How does employee mentality show up in your life & relationships?

“Is this your place?,” I asked the new-to-me guy at my local wine shop. (I’m known in my circles for always befriending other local business owners and then getting into their inner circles, especially when it comes to great wine & food--I have a wine guy, a beef guy, an egg guy, a vegetable guy...). Anyway….

“Me? No way, I wouldn’t want the headache,” he said as he bagged my delicious rosé. :)

“Well, there’s something to be said for coming and going at will,” I replied.

“Yeah,” he replied emphatically. “SANITY.”

I walked out of the quaint historical wooden-house-turned-bottle-shop (my favorite kind) pondering what he said and how many people are truly, truly attached and bought into this way of employee thinking, literally equating being an employee with not being INSANE.

Now we all get to choose the way we spend our days and the way we receive our income, but when we’re SURROUNDED by people who think we are actually crazy for wanting to have our own business, sometimes we ask ourselves if we really are!

This is why it’s SO important to NOT spend any of our time or energy trying to convince others that we’re right.

Why?

Because some people truly do want to be employees, some people are scared to consider anything else, and neither of these things are our business.

We get to think they’re the crazy ones while they think we’re the crazy ones, right? (It’s kinda like what I remember about how girls and boys felt about each other in middle & high school. ;)

So what do we put our time and energy into instead of ruminating or arguing with those who doubt or question us (even if they’re the ones closest to us)?

Taking daily, business-building, money-making action toward becoming successful, as if we have blinders on and know we cannot fail.

You can’t change others’ opinions about your business any more than you can convince a family member to join your political party over Thanksgiving dinner, so set about minding your business (literally), and remember that more is caught than taught.

And keep an eye out for that employee mentality in your conversations, because when you notice it, it’s that much easier to label it for what it is and not get sucked into it!

What’s been your experience with this? How does employee mentality show up in your life & relationships, and how do you keep moving forward anyway?