Each One Teach Won:

A success is ANYONE… who is doing deliberately a predetermined job because thats what he or she decided to do deliberately.

and  this amazing article How to find what you love to do ?
remember :

"It is extremely important to answer the question on how to find what you love to do.  "

What the future holds?

2012 - Enter the Club

Grim, grim and depressing future is what everybody has in mind - with the running mantra that in 2012 anyway this madness will end, because that's what the Mayans said...

Really ?

Everybody agree that in post-Constitutional America, it isn't the neo-fascist corporate criminals who get prosecuted, but the whistle blowers, the occupy movement, the peaceful protesters.

The whole world is waking up and starts to realize that the "Good family corporations" aren't that nice after all, especially since they evolved into "Evil Monstrous Mega-corporations".

You all know the saying "you shall reap, what you sow" ... well, look at the fruit then : wars, attack on freedom, unemployment, drugs, crime, ignorance, bigotry, a culture of fear, exploitation, greed ...

No wonder we're excepting (almost hoping) this circus of pain to end in 2012, be it "alien invasion", earthquake of mythical proportion, polar shift, rapture, fall of planet X or any other fatal scenarios.

But the answer is within, we all are responsible, may that be because of our inactions, our choices, we need to wake up.

No violence, no judgment, unconditional love for everything in this Universe.
We need to realize we're part of a whole, we are in a synergistic scheme : "What Goes Around...Comes Around".

Starting to think this way, might change the outcome in the long run.

Otherwise still struggling as Freelance - found some interesting insight in this post below

Living Self-Employed Online: The Manual They Forgot to Give You
Especially these quotes :

"If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there" – Lewis Carroll

and

Instead of just looking to your mistakes and hoping to learn from them or tackling a huge project you want to overcome. Why not look at what is working for you in other areas of life or on other projects, and see how you can apply those factors to other endeavors?

Have a nice day

Freelance or returning to a "normal" job

So far my experience as a Freelance is very mixed, on one hand I'm happy to be my own boss, and enjoy wearing the clothes I want, waking up the hour I want, eating while I want, and even having a little nap if I feels like one - I even walk barefoot in my apartment, and have a nice beard.

Since I've quit my previous job the stomach pain disappeared - Now, I have plenty of sleep and have a lot more energy - also because of cardio-training I'm doing every morning.

I even think that the allergies I usually had in spring was less intense than before, might be because I'm a lot more selective in the food I eat (less meat, less milk products, more fruits, more vegetables).

I worked as a clerk (more like a jack of all trade) full-time for a little more than twelve years in a big company (think HP).

Of course there was a fair bit of soul-searching involved in the decision to give up because I now have a young family. However, as a friend of mine said ‘You’ll never lie on your death-bed wishing you hadn’t given it a go’.

I'm living the dream now, or am I?

Actually, it's not all fun and play, mainly because when you Freelance, some client have a little tendency not to pay - the typical scenario is that when they need you, because their computer is broken they promise pretty much everything, but when it's fixed, then it's another story - they always find a way to postpone the payment, arguing that it was easy to fix, they could have done themselves etc ... and I may have to change my policy to ask them to pay upfront, but sometime honestly I feel more comfortable to let them breathe, but that's me I'm a bit too gentle - and always hate the kind that ask for the money straight away even before having a look at the computer damage.

I read somewhere that :

"When the voice and vision on the inside become more profound and clear than the opinions on the outside, then you have mastered your life"

And I think I start to understand what that mean, even though I'm complaining about payment issue, I have to assume part of that because it's the price to pay for being nice, and that's a part of me.

There's a long way for me ahead, but hopefully it won't be about returning to a normal job.

31 Days to Start Freelancing - day 9

Continuing the exercise 31 Days to Start Freelancing
Day 1. Make an Inventory of Your Freelancing Skills
Day 2. Examine Your Freelancing Resources
Day 3. Set Your Freelancing Goals
Day 4. Get Inside Your Client’s Head
Day 5. What’s Your Story?
Day 6. Quick Check on Your Competitors

Day 7. Make Your Menu of Services

Day 8. Set Your Freelancing Rates

Day 9. Your Day to Shine 

Writing my Unique Selling Proposition or USP

I believe that finding your place in the world is very important.
For me to be the right person at the right place doing what you like to do is the best feeling ever (compared to people doing reluctantly a job they hate).

You don't even need to convince people you're good at doing something, because you like it they just see that in your manner and it feels easy.

When I see a tech trying quick-fixes and having no clue on what the issue is - I see red, I take a pride in being able to explain what I'm doing and also why I'm doing it.

Having said that, the USP would be :

I can fix your computer,  teach you how to do it yourself, and help you to become a power user.

31 Days to Start Freelancing - day 8

Continuing the exercise 31 Days to Start Freelancing
Day 1. Make an Inventory of Your Freelancing Skills
Day 2. Examine Your Freelancing Resources
Day 3. Set Your Freelancing Goals
Day 4. Get Inside Your Client’s Head
Day 5. What’s Your Story?
Day 6. Quick Check on Your Competitors


Day 7. Make Your Menu of Services

Day 8. Set Your Freelancing Rates

- Troubleshooting computer (preferably mac)
75$ per hour (because I work fast!)

- Personal Mac or Linux Training (possible installation and customization)
50$ per hour

- Wed design (training, assistance or basic setup of blog, website etc ...) 
Could really be different from one another but - if the customer wants to have assistance from start to finish - it's probably costs around 2000$ because the amount of work can span over a month (and sometime more).

31 Days to Start Freelancing - day 7

Continuing the exercise 31 Days to Start Freelancing
Day 1. Make an Inventory of Your Freelancing Skills
Day 2. Examine Your Freelancing Resources
Day 3. Set Your Freelancing Goals
Day 4. Get Inside Your Client’s Head
Day 5. What’s Your Story?
Day 6. Quick Check on Your Competitors

Day 7. Make Your Menu of Services


- Troubleshooting computer (preferably mac)
- Personal Mac or Linux Training (possible installation and customization)
- Wed design (training, assistance or basic setup of blog, website etc ...)

31 Days to Start Freelancing - day 6

Continuing the exercise 31 Days to Start Freelancing

Day 1. Make an Inventory of Your Freelancing Skills
Day 2. Examine Your Freelancing Resources
Day 3. Set Your Freelancing Goals
Day 4. Get Inside Your Client’s Head
Day 5. What’s Your Story?

Day 6. Quick Check on Your Competitors

checked ... ;)

31 Days to Start Freelancing - day 5

Continuing the exercise 31 Days to Start Freelancing
Day 1. Make an Inventory of Your Freelancing Skills
Day 2. Examine Your Freelancing Resources
Day 3. Set Your Freelancing Goals
Day 4. Get Inside Your Client’s Head 
Day 5. What’s Your Story?

What were you doing before you started freelancing?

I was working in a call center as tech support

Why did you think of freelancing? What motivated you?

The benefit of being my own boss, and to be creative

How did you get started freelancing?

Create a blog, then spread the information around my friends

How did you get good at what you’re doing now?

Training provided by my previous employers, then self study, and trial and error mostly documented (because I write a journal)

What are your goals? What drives you to work so hard?

My goal would be to be financially independent, and to gain recognition

What does success look like to you?

Being autonomous, creative, independent, famous and helpful to the community

31 Days to Start Freelancing - day 4

Continuing the exercise 31 Days to Start Freelancing
Day 1. Make an Inventory of Your Freelancing Skills
Day 2. Examine Your Freelancing Resources
Day 3. Set Your Freelancing Goals
Day 4. Get Inside Your Client’s Head


Who wants your services
- People that would like translation from French to English and vice versa
- People that need basic internet Training
- People needing to setup a basic Internet website
- People starting on the net, and would like some advices


Who Is Your Target Client?
- Could be student
- Elder person, who wants to setup a blog, or write their memories
- Mother at home, who wants to make their first steps on the internet
- Traditional writer, who wants to put his book online (eBook)

What Does Your Client Want?
- Get Training, assistance, and confidence for his internet experience
- Training session to answer specific questions, not general topic lecture
- Hands-on Training, with real answers to their specific questions
- Be informed on the opportunities and danger of being part of the worlwide web

NB : So far, the exercise is really good, I have to confess I was a bit skeptic first, but now... I'm convinced on the benefits of this 31 days to Start Freelancing, ... tomorrow I'll talk to you about my story (Day 5)

31 Days to Start Freelancing - day 3

Continuing the exercise 31 Days to Start Freelancing
Day 1. Make an Inventory of Your Freelancing Skills
Day 2. Examine Your Freelancing Resources
Day 3. Set Your Freelancing Goals


Specific

• Grow the number of visit on my blog
• Grow the number of customers, followers, ...
• Get better at writing (marketing, new ideas, style)
• Gain experience, to be able to avoid mistakes, and be able to teach
• Write down as much as possible to be able to write a book about the experience
• Learning new skills

Measurable

• Learning one new skill each month
• Write a blog post at least per week
• Gain 1 new follower each week
• Read one new book each month (in English)

Attainable

• one new skill - to be able to write about it
• writing one new post each week, (currently achieved)
• Getting new follower and more visit (I still have to figure how)
• Reading is definitely something I should do

Realistic

• If I could write a book about the experience and publish it that could make an income
• Offering Freelance job for web-design
• Teach in small class or offering small training at home could be done too

Time-bound

• Getting a least 500$ net (bare minimum) per month after 6 months (March 2011) otherwise it's not worth it.
• Would like to still be able to enjoy week-ends.

31 Days to Start Freelancing - day 2

Continuing the exercise 31 Days to Start Freelancing


Day 1. Make an Inventory of Your Freelancing Skills
Day 2. Examine Your Freelancing Resources

• the office equipment, software and materials you already have : a mac-mini
• how much money you have at your disposal to invest in your freelancing business : None
• people who can give you support : 2 friends
• how much time you can devote to freelancing : 4 hours a day

31 Days to Start Freelancing - day 1

Freelancing is an attractive option for unemployed, and it make sense to consider it.
Having little idea on how or where to start, I was lucky to find what looks like a solid list, here on the Savvy Freelancer - 31 Days to Start Freelancing | The Savvy Freelancer:

Because I'm serious about this business, I'll post my answer (or as much as possible) on my blog, making it public, will certainly help (I hope)...

Day 1. Make an Inventory of Your Freelancing Skills

• Speaking/Reading/Writing English
• Speaking/Reading/Writing in French
• Experience with PC
• Experience with Mac
• Experience with Linux
• Basic knowledge in development (java, C, Basic, html, php)
• Knowledge of Office suite (spreadsheet, word processor, database, powerpoint)
• Writing blog post
• Writing white papers
• Reading technical documentations
• Able to deliver training session
• Good experience of the call center environment (not that I want to be back there though)

That's pretty much it, really