It has been 3 months since I quitted my first and ever job. During this period, many friends and clients have been asking me how I am doing so far. My reply is always the same. “Things have been great. Been busy with quite a bit of projects.”
Actually there is a lot more to that.
Physical Health
I decided to get my body in a better physical shape. It started when I stumbled upon Chris Daughtry’s 90 days challenge to get ripped. I had always been working out in the gym but I felt that my body was not ideal with the bulky muscles and barely visible abs. Being out on my own means that I can control my time which gives me more freedom to control my diet and workout schedule. I started to count my daily calorie in-take and prepare my own meals. It was very tough in the beginning as I was uncertain of what I should eat. Sites like bodybuilding.com and builtlean.com were great as they had articles on healthy recipes and workout schedules. A lot of time was spent on reading the nutrition labels (products which are labelled low-fat do not mean that they are healthy!), preparing pasta, wraps, sandwiches, salads and working out in the gym with a structured program (i use this program as a start). After 3 months, I am looking and feeling fitter than ever. Chicken breasts, tuna, almonds, peanut butter, low-fat cottage cheese and eggs are now my best friends.
Business
I have been in this industry for over 10 years, but it was mostly on a part-time basis. 99% of my business were referred by friends and past clients as I did not spend any effort to market myself or to look for business. Now, the majority of my business still comes from word of mouth recommendations but there are a few clients who manage to find me through Google. If you google for “freelance web designer singapore”, I am on the 2nd page, which is a pleasant surprise. Although my website is SEO-friendly, I don’t do any SEO techniques on my website. SEO is certainly something that I want to look into once I have the time. One thing I am certain is that the links which I place on my clients’ websites play a big part in pushing my ranking. So, a big thank you to my clients! Looking at the next few weeks, I am going to be busy with a few e-commerce projects, micro-sites & corporate websites. A great way to start July.
Mental Health
Although I am earning lesser now and won’t be receiving a regular paycheck, I am feeling much more positive, happy and motivated. I gain new knowledge about different industries by talking to new clients. There is a great level of satisfaction when past clients and friends refer me (The peak was when I got referred to a new client by two different people). The different job requirements increase my appetite to learn new things about web design and development. It is nice and humbling to hear that people are respecting me and looking up to me. The tradeoffs are pretty awesome, isn’t it? Of course, in the midst of being busy, negative thoughts do creep in sometimes. Was it the right decision to quit? Why am I working till 1am while earning lesser than before? What will happen if I dont have projects anymore? All these thoughts are pretty scary if you ask me as they are powerful enough to throw me down. Fortunately, I did not dwell on them as I always remind myself of the law of attraction. As long as I focus on positive thoughts, positive results will happen.
I know that I am currently in the honeymoon phase of being self-employed. Things will not be rosy all the time. You have to suffer so that you can climb higher (just like how I spent 2 hours writing this post). But I am ready for the challenge and uncertainty ahead. It is the unpredictability which makes life exciting and worthwhile to lead.