More and more of us irrespective of demographic are veering towards usership or experience as against the conventional grain of ownership. A shift governed by wanting to avoid the baggage that tags alongwith ownership. As most of us chart our paths and accompanying struggles in this vast ” Republic of Not Enough ” !
That said, this rant is about actually taking the initiative and the effort to actually own something. Rather than be the freelancer in the bottomless, infinite Red Ocean territory called freelancing, or the 9 to 5 job hater going through the motions inspite of hating what she does, day in and day out.
That ownership might be the idea that is yours and you are doing your best to bring it to fruition into the world. The ownership could your goodwill or reputation that you have painstakingly acquired over the years by painstakingly and generously showing up and shipping out your best craft or work, consistently. The ownership could be the precious permission that your MVA(Minimum Viable Audience) has gracefully offered you to share your thoughts with them without coming across as spam or intrusion. The ownership can be also be the Intellectual Property Rights that you have established for your next game changing idea. You cultivate leverage that way.
The shift in thinking can be to move beyond the 8 hour shift that you put in, without owning anything (other than the 8 hours of your time)- that is hardly an inventory that will get the best suitors or bidders to make a special trip and reach out to you. The assured way to be a casualty is to be a commodity aka ‘ another ‘.
Being yet another is a trap and a race to the bottom and you hardly get any leverage or negotiating power. And therefore, at most times, you don’t get paid what you are worth.
So, if you are the retailer of your life, ensure that you own your inventory and that is desirable. The onus of ownership is on us and thereby the potential outcomes.
ENDS