Internet access is vital to the majority of small businesses these days, especially home-based businesses. Only with the Internet can I put up a storefront, albeit a virtual one, in a matter of hours. VoIP makes long distance and international calls very affordable. It is a shame that corporate greed is being allowed to trump national and local progress in broadband connectivity. However, the time seems ripe for the right outfit with the right know-how to replace these businesses that rely on outdated laws to stay in business.
This post has been in my WordPress queue for a few months now. I never got around to posting it because I wanted to polish it a bit first. But after this post by The Window Manager, it reminded me of this post-in-progress, so I just decided to post it, rough edges and all.
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What a bunch of crock
“Get good grades, get a good job!”, yammered my parents, my teachers, everyone. Well, I got great grades, and by conventional measures, I have a great job. But what would have made me happy got lost in between.
For the first 20+ years of my life, following the Plan was paramount. Any deviation from this was surely the road to destitution and misery. I’m not destitute, but I don’t like the job my education prepared me for. I’ve finally seen through the well-meaning brainwashing to begin the road to recovery. It would have been easier to start this road 10 or 15 years ago. I wish I spent less time studying and more time doing, in high school and in college. But I didn’t know. And Paul Graham’s articles (1 2 3 4 5) weren’t around back then. But better now than 10 or 15 years hence though. What am I going to do? No clue. But realizing I need to do something is a start.
As it turns out, I’m not the only one who has had to put on hold the journey to freedom from 9 to 5; Cubicle Coder also has other higher priorities in his life right now. But the keyword for me is “on hold”. Not abandoned nor forgotten. Just delayed. Unless you’re capable of intense unwavering focus, as Steve Pavlina seems to be (just read his blog and you’ll see what I mean), the path to your goals usually isn’t as straightforward as you would hope; sometimes it’s more circuitous and takes longer. I say, unless you’re in dire straits, don’t worry about it. Enjoy the scenery wherever you are.
