The US is a country built on a story: the story of our independence. We left Britain (and Cuba and Haiti and Iraq) to assert our independence and do our own thing (such as name our towns after British towns and set up neighborhoods full of Cubans and Haitians and Iraqis). Independence matters to us.
Except, it seems, with regards to our financial independence.
We’re a nation where most people get their money from one source. We wave our flags. We choose the beer we want to drink. We pick the color of our car. We vote. Okay, we only vote for singers and dancers, but we vote.
But we want our money to come from one company. We want to be dependent on one source for our future bread. We worry about losing our job because it’s the only thing paying the bills.
Independent?
The most peace and content and happiness I’ve yet felt on this earth comes from the fact that I choose every project I work on, and that my future is firmly held in my hands.
I went from having not enough money to pay the mortgage to being okay and having enough to share with charities that matter to me. Though I don’t strive to be independent (I prefer having teams and collaborations around the things I do), I appreciate the baseline of independence my work choices have brought me.
What about you? How much does your independence matter? What are you doing to earn yours? A new rocket will launch shortly. Watch for it.
Related posts:
