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How nice were the days when you got to telecommute - taking meetings in your sweats with your faithful dog at your side and multitasking household chores while you cranked out the latest curriculum or report. That was the good life.
Why not live that life ftill-time? You've already got an office set up: You own a phone line, Internet connection, multifunction printer, and laptop. Who could ask for anything more?
Well, that life is not always what it is cracked up to be. It can be lonely. It can be isolating. It can be frustrating. It can be the best thing you've ever done!
My story
After the last time I got laid off, I decided that was it. Never again was I going to abdicate control to a corporate entity - this was hubris on my part, but it felt good at the time. Once I made the decision to start my own consulting business 12 years ago, I had to get out the MasterCard and buy all of the hardware, software, phone lines, and such. It was a case of putting my money where my mouth was. I was committed. I had no clients yet, but T did have an office, equipment, and a nice stack of bills.
My decision to not seek full-time employment and be free of the bonds of corporate life was enhanced by my personal lifestyle situation: no kids to put through school or marry off and no spouse (at the time). I was not only going to avoid seeking full-time employment; I was going to "retire." My vision of retirement - which remains...