(1.5-minute read)

From Wikipedia: A Rōnin (浪人, "drifter" or "wanderer") was a samurai without a lord or master...

I never liked being told what to do. When I was a kid I demonstrated what professionals would call "problems with authority" in terms of not giving a shit about what teacher have to say and what I need to do "like everyone else" in order to get "good grades" and "succeed in life" 🤢

I was raised to be very polite and courteous and respected my elders, don't get me wrong, but I knew they were just another brick in the wall. (now that song is stuck in your head...) I was lucky enough to have a wise mother who told me to "do well enough you don't flunk out and satisfy the norm, so you can be done with this and go do what you want to do." And I did exactly that - I carved my own path.

In order to be a successful Freelancer, a Ronin, not just a cog in the machine who does what is told and gets paid to do it, you'll need to take a long and hard road, often lonely with not much short-term benefits, gain the experience and apply it in your unique way to people you will be helping.

You want to be a skilled professional who knows what needs to be done, and decides how the task should be completed. You give direction because you've walked the path countless times, and now you're taking your clients on a journey to their success.

This is the main reason you don't see a lot of young freelancers, who are oftentimes confused with contractors. Unlike skilled freelancer with a unique value proposition, the contractor is replaceable and competes primarily on price and speed. But not you!

“There is no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs”

― Zig Ziglar

That's it for this Monday morning.

Enjoy the day.

T.