The Grass is Not Always Greener
By Caterina Rando, MA, MCC
Recently, I am sitting in a neighborhood Peruvian restaurant with my sweetheart when our meals arrive. My entrée is sided with home fries- new potatoes, chunked and sautéed; my honey’s plate is sided with light golden homemade garlic fries, topped with parsley, my favorite vegetable. As I feel my disappointment over not wanting what is on my plate I reach over and grab three ultimately delicious, fresh and warm fries.
Have you ever had that experience of wishing you had ordered what your dining companions have chosen? That was a rhetorical question – of course you have, we all have. Life is sometimes like that too. We see what others have, or get a glimpse into their life and lifestyle and we think, “Wow that looks good.” We see their house, body or boat and we think, “That would work for me.”
As we dined I thought this is true in almost every area except for one: people with jobs think that self-employed people have it better, most self-employed people do not think that people with jobs have it better.
In all my years of helping people start and grow businesses, thirteen years now, only a couple of times have I ever heard someone say “I need to get a job”, usually because their business had failed due to poor financial planning and a lack of cash reserves. I have never, ever, ever heard a self-employed person say - “I want to go get a job”, it just does not happen. Because those of us that make our own way, take personal responsibility for our futures and financial well-being know that the grass over there can quickly dry up and die. Ask the people who work at United Airlines, ask the people who used to work at Worldcom or Enron. In a couple to a few years ask the many people that used to work at General Motors and who’s jobs are currently on the chopping block.
Did you know that $1600.00 in the sale of each General Motors car goes to pay the benefits of retired workers? In this current age of ‘sorry, retired workers we promised a decent pension, but we have to make change’, how long do you think they will choose to keep their pension agreements?
When our meal concluded I had put zero attention on what was in front of me and a fair amount of attention on what was across from me on my sweetie’s plate. So many people do that with their work lives. They put all their attention on how good everyone else has it, perhaps how easy others have it because of their education, great looks or family connections rather then taking their attention off of envy and putting their attention on getting into action to create their own good luck and good fortune.
Wake up and fertilize your own future, mow your own lawn. Do not hand your success, financial well-being and standard of living during your golden years over to your employer. They do not get up every morning thinking about what they can do for you. Hopefully you do. If not, start today. Start something today so that sometime in your future you can roll all over your own green lawn and feel the joy, experience the satisfaction, and take pride in having planted it yourself.
Caterina Rando, MA, MCC, shows direct sellers how to book, sell, recruit and lead with ease. She is a sought after speaker, direct sales coach and creator of the Business Breakthrough Coaching Program, the Direct Selling with Ease® and Recruiting with Ease® Telecourses. She is also a contributing author to Build It Big- 101 Secrets from Top Direct Selling Experts and More Build It Big. To read more articles, listen to business building podcasts and find out about her programs, visit http://www.directsalescoaching.com. Caterina can be reached at by email at cat@directsalescoaching.com or by phone at 415 668-4535.
Leave a Comment