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>”I’m never going to work for someone,” Oyefeso says in one of his videos, in a somewhat cartoonish, nasal voice, while he drives his Rolls dressed in a bathrob

>”I’m never going to work for someone,” Oyefeso says in one of his videos, in a somewhat cartoonish, nasal voice, while he drives his Rolls dressed in a bathrobe.” What’s with this obsession of not working for someone else? American/British managers in particular are some of the most democratic and “least power distance” bosses out there, especially compared to other countries where there is still a very hierarchical management structure. The only time I ever hear now seriously about “your boss is horrible time to quit and start your own business!” or “time to escape cubicle nation!” is with someone selling a particular product.

kradeelav 8y ago
American individualism, I suspect - part of how deeply rooted that mindset is in all the different strata of classes. Proving that you can make it on your own, especially with how "equalizing" social media is on the surface (everyone has an account, the only limit is how you portray yourself!) is a pretty tempting goal to go after for some folks.
_carl_jung 8y ago
> What’s with this obsession of not working for someone else? > someone selling a particular product. You answered your own question.
Nursie 8y ago
Honestly, I don't want to work for someone else, and I've ended up as a consultant/contractor who provides a service on the basis of a completely equal footing with the client. I find it far preferable to being a standard employee, I get more control and usually more respect. Plus, everyone knows it's just a gig, not your life.
RIMR 8y ago
That all depends on what you do. If you have a specific skillset, and your talents and work ethic are obvious to your managers, you can end being mostly self-managed at your job. However, if you have no skills and work a job where your raw output is all that matters, managers will breathe down your neck trying to get the most output out of you as possible. These get-rich-quick schemes prey on those unskilled workers. They promise a world where you have no boss, only work a few hours a week, and make enough money to afford whatever you want. It preys on people's fantasies, and their lack of understanding of how successful people get where they are. If you want to escape your cubicle farm and get a job where you don't hate your boss, teach yourself a valuable skill and seek gainful employment using that skill. But don't ever expect that there's some magic lifehack that let's you stop working and make enough money to afford every luxury you ever wanted. Just because there are some examples of people doing that doesn't mean anything. For every Bitcoin millionaire there are ten Bitcoin bankruptcies. Yet all people have to do is wave around "This is the next big thing", and gullible people will swarm it in hopes of getting in on the ground floor. There's big money in FOMO.
- mrguyorama 8y ago
  There absolutely IS a magical way to get rich quick. Be born rich. Or otherwise get lucky.
  - SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
    What a defeatist attitude. The people I know who "got rich quick" did it by providing a valuable service and working hard at it. I can't think of any in my circle who came from money.
iamcasen 8y ago
It's because people don't know themselves. They are busy emulating all the of the ideas and imagery floating all around them without ever bothering to listen to who they truly are inside. Some people are leaders. They push up against the halls of power, and if others hold them back, they will find a way to break free. These are the people who proclaim they will never work for someone else. Some people are care takers. Some people are healers. Some people are followers. They just want to be told what to do. There's nothing wrong with that! Society at large is always telling everyone to be a leader, and I think that's the main issue. Few are cut out to be leaders, and it's not always all it's cracked up to be.
- RIMR 8y ago
  It's not like being a leader is a cushy job or anything. People like to think that not having a boss = "I don't answer to anyone". If you are a leader, you answer to the people who follow you. Some people choose not to be leaders, not because they are bad at it, but because they don't want that kind of responsibility.
  - SnowingXIV 8y ago
    Great point, I don't think people think about this enough. When you are your own boss, start your own company, freelance, etc you have tons of bosses they just have another title. You have clients, shareholders, someone to be accountable to. Getting clients is not always easy. Sure you might be able to pick what clients you take on but if you only want the best you could have some pretty rough months. Even if you built a product, a simple saas type of deal and want that passive-ish income you need to make the users happy. I have an an employer, but I could go do this work for many other companies and freelance/run my own show and potentially make a lot more. I would then have to hire a number of other people to do quite a few of the things that I don't do or do it myself and literally have 0 time plus figure out benefits and may not have consistent pay (at least not guaranteed). This is all assuming it also worked out! I'm enjoying using my skills and getting a fair agreed amount without having to deal with anything else really. Trade offs. No such thing as a free lunch.
SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
I literally quit and started my own business because of a horrible boss and 8 years on it is easily one of the best decisions I ever made. I agree that it's not for everyone though.

kradeelav 8y ago

American individualism, I suspect - part of how deeply rooted that mindset is in all the different strata of classes. Proving that you can make it on your own, especially with how "equalizing" social media is on the surface (everyone has an account, the only limit is how you portray yourself!) is a pretty tempting goal to go after for some folks.

_carl_jung 8y ago

> What’s with this obsession of not working for someone else? > someone selling a particular product. You answered your own question.

Nursie 8y ago

Honestly, I don't want to work for someone else, and I've ended up as a consultant/contractor who provides a service on the basis of a completely equal footing with the client. I find it far preferable to being a standard employee, I get more control and usually more respect. Plus, everyone knows it's just a gig, not your life.

RIMR 8y ago

That all depends on what you do. If you have a specific skillset, and your talents and work ethic are obvious to your managers, you can end being mostly self-managed at your job. However, if you have no skills and work a job where your raw output is all that matters, managers will breathe down your neck trying to get the most output out of you as possible. These get-rich-quick schemes prey on those unskilled workers. They promise a world where you have no boss, only work a few hours a week, and make enough money to afford whatever you want. It preys on people's fantasies, and their lack of understanding of how successful people get where they are. If you want to escape your cubicle farm and get a job where you don't hate your boss, teach yourself a valuable skill and seek gainful employment using that skill. But don't ever expect that there's some magic lifehack that let's you stop working and make enough money to afford every luxury you ever wanted. Just because there are some examples of people doing that doesn't mean anything. For every Bitcoin millionaire there are ten Bitcoin bankruptcies. Yet all people have to do is wave around "This is the next big thing", and gullible people will swarm it in hopes of getting in on the ground floor. There's big money in FOMO.

mrguyorama 8y ago
There absolutely IS a magical way to get rich quick. Be born rich. Or otherwise get lucky.
- SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
  What a defeatist attitude. The people I know who "got rich quick" did it by providing a valuable service and working hard at it. I can't think of any in my circle who came from money.

iamcasen 8y ago

It's because people don't know themselves. They are busy emulating all the of the ideas and imagery floating all around them without ever bothering to listen to who they truly are inside. Some people are leaders. They push up against the halls of power, and if others hold them back, they will find a way to break free. These are the people who proclaim they will never work for someone else. Some people are care takers. Some people are healers. Some people are followers. They just want to be told what to do. There's nothing wrong with that! Society at large is always telling everyone to be a leader, and I think that's the main issue. Few are cut out to be leaders, and it's not always all it's cracked up to be.

RIMR 8y ago
It's not like being a leader is a cushy job or anything. People like to think that not having a boss = "I don't answer to anyone". If you are a leader, you answer to the people who follow you. Some people choose not to be leaders, not because they are bad at it, but because they don't want that kind of responsibility.
- SnowingXIV 8y ago
  Great point, I don't think people think about this enough. When you are your own boss, start your own company, freelance, etc you have tons of bosses they just have another title. You have clients, shareholders, someone to be accountable to. Getting clients is not always easy. Sure you might be able to pick what clients you take on but if you only want the best you could have some pretty rough months. Even if you built a product, a simple saas type of deal and want that passive-ish income you need to make the users happy. I have an an employer, but I could go do this work for many other companies and freelance/run my own show and potentially make a lot more. I would then have to hire a number of other people to do quite a few of the things that I don't do or do it myself and literally have 0 time plus figure out benefits and may not have consistent pay (at least not guaranteed). This is all assuming it also worked out! I'm enjoying using my skills and getting a fair agreed amount without having to deal with anything else really. Trade offs. No such thing as a free lunch.

SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago

I literally quit and started my own business because of a horrible boss and 8 years on it is easily one of the best decisions I ever made. I agree that it's not for everyone though.