The Gig Economy Stop Looking For Kansas!

The Gig Economy Stop Looking For Kansas! As Dorothy said in The Wizard of Oz, Ive a feeling were not in Kansas anymore.  She was right.  And you may as well stop looking for it.  Life as it once was a singe job or even career that spanned a lifetime is a relic of times forever gone. The real challenge has been that were still in transition.  Theres still  too much lingering fantasy that youre getting a degree in X and the X will be your lifetime career or pursuit.  And that couldnt be farther from the truth. But we probably need to go deeper than that.  Because even the innocent questions posed to our kids plants outdated seeds.  Yes, even What do you want to be when you grow up needs an update. The Gig Economy: Here To Stay So, since Kansas is off the map, where are we going?  Or, perhaps a better question is, how do we get there?  It begins with the realization that you are the new boss of you.  Whether you wanted it or not,  youve been promoted and now have all responsibility for your future. That may feel like a bucket of icy cold water, but its really good news.  You now have much more control.  Moving forward, as you build on this, youll be building ever more strength and resiliency.  Think of it as never having to worry about the dreaded pink slip again. Where To Start As the saying goes, dont quit your day job.  But what once meant that you should forever plan on staying there, because thats all to which you should ever aspire, now means something different.  That day job pays the bills while youre working on something that actually belongs to you instead of the company. Author Diane Mulcahy outlines these ten rules for successful navigation of the gig economy: Define Your Success Discover your personal vision of success, which might look very different from the traditional American Dream. Diversify Learn to identify and find gigs to increase your opportunities, improve your skills, and expand your network. Create Your Own Security There is no job security.  Understand how to create income security, an exit strategy, and your own safety net. Connect Without Networking Decide if inbound or outbound connecting works better for you, and discover how to make great asks and offers. Face Fear By Reducing Risk Tackle the big fears that are holding you back, break them into manageable risks, and develop an action plan to overcome them. Take Time Off Between Gigs We can expect to take a lot more time off in the Gig Economy.  Heres how to plan for it, and make it meaningful. Be Mindful About Time Reboot your calendar to spend time on what matters.   Consider whether a Maker or Manager schedule works best for you. Be Financially Flexible Forget the save-your-latte-money approach to money management. Restructure your financial life, and increase your financial flexibility and security. Think Access, Not Ownership Owning is so Baby Boomer.  Access the things you want with less debt and more flexibility.  Examine the myths of home ownership. Save For Traditional Retirement . . . But dont plan on having one.  Answer the question: When can I stop working? Excerpted with permission from The Gig Economy: The Complete Guide to Getting Better Work, Taking More Time Off, and Financing the Life You Want by Diane Mulcahy. Published by AMACOM Books. @2017 Diane Mulchay.       Take Action! If youve been finding yourself ever more frustrated by lack of progress in your career and about the things that really matter to you, maybe youve been still too stuck in old-world thinking.  Let the above rules inspire you to action. The Gig Economy  tackles each of the rules and gives effective coaching on getting yourself energized in each of them.  So if youre really serious about creating some change in your life, Id highly recommend picking up a copy.  But above all else, remember this:  the future doesnt care how your world looks when you arrive there.  Its up to you to create it by the actions you take and the choices you make right now, today. About   Diane Mulcahy Diane Mulcahy is author of The Gig Economy: The Complete Guide to Getting Better Work, Taking More Time Off And Financing The Life You Want (Amacom, November 2016). Five years ago, long before the Gig Economy was part of the popular lexicon, Diane created and launched an MBA course on the Gig Economy at Babson College. That course gained immediate traction and was named one of the Top 10 Most Innovative Business School Classes in the country by Forbes. A former venture capitalist, Diane is a Senior Fellow at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, where she manages the private equity and venture capital investment portfolio.   She writes and speaks frequently about the VC and PE industries and entrepreneurship.   With two earlier books to her name Venturing Forward and Angels and IPOs Diane has had her articles and work featured in The Harvard Business Review, The Huffington Post, The Economist, the New Yorker, Forbes, Fortune, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Institutional Investor, and on NPR and ReutersTV.   Diane holds B.A. and Master of Public Policy degrees from Harvard University. Image credits. Main.   Gig.