How Freelancing Has Made Me a Better Person

I started freelancing for the flexibility, travel opportunities and just to be my own boss.

I’d never had expected that running a business was also good for me, as a human being.

I thought I’d share this week the ways freelancing has made me a better person

FORCED ME TO LOOK AT MY “MONEY ISSUES”

People get weird about money.

The quickest way to stay poor as a freelancer is to stay weird about money.

The income in my business is in direct proportion to how I feel about my own worth and asking for the sale.

I was sceptic about “manifesting”, “abundant psychology” and “clearing your money blocks”. That is, until I hit some lean months. I put some work into valuing myself, examining the money values and setting feel good goals.

I realized, If I don’t believe in my work, how could a client?

The benefits of tackling my money issues didn’t end with my bottom line. It’s improved my confidence, my communication skills with my partner and helped me to be more forgiving of others.

 I’M BETTER AT MAKING FRIENDS

Growing up, my friends were fellow students. When I got into the workplace, my friends were colleagues. I choose friends by the defaults of proximity and interests.

As a freelancer, we don’t have colleagues. This is one of the reasons I started FTF. I wanted to make friends, share knowledge and be part of a larger team not hindered by where we live.

I now easily build friendships and reach out to people in person and online. I send and receive emails that sounds a lot like: “Hey, I love your website. We should be friends. Want to skype?”

NO EXCUSES

The double edged sword of working for yourself is that there is no one to make sure I didn’t forget anything. No one to enforce an 8 hour work day. No one to call when I’m sick and can’t work.

It’s all up to me.

There are no excuses when you’re a freelancer. Clients pay me to do the work and so the work needs to get done.

This has allowed me to take greater responsibility in all areas of my life. With that “no excuses” approach I feel more confident about what I can do.

I’M BETTER AT TAKING CARE OF MYSELF

My work suffers when I burn out. When my work suffers, I suffer.

When I worked for someone else, I didn’t notice. There were colleagues to check the mistakes, lower expectations of me in general and I could always call in sick if I needed to.

Now I eat well, sleep well and get exercise. If I don’t, I burn out fast. I’ve even taken up meditating with my Headspace App as a way to keep my mind fresh.

Slowly over time, I’m learning what I need to do to keep the work humming both personally and professional.

GIVING & RECEIVING

The saying “the more you give, the more you receive” has never been more true for me.

It’s easy to write off that statement in a 9-5 corporate job that doesn’t care about you.

But one-on-one in my business, I see it in everything. I see it in Freelance to Freedom and the community that grows and gives. I see it in how well Stress Less & Impress was received.

Whether it’s simply answering questions in Facebook groups, putting out helpful free info on my blog or going above and beyond what my clients are paying me for, the more I give freely, the more clients and friendships and freedom I receive.

Everyday I see in REAL time how you receive when you give. This inspires me to be more of service to others in every area of my life.

BOUNDARIES

“Boundaries” was a word I used to hate. It evoked feelings of conflict and fear. Now I see boundaries as a way to set myself free. I set boundaries with both clients and myself.

When it’s 10 o’clock and I haven’t seen jazz hands (thats my French man), I force myself to stop and spend some time with him before going to bed. That’s a boundary. Previously, I myself pushed harder and would work until 2 or 4am.

I’m clear with my clients, my partner and my family what I can and cannot offer. When I need me time, I know I have to take it.

Ultimately, there is less conflict in my life than before because I set the boundaries and ask other to respect them.

Has freelancing made you a better person? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments.

-Leah

Leave a Comment