There comes a time when you wake up one Monday morning and think, “Okay – that’s enough. I want out of here.” That’s a great idea, and it probably helps if first you have won the lottery, can access a large superannuation stash, or else have some other good means of support. Those matters under control, all it takes is for you to walk into the manager’s office and give the required
Values is a term that is much used, both by businesses and by people when they refer to their life choices, but what are they really? Values are a guiding set of beliefs that influence how you lead your life or conduct your business. On the home front, they evolve progressively, influenced by family and cultural teachings. The values that we consider to be important will influence how we behave,
Making the transition from employee to being your own boss is liberating. You can work from home with the hours that you want, where you want and how you want. Flexibility was what you were seeking after all. The ‘where’ can present a few challenges though. Is your home big enough to allow a dedicated work space? Do you have privacy for business calls? Are you tripping over Lego as
Social media is great. It keeps us connected and keeps us informed. For those who work in relative isolation, such as myself, it is a means of maintaining contact with friends, the market, the business community and the world at large. The interaction that I used to get from email has changed. Once, this was a major source of communication between my friends and myself. Now it seems to
It’s a great idea. You’ve been awake half the night going over the possibilities and you are so sure that this is just the business or career solution you’ve been searching for. You’ve subsequently done some research and looked at the financial aspects. You’ve put together a draft business plan. It seems like this might just work. It’s at this point, you tentatively mention
This is one of life's ironic gotchas. Just as you get to a stage at which you have a combination of life and work experience in your favour, you are considered too old to be a practical contributor to the workforce. Suddenly, training and development opportunities bypass you and are made available to your younger colleagues. It is considered that there will be better value for the training
It is not unusual to think of leaving the rat race and starting your own business or developing a home-based enterprise. We think about it a lot, and then think about it some more. Particularly on Sunday nights as we contemplate the week ahead. Only a small proportion of people actually form a plan, do their research and take the first step which will lead to work place independence and
The loss of a job can precipitate grief similar to that caused by the death of someone close. Sometimes there is advance notice (sort of like death-by-degree), and sometimes there is little warning of the pink slip with the Don’t-Come-Monday message. Either way, it can shatter your heart and sense of self into a thousand little pieces. The classic phases of grieving may be experienced - denial,
A recent program on the ABC featured the slow movement. Titled Frantic Family Rescue it detailed the efforts of three families to slow down the frantic pace of their lives, guided by journalist Carl Honoré. Honoré is the author of “In Praise of Slow” and an advocate of the slow movement. It really made me stop and think about the pace of life that I lead. I don’t know about you,
Why would you need a parachute, particularly if you’ve no plans on flying anywhere? There are many events which can launch you into the unknown and that is when you need to rely on your parachute or safety net. It could be that you are about to leave a job with a regular income for the vagaries of self-employment. The reasons are varied and don’t really matter except that you will have