My heart goes out to anyone who feels the need to write “Views are my own” on their Twitter profile.
Nobody writes this unless they are scared.
Scared of upsetting their employer by liking the wrong tweet. Scared of saying something nice about a competitor’s product. Scared of retweeting support for a democratic Hong Kong because it will anger your employer’s Chinese investors.
The list of no-go topics and social media faux pas is endless, but don’t expect to get a copy of the rules. Most employers know we do such a great job of policing ourselves.
The fear
At the root of it all is a natural instinct to survive.
If 100% of your income comes from one employer, then you had better keep them happy, or you’ll be out on the street!
And it’s not just social media…
Writing emails, chatting to colleagues online, and speaking up in meetings, all require you to capture any honest thoughts before they slip though the net.
Self-censorship is exhausting
It’s draining to repress your true thoughts and feelings on a daily basis. Eventually something has to give.
As in any relationship, if you feel too scared to speak your mind, resentment will start to build up. If left unchecked, this mutates into passive aggression, anxiety, and a myriad of bizarre health problems down the line.
You can only have full health if you are your full self.
There is no other way.
So what’s the solution?
You can never be truly free if you depend on the income of a single employer to house, clothe and feed you.
Saving up enough money to cover six months of expenses will give you some degree of freedom, but as the months go by and the savings decrease, you will become increasingly desperate to take another full time job. Back to square one.
The only sane, long-term solution, is to diversify your income so it comes from multiple sources.
Two ways to diversify your income
Active: Quit your job and freelance for several different companies.
Passive: Keep your job and build passive income streams in your spare time.
Freelancing is what most people do when they can’t stand the thought of being bossed around by an employer. It is also a great way to learn new skills, meet more people, travel, and experience different kinds of work.
But it’s still active income. If you are too sick to work for a month, you don’t get paid.
Passive income is far more preferable as it pays money into your bank account automatically every day, even if you go on vacation. Yes there is more work to do up front, but you get to choose when and where you put the effort in.
So how do you get there?
Luckily, it has never been easier to earn passive income through writing blog posts, publishing ebooks, starting newsletters like this one, or creating an online course.
I’m going to write posts on all these ideas and show you how easy it is to get started. But whenever I mention building passive income streams to my friends, they often say the same thing:
“I am not creative enough to publish my own stuff.”
I disagree. But let’s assume for a moment it is true. The good news is that there is an entirely new way of working that is just around the corner. Starting from next year, anyone in the world will be able to work for a DAO.
A Decentralised Autonomous Organisation will enable you to work with a small group of people towards a shared goal. You’ll get to choose when and where you work, and your contributions will generate passive income for years to come.
I will be writing lots more on DAOs in the future.
So if you want to break the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck, and feel free to speak your mind on Twitter without repercussions, subscribe to Escape Hatch and stay tuned.