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Nothing prepared me for freelancing better than GTA III.
(with Skyrim a close second)
Anyone who's quit a 9-5 to go down the solo route knows this choice is an absolute brain-melter. There's no instruction manual or customer service; just uncertainty, bills, and whole lotta self-doubt.
It's coming up to 5 years since I left my 9-5, and one thing has been on my mind at every stage of my growth:
Freelancing is just like being a character in a role-playing-game.
If you played any of the GTA games you'll know what I mean.
You start off in a new city as a nobody, doing small jobs for the strangest characters. The tasks are fairly simple as you learn the ropes and discover new areas.
(continued below 👇)
Over time you develop your skills, acquire new equipment, and unlock bigger jobs. This is the exact same route you take as a successful freelancer.
Now I don't know about you, but it certainly didn't feel like life was a game when I got stuck in traffic going back and forth to an...
Playing Skyrim prepared me in a similar way.
In this fantasy world, there's a lot more focus on skill development, where you purposely opt for stamina, health, or magic. As a self-employed entrepreneur, this makes me think of good financial planning.
Running a freelance business...
These fleeting thoughts came to me while drafting a section on mindset in my upcoming ebook. There's a massive change in identity that needs to happen as you switch from employee to self-employed. It's especially difficult if you're not surrounded by people in the same...
Thanks!
Do you see any similarities to your own path in this story?
You start with basic gear and end up unlocking premium clients 😌
What game best represents your freelance / entrepreneurial journey, Anush?
Probably Minecraft 😄 Started with basic tools, slowly built systems, now just trying not to fall into random lava (aka bad clients)
Nice one, I like it.
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
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