As a freelancer, my clients can fire me anytime.

I could wake up tomorrow with no income stream for the next few months.

Here’s why it doesn’t bother me:

If you know what you bring to the table, you can’t be afraid to eat alone.

Whatever you do for a living, you are being paid for your time in exchange for your effort, experience, expertise or insight. As long as what you bring to the table is irreplaceable, you’ll have a pay check.

That makes you susceptible to change though.

Nobody can guarantee your job. Only customers can guarantee your job.

Jack Welch

How do you protect yourself?

Flip the script and build a moat around your specific skill set and talent so you can leverage a higher pay/better benefits while working less hours.

This applies to regular employment as well.

The sooner you realize that, whether employed or on your own, you’re always working for yourself and your interest, the better off you’ll be.

Related: How to Future-Proof Your Career in the Age of Automation

Featured image under copyright © Ismail Hamzah on Unsplash