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afterlife
By heather | July 27, 2007
I heard a story on NPR yesterday afternoon that made me blink. Here it is for the full text. They were interviewing people who worked for themselves and one woman who owned a whitewater rafting business described her clients with 9-5 jobs as being in a fog until they get on the river. She said she never wanted to live in that fog.
This statement struck me hard – most mornings I’m walking into walls until I get a cup of strong coffee and I feel foggy a good amount of the time anyway.
My mom told me last night that maybe I shouldn’t get a really good set of pots and pans because I’ve been forgetful lately and I’m likely to ruin them like this. But in defense of those of us who live in the 9-5 fog, I wonder if the clarity she experiences every day is due to the fact that she has a constant worry about making enough to support her family.
When you work for yourself and don’t just sit there and wait for your direct deposit to hit, I think you have a constant rush of the hyper-sharp adreneline that comes with providing for yourself and not relying on anyone else to make it easy for you.
This story goes along with another story on NPR that I heard earlier this week (and cannot find the link for love or money – come on already NPR!) about Tim Ferriss and his book Four Hour Workweek. I’m starting to read this book, but his theory is that by outsourcing all the mundane things in your life you free up time to do…what? And also that there is no need to wait for retirement, why not do it now and weave semi-retirement into your current life?
I love this idea. But part that made me think the hardest was if you had unlimited time and reasonable resources what would you do? I tend to be the type of person who constantly is looking to change something about any situation – whether it’s my work hours or re-arranging the living room. In this way, I drive Brett nuts and also keep him on his toes.
This book made me start to think hard about what I’m striving for. More time to do what? I’ll have to let you know because I never thought about it that way before.
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