Would You Work As Hard?

Someone commented today on the amount of hours I put into building my own dreams and running my own company. They implied that until they met me, they always thought that people who ran their own companies had more time to themselves and more freedom that someone who worked for someone else. They laughed and said that working for someone else seems a lot easier.

I’m not so sure. I’ve been trying to earn a living from my own sources for exactly a decade now... when the prospect of putting my own child in daycare to go take care of someone else’s business so that they could stay home when they felt like it was enough to make the terror of working for myself almost bearable. I love the freedom to be able to adapt my day if necessary. Since Erin will be home sick tomorrow, but I actually have the van, the schedule of the day will be totally reworked depending on how she feels in the morning. At least I have the freedom to make choices like that... or to spend time helping my kids with homework, even if it means pulling some late nights to balance things out.

Would I work as hard for someone else? Probably in some ways. I have a very deeply ingrained work ethic that makes it very hard for me to give anything less than my best. Probably not in other ways... I would probably have more evenings free or rediscover other hobbies.

Would I change anything? Not at all. My 30s were all about feeling insecure about everything. I think my 40s are going to rock!