The Mental Game of Self-Employment

For many people, being self-employed seems like a dream (especially when you can work from home!). No boss. No rules. No dress code.

But also no accountability. No incentive programs. No support from co-workers.

While there are many benefits to self-employment, there are also many challenges, and one things I regularly struggle with is motivation, especially in the dry times when nothing seems to go right. It’s easy to start wasting time, or to use more of your time for house work than “work” work. The trick is to self-motivate, but how?

I recently picked up The Mental Game of Writing by James Scott Bell. More than just a writing guide, this is a self-employed/freelance workers book of motivation. Subtitled “How to Overcome Obstacles, Stay Creative and Productive, and Free Your Mind for Success,” I knew it was a book I needed to read. It only took a chapter to know I’d made the right decision when I bought the book.

I’m sure I’ll reference this book a lot in the next few weeks (months), so strap yourselves in. And the first reference I’ll make? Success. You don’t know if you’ve succeeded until you can define success for yourself.

So what exactly is success?

“Peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.” John Wooden

Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill

“Success lies not in achieving what you aim at, but in aiming at what you out to achieve, and pressing forward, sure of achievement here, or if not here, hereafter.” R.F. Horton

Before you can succeed in your freelance endeavors, you need to be able to define what it means to you.

So … how do you define success?