The article is translated by Jason

“感谢上帝，我没有工作。”

当我的朋友这么说的时候，我愣住了。我扬起眉毛的时候， 辣鸡滴落在我的脸上。虽然我们坐在那什维尔以西的一个吵闹的餐厅里，但是那句话很清晰地传到我的耳边。

“真的吗？”我问道。

“是的，”他边说边把薯条推到桌子靠我这边。“我将永远没有能力负担我的生活其他方面。”

首先，是这样的：

我一直有一个“传统的”工作。有一个办公室，一个老板，还有有保障的薪水。这个传统类型的工作有很多好处。

然而有一件大多没有注意（或者是不想承认）的特别事情。作为一个有创造力的人，他最害怕一个牢笼，这是美国企业界让我觉得很有问题的一个方面:

天花板。

这里一直有一个天花板，这与你有多喜欢你的工作，或者多么努力工作都没有关系。

在我们午餐约会的时候我了解到，这个朋友每个月都有1万美金的收入。其中大部分收入来自于他曾经做的一个产品，还有他销售的自己做的一个自动化程序。他工作非常努力，但是也有自由去享受一天的中途偶遇的午餐约会。

在一个公司组织中，每一份收入都付带了更多的责任。大部分人都知道工作中一个月拿到1万美金收入的人要承受更大的压力。他们几乎总是随时待命，他们工作的更晚，他们很少陪家人。（好吧——“大多数人”是一个令人误解的说法。我所知道的3个传统工作中一个月拿1万美金的人，他们每一个的生活都是这样的。）

问一下自己：

你认为你能从你现在的工作压榨出多少收入？
额外3%？
额外每年2千美金？
额外的加薪？额外的升职？
更重要的是，你认为你能从你自己身上压榨出多少钱？
确信这个收入与你花费的时间和精力成正比吗？

在一个传统公司——对你的想法的回报，很少能与这些想法在公开市场带来的价值或自由相匹配。

上周，有一个预感，我对我的网站和邮箱目录做了一点调整。第二天我卖了五本书。马上实验，马上有结果。你很少看到一个雇员会有那种立竿见影的机会。

让我们玩一个游戏。

根据今天美国的情况，美国人的平均年薪大概是3万5千美金。我们设想一下，你为几家不同公司工作40年。因为你是一个聪明人，工作很努力，也得到了升职。

我们可以说你一生的总收入是：

1999999美金。

这里有个很有意思的问题问你自己：

我的2百万美金在哪里？

也许把你的爱好变成一份全职工作感觉太过分。我也知道，那是很艰难的路。在这之前你可能要投资大量的钱。还有，假如你把自己生活中有乐趣的部分扭曲和折磨成像你的工作的事情，感觉会怎样？

那是一个很可怕的想法。但是，假如你的爱好能够支付你的煤气账单，感觉怎么样？你的电费账单?你在一些地方做点小改变，用上10到15年时间就能买自己的房子呢？？

还有些有趣的问题给你自己：

为什么你做不到？
为什么你不能学一些技巧来推销你所拥有的东西？
为什么你不能让你的爱好能赚钱？
为什么你不能买一些东西，修理然后卖更多钱？
为什么你不能在天花板让你屈服之前打开牢笼?

[原文]

“Thank God I Don’t Have a Job”

When my friend said this, I froze.

Hot chicken dripped down my face as I raised an eyebrow. Though we sat in a loud restaurant just west of Nashville, that sentence reached my ears clearly.

“Really?” I asked.

“Yep,” he said, pushing his unfinished fries to my side of the table. “I would never be able to afford life otherwise.”

First, this:

I still have a “traditional” job. There’s an office, a boss, and a guaranteed paycheck. There are a lot of good things about this type of job.

[6] There is, however, one thing in particular which most don’t notice (or don’t acknowledge). As a creative person who fears a cage the most, this is the aspect of corporate America which makes me squirm:

The ceiling.

There is always a ceiling, no matter how much you love your job or how hard you work.

My friend, as I learned on our lunch date, makes somewhere around $10,000 every month. Much of that money comes from a product he has already created, and is sold by an automated process he built. He works very hard, but also has the freedom to meet up for lunch in the middle of the day.

In Corporateville, every single dollar is attached to more responsibility. Most people I know who make $10,000 a month at a job operate under a high amount of stress. They are almost always on call. They work late hours. They see their families very little.
(Sorry — “most people” is misleading. I know 3 people who make that much in traditional jobs. Each of their lives is exactly like that.)

A question for you:

How much more do you think you can squeeze out of your current job? Another 3%? Another $2,000 a year? Another raise? Another promotion? More importantly, how much do you think you can squeeze out of yourself, knowing that income is directly proportional to the time and attention you spend?

In a company — the payoffs for your ideas rarely match the value or freedom those ideas bring in the open market.

Last week, on a hunch, I made a few tweaks to my website and email list. I sold 5 books the next day. Immediate experiments, immediate results. You rarely see that sort of instant opportunity with an employer.

Let’s play a game.
The average yearly salary for a single person in America is roughly $35,000, according to USA Today. In our imaginary scenario, you work 40 years for a few different companies. You get some promotions along the way because you are a bright person who works very hard.

We’ll say your lifetime total of earning is:

$1,999,999

Here’s an interesting question to ask yourself:
Where is my 2 millionth dollar?

Maybe manipulating your hobby into a full-time job feels like too much. I get it. That’s a hard road. You’ll probably invest a lot of money up front. Plus, what if you twist and torture a more enjoyable piece of your life into something which feels like work?

That’s a scary thought. But what if your hobby could pay your gas bill? Your electric bill? Could a few changes here or there buy you a house if applied over 10 or 15 years?
Another interesting question to ask yourself:
Why couldn’t you?
Why couldn’t you learn a few skills to sell what you do have?
Why couldn’t you make your hobby profitable?
Why couldn’t you buy something, fix it, and then sell it for more?
Why couldn’t you unlock the cage before the ceiling caves in on you?