Could this be the beginning of the rest of your life
In 2015 I returned to Scotland after living in Melbourne for 3.5 years where I worked for an IT & management consultancy firm. While working for the consultancy firm I learned a lot. One of the things I learned was my £ value and my core values.
Up until relocating to Melbourne, I had only ever worked for corporate companies that paid you an annual salary. A salary you would happily accept as you knew no difference.
The consultancy firm model was a little different. On paper, it seemed the same, but I learned about the business billing model. My consultancy firm paid me an annual salary – that was the money I saw appear in my account each month. But they ‘billed’ me out to different companies to work on IT projects, the other companies paid a daily rate to my company for my services. The daily rate paid to my company was a lot more than the salary I received. My company received the difference into their bank account.
This information was noted in my mind for the future. That saying ‘knowledge is power’ springs to mind. A nod to the fact that knowledge allows us to make better choices.
When I arrived back in Scotland I knew that if I worked as a self-employed IT contractor I could earn a similar daily rate that my IT consultancy earned for me, on my behalf. This time though, since there was no ‘middle man’, I would receive the majority. Yes to that. Another benefit of self-employment is you are not restricted with a holiday allowance. The holiday model is simple - you don’t receive any holiday allowance. If you don’t work, you don’t get paid. I love this model. You are no longer restricted.
Since 2015 I’ve worked on IT projects as a self-employed contractor. Everyone feels the benefits of a model I now know as my life, where my work & life is well balanced. I charge a daily rate, show up to work my hours, and when I want to travel I can – within reason (as I still have IT projects to deliver).
The key to this story, and what I want to pass on to you, is knowing your core values and designing your life around them. One of my main core values is freedom. Hello freedom!
In relation to my work, I earn nice money which equals freedom. The majority of the money I earn is saved for a future time, to use when I am off on a trip somewhere in the world. Where adventure and joy can be found on the other side of a plane ride, waiting for me, perched on the horizon.
As an IT contractor, I don’t have a holiday allowance which also equals freedom.
The companies I contract with expect me to show up and work 100% on their IT projects, not be involved in any extra work stuff that feeds into your annual review. This again is freedom, the expectations of me are clear. Turn up and work to make cash, then I use the cash to travel, with the knowledge when I travel I feel the freest. All roads, on reflection, lead to freedom.
This is different from my life in my 20s. I felt boxed in.
Before I moved to Melbourne I was always known as a permanent employee. Someone who felt ‘owned’ by the company they worked for. There was very little freedom. You worked on your projects, then you were expected to look for and participate in extra activities to ‘stretch yourself’ and contribute to the company. To record against your (the company) objectives, as part of your annual development. At times, if felt like a tick in the box.
You were also boxed in with a holiday allowance, a way to control how many days you could be free and have fun. It ranged usually between 25 – 30 days. Providing you a taste of freedom, a taste, but you were ultimately limited. They used it as a carrot dangling over you.
I don’t regret my 20s – they provided the foundations for my 30s. In my 20s I worked within the system presented to me. I learned tools and techniques from working on various projects, and I was provided with lots of opportunities to grow and expand, which I grabbed, to earn promotions.
That was the rules of the game back then. Work extra hard to earn a promotion that provides more money. But there was a catch, you would still have the same holiday allowance and therefore there was always a limit to the freedom. We were trapped in a game where all roads seemed to lead us to work more.
Back then I didn’t know what values were, I suppose I was ‘climibing the ladder’. Earning my stripes. This was, and is, priceless for when, fast forward, I am on a call for an IT contract role. I know I have a Computer Science degree, the years working in the industry, and the years in a consultancy role, which all fed into my freedom.
When I make any decision I keep in mind my values – in particular freedom.
It can be as simple as asking “By doing the thing I am thinking about will it bring me a feeling of freedom?”.
Freedom doesn’t necessarily need to be linked to money, though money does provide freedom.
I feel the freest on my bike cycling around Glasgow, running along the canal, walking listening to a podcast.
The more I think about it, it is a frame of mind. A lifestyle. To be free flowing with life, living with few rigid rules, boundaries set. Freedom is a choice. If it is a choice, we can all seek out and experience freedom. Or whatever your core value is.
Values are a set of beliefs or opinions that influence how you live your life. They mirror what is important to you.
Identifying and understanding your core values will lead you to make better choices and decisions. The benefits are two-fold. You eventually design and create a life aligned to what fills you up.
Search online for ‘Core Values’ and a whole list of familiar words will come up. A treasure trove of values, some of which will jump out and others that will make you ponder. I used to be driven by achievement. That version of me is still inside, but I now operate from a different set of values.
1. Write down your values. Ten is a good number.
Select the values that most accurately describe your feelings or behaviours.
2. Consider the people you most admire
Generally, when we admire a quality in others it’s because it’s something we value ourselves.
3. Consider your experiences to identify a theme
To learn about your values, think back to the best and most painful moments in your life. Consider what these experiences reveal about your core values. Is there a theme? Everything in my current life, and parts of my past scream ‘Freedom’.
4. Choose your top core values
Rank the values in order of importance, and ask yourself what values are essential to your life. Now keep these close to hand as you journey through life.
Now you have your list of values, evaluate these against your current life and identify where you may need to change things up. Having a list of values will guide your behavior, allow you to seek out what you want from life, and, importantly, help you make decisions.
Also remember they will change, as you evolve and become different versions of yourself. Pencil in a review, maybe every 6 months. I am pretty sure freedom will always be one of my core values but there may be some that come and go. Life isn’t rigid, so we don’t need to be either. Have fun discovering what drives your life.
‘This is the beginning of the rest of your life’ ~ Gerry Cinnamon