Do you ever feel guilty because you hate to have an alarm clock wake you up before you’re ready? Or how about being disgusted at the idea of having a boss who tells you what to do and when to do it? Do you feel like there’s something wrong with you because you don’t want to work a job with a strict schedule? You might even feel like you’re irresponsible for sometimes wanting to walk away from it all and take a day off because it just “feels like the thing to do at the time.”

Sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone…and there’s nothing wrong with you. You’re just an entrepreneur who hasn’t discovered their niche yet.

I know this because I used to have the same inner struggles: the slightly rebellious attitude towards authority, the annoyance at having to work when I didn’t feel like I could be truly focused and productive, the desire to sometimes just hit the snooze button and give my body a few more hours of very needed rest. I even used to feel guilty, childish and irresponsible when people would say: “Wait till’ you get out into the real world.”

So I struggled for years to become “responsible.” I even learned to play the game of the corporate world, and by the age of 32 I had worked my way into a job with a six figure salary, full medical benefits for myself and a dependent and a 6% matched 401k. Had I finally found the “real world” and learned to be responsible?

Not sure, but one thing was certain: I felt like a fish out of water.

I hated driving in rush hour traffic, being nagged about HOW I was doing my job in spite of the fact that I was one of the top sales representatives in the company…watching the world pass me by as I sat like a lab rat in a cubicle. I can remember sitting there one day and watching the sunset outside my window on the 9^th floor…suddenly I saw my whole life as if I had already lived it: measured out in teaspoons as I struggled to fit the time in for the things that really mattered to me. Working according to someone else’s terms to help them build their dreams, while mine collected dust.

If you’ve ever felt this way, I’m not here to sell you a product that promises a way out. I’m here to tell you that sometimes feeling like a fish out of water means you’re not a fish. Best yet, you don’t have to live according to the rules of the “real world” which so many people are intimidated by. You don’t have to submit yourself to mediocrity and to live your life according to someone else’s terms.

It all starts with a decision, a decision that I made over a year ago. A decision that gave me the freedom to toss my alarm clock in the garbage, to work only when I was truly focused…and from anywhere in the world where I could carry my trusty lap top and get internet access. A decision that gave me the freedom to manage my time, my energy and my company as I saw fit…the decision to find my niche as an entrepreneur and to earn money doing what I loved.

This is a decision you can make too. But it starts with accepting that there’s nothing wrong with you because you feel that the rules you’re expected to follow in the “real world” are pathetically flawed. Your path may not be the same as mine, and that’s okay. Just let this message encourage you that you have every right to live life on your terms, and maybe you’re not so irresponsible after all.

-In Excellence,

Seth Czerepak

PS: I still haven’t found the real world. Looks like I never will now, but I think I’ll be okay. J