This isn’t a sermon about your boss, or anything else for that matter.
By the way, I don’t hate my boss.
In fact, at the time of writing this, I don’t even have a boss.
But before you blow me off completely, realize I’m a human being that lives in the real world and can completely empathize with the feeling you have for your boss.
For you to come online and do a search for “I hate my boss” is telling enough to me and I can put your grievance down to two things:
- Your boss is a real a**hole
- You hate the fact that your boss tells you what to do at work
If your boss is an a-hole, you should either get up and have a word with them or quit the job. In the extreme case you’re getting harassed, you should report to the relevant authorities.
If you fall into the second category, you’re the one this post is really about.
Take it from someone who thought he hated something, you might think you hate your boss but you really don’t.
You either hate the work they are asking you to do or you hate the fact that someone is telling you what to do.
In simple terms, you either hate your current job or you hate the fact that you have a job at all.
Again, you should probably quit if you hate your current job. Look for a better one and if you want to learn how you can set yourself up for something you ultimately love, stick around for the rest of this article.
The same applies to you if you hate having a job altogether. There are baby steps you could take now that would transition you into doing something you truly love.
How to Earn a Living Doing What You Love
I hate making generalizations but I believe everyone has at least one thing they love.
Most people know straight away what they would like to make money doing, while others are not so sure. If you’re not sure, let your friends help you.
Ask your closest friends “what 3 things do you think I’m best at?”. See what the responses have in common and then you should get a good idea of what you should strongly consider.
For simplicity, I’ll be using a straightforward example. Let’s say your passion is baking cupcakes.
I love this example because I know it’s something you could conveniently do on the side while you have a job. I know this because a few of my friends do it.
By the way, I prefer you do this while you have a job because it’s not something that kicks off right away. You’re working towards earning a living doing what you love, so it’s better to have a job to take care of your needs now to prevent any additional pressure on your shoulders.
Bake some cupcakes and serve them to your friends for free. Whenever you’re at a social gathering, just share some of your cupcakes for FREE. That’s important!
The whole point is people now know you make cupcakes and if they like it, they tell other people. So it’s absolutely crucial you start by handing some out for free.
One thing you should be aware of is the reaction people have after tasting your cupcakes. If people are like “oh my God!”, that’s great for you. If they’re not, you need to improve on something. Keep improving and giving them out for free till you get that positive vibe from people.
After a short while, there’s a good chance your friends will advise you to stop giving them out for free and start charging people for your cupcakes. They might even recommend a price. Now you can stop handing your cupcakes out for free.
You already have your initial base of customers in your friends and everyone else that had your free cupcakes and liked them. These people would be willing to pay for your cupcakes because they already know what you offer.
As time passes, more and more people come to learn about your cupcakes and if you remain consistent, the income from your “side hustle” will grow tremendously. In this digital age, it is much more convenient to promote your “side hustle”. Social media shares from your friends could do a lot to increase your reach.
Back To Your Boss
You might be wondering why I wandered so far away from the issue that might have brought you here in the first place.
Well, I didn’t.
I already said if your boss is an ass, you should talk to them to stop what you don’t like or you should quit.
However, for most people, their problem is not their boss. It’s their job.
They either do not like the job they’re currently doing or they do not fancy the idea of working for anybody at all. And this is where the whole passion talk leads up to.
Employers do not care about what you say you can do. They care about what you have done.
If you’re passionate about baking cupcakes and would like to work in a bakery or an organization that makes their own cupcakes, with your cupcake “side hustle”, you now have something to show you can offer to the company.
This process is a good way to transition from a job you hate to a job you’ll love.
If you don’t fancy the idea of working for anybody, what you have to do is scale up your side hustle.
You have a job you don’t like that takes up a lot of hours, you bake cupcakes on this side and you make some money from it. Now imagine if you quit your job and decided to spend those hours baking more cupcakes and promoting?
Your side hustle has the potential to outgrow your job and you know what the best part is? You’re actually enjoying what you’re doing.
A Little Bit About Me
For someone that does not have a job (or boss) at the moment, I have spoken a whole lot right?
Generally speaking, I’ve never been a settler. I’ve never been one to take just any job because I’m desperate for a job. All the jobs I’ve had and all the volunteer work I’ve done, I did them because I enjoyed doing them. This thinking was drilled into me from a very young age – Don’t settle for less than you deserve!
Everybody deserves happiness.
While I was in university, I learned how to build websites, optimize them and make them profitable. This was my own “side hustle”. I didn’t learn all these in school by the way. Now I’ve graduated and I’m using my “side hustle” as my portfolio to look for jobs in that field.
Because I make some money from what I do, I’m not in a desperate situation where I have to settle for just any job. I’m picky with the companies I apply to and if I’m not convinced I would be happy at a company, I wouldn’t apply. Simple.
Yes, I practise what I preach. 🙂
If you would like your own side hustle to be blogging about things you’re passionate about, I can definitely help you with that. It’s the whole point of this website. Check out the program that taught me.
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