I had a few comments on my post “Does anyone else feel this way”
I thought I would relate how this whole thought process hit me like a ton of bricks one evening and has now become an unshakeable thought!
I was returning from a business trip in Omaha, Nebraska. I had just sucked down a Grande Cappuccino from Starbuck’s and was sitting patiently waiting for my flight when I thought to myself, “These pants are too tight”. Sadly, this is not an uncommon thought for me these days, but in this case, I realize it was not that they were tight, they were just uncomfortable. I looked down at them. They are a pair of dress slacks made by an Italian designer (I forget who, but suffice it to say these are not expensive pants. I spend money on more important stuff than work clothes). Anyway, I looked around and saw literally hundreds of other travelers who were dressed essentially just like me. Pressed button-down shirt, nice pants, nice shoes, black carry-on bag (laptop included) and decidedly downtrodden corporate facial expression.
Well, I thought to myself, “Why do we dress this way?” and I quickly answered myself “Because we are told to”. I came to the shocking conclusion that I, and all those like me, were wearing the accepted uniform of the corporate wageslave. Now, Corporate Wageslave” was never how I described my future when I was a child and it is certainly not what I tell my kids I am. I asked myself “How did I get here? More importantly, how to get out? Who makes money and wears what they want?”
Well, again I answered myself, “People who work for themselves”. Now, I don’t want to turn my blog into a gripe against corporate America, nor do I want to try and become a prophet for entrepreneurs (they are tons of those already) but it is a thought I have been having. How to do something of my own. Some sort of lifestyle business like Ron Heacock’s Writer’s Retreat , or some sort of Bed &Breakfast or Charter Fishing…I am literally just brainstorming, but I think you get the idea.
Anyway, one helpful blog for these sorts of thoughts is “Seth’s Blog” – it is a blog by Marketing guru Seth Godin whose favorite quote is “Start something, now!” So, should we all start something – now? If so…what? Maybe my "too-tight-pants" have become metaphorical for a corporate lifestyle I would rather escape...then again, they are okay pants.
Everyone else may already read this blog, but there are some really cool things on it.