You're always working for yourself.

[ositolector]

I heard this little gem back when I was debating with myself between being an independent contractor ie. consultant or hiring out as an employee. This was in the IT industry. In discussing the options with some peers, one of the older ones said the line between w2 and 1099 was a good part mental. His point was that even as an employee your mindset should be that although they can think that they're paying you to do a given job, you're there to exploit the opportunity to learn, earn, and improve your little product which is yourself. Once I shed the delusion of worker/employer and saw it as a mutual exploitation system, I got a lot better at the game.
PS- a great scene in the movie The Jerk where Nathan realizes that the idea of the carney events is to fleece the customers. He says, OHHHH, it's a for-profit deal.... whew, that take's the pressure off!"

 

[ositolector]

While a bit odd to reply to my own post, I wanted to give better examples. Ronnie Coleman, one of the world's best bodybuilders often joked in the gym, 'everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but no one wants to do them squats' Squats are one of the hardest exercises because they work all the big leg muscles and calves. It's impossible to build big powerful legs without doing squats. Period. But actually Coleman, loved to hate doing squats not just because he knew his championships depended on doing them but because the WILL to do squats consistently made him better than most men That's a path with heart.
On the flip side, at one time, I thought I wanted to be surfboard shaper. In surfing, shapers have a guru like status and high credibility. Many big names in the surf industry - not the sport- are either big name shapers or pro surfers. After a summer of thrashing countless blanks, buying tools, prepping a shape shed, etc. I realized that although I was getting better, that I had no love or feel for the foam. I had less love and talent for the glassing of the shaped board using fiberglass and resin. It's a special type of person that can say they love working with glass - it's sticky, fume-y, precise work.
What I really wanted to do was be a player in the surf industry - with my own brand and outlook. Before this realization, I was on a path without heart

 

[Trey.ru.iii]

This is very insightful. Many people go through life with a very static career, meaning they do the same cognitive tasks everyday until they retire, with no real evolution in the work they are doing. A key to having a dynamic, enriching, and overall more fulfilling career is to realize learning never stops. Especially in this day and age where new technologies are being spewed out like burgers at a fast food joint, it is a horrible misconception that your learning stops after college. Even when you do secure an entry level position directly after schooling, you must make it an initiative to continue to develop your skill sets to be an adaptable individual ready to tackle new fields of work. It is true to say that self-development should be incorporated into your everyday work schedule. Otherwise you will slowly see yourself become an outdated employee stuck working on the commonalities of the past.