Go to the end of this post to find the first episode of the “Doers” video series.
Some time ago, I went through a crisis. You see, I am a software engineer, and currently, it’s a sweet moment for my profession. Finding a job is never a problem. If I feel bored, I just have to say it out loud, and a thousand recruiters will fight to have my attention and convince me to accept their offers. Yes, offers, in the plural form. Every day, I am approached by recruiters and companies from around Europe, telling me that my profile fits some awesome, well-paid positions. There’s not much waiting from the moment I express interest till I am sitting at a new desk.
So why was I going through a crisis? It was because I wasn’t considering finding another job, so those offers didn’t appeal to me. They all sounded the same. I would be switching offices and colleagues, but in the end, I would feel like I was doing the same job. Therefore, I started thinking about freelancing. I wanted to do something for my own project, be my own boss, if you will. I wanted to decide who I wanted to work with and for. I liked my work, and I loved my company, but I felt stuck. I am not a person who’s comfortable just “feeling content”. Although I was doing well professionally, I needed to move forward. I did not want to take success for granted.
So, I did some research, including finding people in my area doing business in a way that would be appealing or inspiring to me. The first person I found was Andrew Funk. He was a crazy American businessman. We met on Twitter, but soon I invited him for drinks, and we had the conversation that triggered my crisis. Why? Because he asked me some very important questions, like:
What do you want to do?
It’s a simple question, right? Of course, it is. But there was a problem: I was looking for inspiration, yes. I wanted to do something different, yes. I was hoping to make my own decisions, yes… I just had no specific plans. I wanted to use my skills, which, honestly, are many – I can say that after 17 years in the business, right? – I do coding, video, photography, a bit of marketing, analytics, social media, and I have many good connections across many countries. So having all of that, I wanted to do something. But Andrew caught me off guard, really. What, exactly, did I want to become?
When I met him, I had this idea of creating a video to inspire people. Initially, it was about using social media the right way. But as I started to hang out with Andrew, I began to question myself and my goals. My head went to many places, and I came up with different ideas almost every week. All of them were awesome, or so I thought at the moment, but I always had cold feet as my new friend confronted me and pushed me to act.
So, long story short, I am still an employee, and I won’t go freelance for now. I realized I was just not happy with my position. I wasn’t motivated. Freelancing always sounds like the answer to that problem because they tell you that you will be free. But will you? That depends entirely on your disposition, your nature, and, more importantly, if it’s the right moment for you to go solo.
Well, it wasn’t my moment, so I guess the lesson here is: if you don’t feel like it’s your thing, don’t do it. I am perfectly fine being an employee. I just need the freedom, trust, and responsibility to do more.
But this is the beauty of the story. I still think freelancing is super cool, and maybe I will do it, but only if I am ready and believe in a specific idea/plan/project that I can push on my own. Until then, I have found a new exciting job where I think I will be able to do some crazy stuff, which, in the end, is my main goal.
Of course, I will continue developing my side projects, like the series of interviews I started with Andrew. It’s called “Doers,” and the purpose is to inspire those who really want to start their own business and become entrepreneurs, maybe even those who don’t yet, like myself. Being an employee or an entrepreneur doesn’t make you a Doer. Actually, the best definition I have found is this one:
“A Doer is a person characterised by action, as distinguished from one given to contemplation.”
So do stuff, either in your free time or as a full-time job. But do things, follow your passion, fulfil your dreams, do whatever it is that motivates you and makes you happy. That’s my advice, and that’s the point of recording these interviews. In a way, I am a Doer by doing this, or at least I feel like it, and it works for me.
I want to thank Andrew Funk for opening my eyes with his wise questions. I told him many times, and he thinks he did nothing, but he did a lot. He pushed me so I could get in touch with reality, and that reality wasn’t that I couldn’t be a freelancer. I just didn’t really want to. I am perfectly happy being an employee for now, and I have found peace. I am looking forward to starting my new job! I am truly excited, and that feeling is exactly what I was missing.
“Doers”, the video series
Here is the first interview in the Doers series. You can subscribe here to see the following releases: http://doers.luisnomad.com — Please, feel free to share it. And if you’d like to participate, read this.
I hope you like it!
About Andrew Funk
Andrew Funk is an American business owner, who has spent the last 11 years building his professional network both online and offline, while teaching his audience how to optimize their communication skills in English and Spanish in order to align their acquired knowledge to sales processes that ultimately add more value to corporate growth.
As a strong believer in social initiatives, he has created various non-profit initiatives to offer free training, networking and business opportunities i.e. International Networking Lunches/Dinners; #TwitterLunch; and #RedesSocialesYtu. He has also challenged public figures to improve their English e.g. Mariano Rajoy, and Sergio Ramos.
Website: http://www.funktwitter.com/
LinkedIn: https://es.linkedin.com/in/andrewfunkentrepreneurspain
