I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it. ~Pablo Picasso
When I decided to work at home while taking care of my kids, a few well-meaning older women warned me that I’d regret it. They’d stayed home for a few years and felt bored and isolated. Then they’d spent the rest of their careers struggling to catch up. I listened carefully. They had legitimate points, especially in the age they were living in.
But over the last few years I’ve discovered that we’re living in a new world now.
Today, we can jump on Twitter and chat with writers, editors, agents, magazine publishers, photographers, philosophers, scientists, and thinkers at the world’s largest virtual cocktail party.
We can click over to WordPress or Typepad and publish our ideas to hundreds of people with the click of a button.
We can head over to Google+ and hold a video conference call with far-away clients and colleagues.
And, with an Internet connection, it’s all free.
As you’ve probably heard, there’s also a massive revolution happening in the publishing industry. For the first time in history, we can publish books at home with little upfront cost, sell them ourselves, and have an actual chance of making money.
Or we can turn to Kickstarter and ask our friends, family, and followers to invest in our big ideas.
Of course, with all of this possibility comes responsibility. We must put out our finest work if we stand a chance of getting noticed today. For writers that means mastering, or outsourcing, the many jobs publishers do, including editing, design, customer service, and promotion.
Then there’s the real challenge: fear. We must have the courage to choose, out of a seemingly endless menu of options, what project to work on, which business to start.
But there’s no doubt about it, it’s a thrilling time to be an entrepreneurial person who wants to work at home.
But what of the warnings that staying at home with kids equates to endless boredom, to “long days and short years”? Well, the Internet has simply revolutionized the stay-at-home parent’s lifestyle.
From home, we can take university classes, watch inspirational speeches from the world’s greatest thinkers, network with friends and family across the planet, and access a seemingly infinite amount of information for free.
So the next time someone tells you that your dreams aren’t possible, no matter what they are, remember, we live in a vastly different world than even the one we lived in a few years ago.
Get inspired:
- Browse 100 tools for learning you can use at home.
- Watch an interview with Seth Godin on books, business choices, and life.
- Read about the micropublishing revolution.
- Follow The Minimalists 16-step guide to creating your masterpiece.
- Explore Open Culture: “the best free cultural & educational media on the web.”
(Photo taken by charamelody.)
Bravo :>)