Self-employment was once a distant dream for me — something I believed was only attainable for the privileged or those with connections. Growing up in a middle-class family, where financial stability was everything, I was taught early on that the only way to secure a livelihood was by working for wealthy individuals or the government.
Driven by this belief, I spent many years studying and eventually became a health scientist. For 53 years, I dedicated myself to various academic, governmental, and corporate institutions. It wasn’t until after my retirement that I truly began to enjoy life.
I wrote this short story to raise awareness because recently, I came across an old story by
, written before I joined Medium.com, which coincidentally appeared in my feed. As my mentor and the person who invited me there, I’ve likely read nearly all of his stories. I was happy to read this one, too.This eye-opening piece is titled I Wish I Had Gone Self-Employed 40 Years Ago for Three Reasons. In the subtitle of the story, he said until recently, I didn’t know self-employment could be extra beneficial for health and well-being. I didn’t know either, so I wanted to let everyone know.
The author’s candid reflections on the benefits of self-employment, especially from a health and well-being perspective, are crucial insights that often get overlooked in career planning. As a retired healthcare professional, I deeply resonated with his article, and I believe it holds significant value for young people today.
I decided to craft an interactive podcast, which you may listen to and start thinking about with an open mind. It is too late for me, but I am glad my kids were more tolerant of risks and took personal responsibility and timely actions to reap their benefits.
Thank you for reading and listening.
You can find the full story on my Medium profile and my blog page.
I dreamed of self-employment once, but I wish I had known the key benefits and kept an open mind about its possibilities.