I’ve always been a free spirited kind of guy. I know I was born to be an entrepreneur. I am a doer and I enjoy being where the rubber meets the road. I like pressure, challenges, and uncertainty. I like calling my own shots, living and adventure, and doing what I love.
I personally think JOBS suck. Yes, I understand that jobs are a very important part of our economy. And yes, I understand that most people like having a steady paycheck, a fancy title, job security, and good benefits. To be quite frank with you, there is nothing wrong with any of those things. It’s just not what I want in my life.
I’ve never liked the idea of working for someone else. I’ve never liked the idea of having someone else in control of my life and my financial well being. The idea of commuting, taking orders from someone else, doing something you don’t enjoy and not getting paid what you are worth aren’t very appealing to me.
Now, I don’t expect you to agree with everything I am about to say in this blog post about jobs, but I’m still going to ask you to read this post with an open mind and at least hear me out.
Before I explain my top 10 reasons why I think jobs are a bad thing, I’d like to share a few things I believe to be true:
- The pilgrims did not come to America to get a job
- The founding fathers did not create America so people could have jobs
- America is a FREE ENTERPRISE and CAPTIALISTIC economy, yet we are the ONLY country in the world that does not teach its own economic system to our youth
- At no point in school or in college will you ever be told to start a business or told how to start a business, but you will be taught to do what your teachers tell you, to get good grades, and to go to college, so you can find a good job
- The most wealthy and successful people in America do not have jobs; instead they are entrepreneurs or investors
- There are four types of ways to earn money: employee, business owner, investor and entrepreneur
Now, I realize that most people have no desire to be an entrepreneur. And I have no problem with that. After all, we need people to fill the jobs that entrepreneurs create. But, I also know that small businesses are the backbone of the American economy. Therefore, we need more small business owners, which in return creates more jobs and more stability for our economy.
I want you to do a me a favor for a moment right now and ask yourself this question. What if you were lied to about HOW to make money? What if there was a better way to earn money, and achieve your financial dreams, than grinding away in the 40 year plan only to end up broke or dead by the time you are supposed to retire?
I can’t speak for everyone else, but I do know that most people who follow the CONVENTIONAL advice of working a job for 40-50 years end up with NOTHING when they get to the end of their career. Most people can’t afford to retire when they are 65. Most people have to rely on the government to take care of them when they reach their Golden Years. And most people are ONE PAYCHECK away from bankruptcy.
As you can see, I’m not a fan of having a job. I don’t think there is such thing as a good job, even if you like what you do. I don’t think having a job is a smart way to go, or even a good way to go. Besides, most good jobs are gone. Finding a job that pays you well, provides security, and fulfills you is next to impossible to do in today’s marketplace.
With that being said, here are my top 10 reasons why I think jobs are a bad thing.
1. You Only Earn Linear Income
Linear income is a BAD thing. Most people don’t understand this concept so I’ll take a moment and explain it. Linear income is when you trade hours for dollars. You work 10 hours and get paid for 10 hours. The problem with linear income is that when you stop working you stop getting paid. If you get hurt and can’t work, you won’t have an income. If you don’t go to work, you don’t get paid. That’s why I am a fan of passive and residual income. Entrepreneurs build assets that generate income.
2. You Are Only Paid What the Job is Worth to the Employer
In most jobs, you will never get paid what you are really worth (unless you work on commission only). Instead, you get paid what your job is worth to your employer. Even if you are a superstar and produce more than expected your earnings are capped, based upon the job you have. That’s one thing I really didn’t like about the military. I earned the same pay as other officers with my same rank, even if they were bad at their job or had an easy job. Now, if you are a lazy person or average producer, this might not be a big deal to you. But if you are a high achiever like I am, you don’t like the idea of simply being paid what a job is worth to the employer.
3. You Have Office Politics
I can’t speak for you, but most jobs have a set of complex office POLITICS. You have to constantly network, kiss butt and KNOW the right people. You have to play the game if you want to advance your career and move up the ladder. Personally, I hate politics. I like knowing that I am being paid for my competence and my RESULTS, not my ability to be political.
4. You Have the Highest Tax Rate
Earned income is the highest taxed type of income. As an employee, you work, earn a wage, pay your taxes to Uncle Sam and try to live on what is left. Depending upon how much you earn per year, you can expect to keep 50% to 70% of your salary. The rest goes to taxes and our government’s social programs. Entrepreneurs on the other hand, earn a wage, live their lifestyle and pay taxes on what is left, the complete opposite of employees. Even if you don’t have the desire to be an entrepreneur you should try to shift some of your income into passive income or investment income, which is taxed at a flat rate, and a much lower rate than earned income.
5. You Don’t Have Job Security
In today’ world, job security is LONG gone. Even if you work for the government, you don’t have job security. Companies comes an go. Mergers, bankruptcies and down-sizing affects all businesses. You can be on top of the world today and out of a job tomorrow. Having a job in today’s world is risky.
6. You Can’t Leverage Yourself
Another big problem with having a job is that you can’t leverage yourself. You can’t leverage yourself with money or through others to free up your time and make more money. You have to show up for work, you don’t have employees or independent contractors working for you, and you have to keep trading hours for dollars. In addition, you can’t sell your job to someone else. With a business, you can leverage yourself with money and your employees.
7. You Have No Freedom
Some people might argue with this point, but I believe that if you have a job you don’t have any freedom. You are told when to show up to work, what to wear, what hours you must work, when you can go on vacation, etc. Your entire future is in someone else’s hands and you have no control over any of these things. If you want to go to the beach on a Wednesday, you can’t.
8. You Have No Tax Incentives
The tax code in the United States is designed for ENTREPRENEURS and INVESTORS. After all, it’s the Congress and Senate that create all the laws in America, and you can be certain that they won’t pass many laws that hurt themselves financially! And guess what? Every politician I’ve ever met is pretty well to do financially. In 95% or more of the cases, they are either an entrepreneur or investor, in addition to being a politician. Entrepreneurs get to deduct their expenses BEFORE they pay taxes. Many of these expenses are expenses they would have, even if they didn’t own a business.
9. You Only Have One Income Stream
When you have a job you only HAVE one income stream. In my opinion, that is very RISKY. Your entire financial well being is based upon the one income stream and if you ever lose it, you are SCREWED. That’s why it’s important to have multiple streams of income. It’s much better to earn $4000 per month via four different income streams that it is to earn that same amount with ONE income stream. Does that make sense?
10. You Have a Boss
Now, I know there are some good bosses out there. But they are few and far between. If you’ve ever had a horrible boss, you will appreciate a good one. But even having a good boss isn’t that good of a deal in my eyes. Having someone to tell you what to do, to kiss up to, to make them look good, to help them get promoted, and to be in complete control of your upward mobility IS NOT a very good deal (as I see it). I think it’s much better to be your own boss and call your own shots.
Final Thoughts
I appreciate you taking the time to read my top 10 reasons why jobs suck. Once again, I don’t expect you to agree with everything I said. That wouldn’t be much fun, would it?
If you have a job, don’t feel bad or unimportant. You do have an important role in our society and economy. But by all means, please don’t think that having a JOB is the only way to create an income and provide for your family. It’s not. It might be the only way to earn money that you’ve ever been taught, but it definitely isn’t the best way.
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know what you think. I look forward to hearing from you.
Chuck Holmes
20+ Year Network Marketing Professional
Top Earner & Top Recruiter
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
P.S. Learn how to grow a successful network marketing business. Secret tips, training, and practical ideas. Free training delivered by email.
Lack of job security is always a scary thing. Especially with what we saw with this past recession where even people in the “most secure” job fields were losing jobs left and right. For me, that notion was really a motivator to go into business for myself. With a young son, I didn’t want to rely on someone else to provide for myself and my child. I wanted to have the control and ultimately the peace of mind in knowing that I could take care of us.
Yes, the days of job security, for most people, are long gone.
Jobs do suck.
We are taught our whole lives to go get a job and stick with it no matter what. By doing this, you may get a small pension on top of your Social Insecurity.
Jobs are a different name for slavery. Sure, you get paid, but do we get paid our value? No! We get paid what the employer perceives our value to be.
Creating a residual income is the answer to getting off the Jobs Suck routine. I am not saying to go quit your job immediately, but we should all be setting up forms of residual income, and network marketing is a great form of it.
I hate jobs. It’s a good fit for some folks, but not for me.
Absolutely beautiful! Thanks so much for sharing.