Conventional jobs offer a certain sense of social security. And conventional jobs are easier to get.

The moment we pop out of the womb, our families, the society, the education systems, and the entire damn universe unite and route their supreme forces with one sole objective. Reprogram the tender minds and streamline them for the  “conventional life”. It’s a mad rat race that we are all part of, since birth. Schools with stereotypical curriculums churning out “students” in large batches. Engineering and medical colleges charging a fortune to produce millions of “Engineers”, “Doctors”, “Bankers” etc. Multinational Corporates, with Asian back office, recruiting these “Qualified resources” in thousands and deploying them into bulk “outsourced” conventional jobs – banking jobs, IT jobs, medical jobs, management jobs, etc. The vicious cycle continues.

So, if you haven’t scored those ‘A’ grades right from kindergarten or didn’t manage to pass college with dazzling percentile, you are most likely doomed. And you ask WHY?

Because you failed to align yourself with the stereotypical educational system. You clearly don’t have those “certificates” to prove your intelligence. And since the markets are brimming with an astonishing number of candidates with better CVs, you clearly don’t stand a chance.

We are all a bunch of confused fanatics. We are severely confused between intelligence, skills, and education.

The world has an abundant supply of diverse skills. From tattoo art to the likes of acrylic painting, voice modulations, video scripting, creating hilarious memes or designing amazing company logos.

Surprisingly, the “conventional” education and job scene acknowledge only a very low percentage of this diverse palette. Imagine this – would an IT Firm care for your acrylic painting skills unless you can write software logic? Would Insurance firms care unless you can sell insurance policies? And a pharmacy company wouldn’t care either unless you can pester doctors to recommend their brand of medicine? Precisely, your presentation or video scripting skills don’t hold merit unless you develop “conventional” skills that qualify you for these “Real” job.

Originality and innovation, in their true sense, are virtues that are applauded in those colorful company mailers we usually get on Mondays and Wednesdays. And 95% of us take less than 5 seconds to send the mailer to its rightful spot – The Trash. Because in reality, no one cares an iota about your ideas, innovations or alternative skills unless it fits into the pre-existing business model and generates hard-dollars for the company.

So, the skills that could have made you brilliantly unique dies a silent death. While you compromise and struggle to survive on sheer mediocrity. That’s a painful waste of talent.

It doesn’t matter if you aren’t particularly brilliant with Maths, Physics, Analytics or English literature. No worries if you don’t have a professional college degree. Never mind if you aren’t having formal educational certificates.  As long as you are passionate about something commercially viable, this could be your chance to rise and shine. The right blend of skill, dedication, and sincerity is all you need.

In the world of Freelancing, your “secondary skills” don’t decay into oblivion.

Rather, you nourish and streamline those extraordinary skills to grab the right attention. You meet a plethora of amazing clients looking for those exact skills which you can offer. And we have some great Freelancing marketplaces which connect clients with Freelancers.

As I said, your “secondary skills” never lose focus. Videography interests you? A bandwagon of clients is looking for promotional and explainer videos. Great with MS-Excel? Clients are hiring Freelancers for Excel Data Mining experts, Ledger Assistants, Macro developers, etc. Stellar with photo editing software? A sea of opportunity awaits – Designing company logos, WordPress banners,  product catalogs, and infographics. If you are a fitness freak, here’s your chance to sell your dieting recipes, vegan tricks, exercise regimes, and supplement reviews. Love blogging? Get product blogs published on high authority sites and earn.

From carpet cleaning niches and pet care to cryptocurrency and travel reviews, you can find a stunning array of writing assignments flooding the Freelancing portals.

We start with Gifts. Merit comes from what we make of them.

You work from home in your pajamas just 5 feet away from the refrigerator. No more commute. No more cubicles. No more pleasing everyone. You are the Boss.

Back at the fancy corporate world, your bigshot multi-national employer might be cracking multi-million dollar deals every quarter. And that makes you feel good. Occasionally you feel awesome, if I may slightly exaggerate. Well, the question is, how does that impact you as a tiny individual seated light-years down the corporate hierarchical chain? You are just a minuscule element in the 2 million global workforces, that most company lovingly call “family”. Most of us are toddlers sitting right at the end of the Information funnel.  The tiny bits of information that make us ecstatic are the ones that the company wants us to know.

Your existence and growth within the company are subjected to numerous volatile factors beyond your control. Company policies, management targets, market conditions, departmental performances, this and that. So, you shall never have a panoramic view. Your projections and assumptions are merely based on what your boss told you.

How much you earn is directly proportional to how smartly you manage your work. You choose clients depending on past reviews and ratings. You negotiate the rates and agree to delivery models. You predict your monthly cash inflow as a mix of regular clients and new pipeline projects.

In Freelancing, you are the owner and the boss. No one else cares.

For most of us, weekends are a blink and Sunday evenings are the most painful as we prepare ourselves for another excruciatingly long work week ahead.

Well, one absolute bliss you enjoy in Freelancing is great flexibilities in work timings. Every day is a weekend. And each day could be a workday. Most clients are small/ medium business owners themselves – Coffee shop owners, Wellness clinic owners, chiropractors and nutritionists, Online marketing startups, etc. Unlike your corporate boss, most of these budding business owners are crazy busy themselves. They hardly have the bandwidth to monitor contracted Freelancers with a hawks eye. So, as a Freelancer, you get to manage your time at free will. As long as you honor the timelines and instructions, clients are happy.

In all likelihood, you wouldn’t be super-rich. But you would be well off. Better than many of the salaried employees, who aren’t particularly rich either.

You can manage daily expenses, pay off your monthly bills and EMI. Probably afford a few vacations too. Precisely, you can lead a decent humble middle-class lifestyle.

Most people who ever heard about Freelancing consider it highly volatile and risky. You need to keep marketing yourself to new clients. Sheer instability in income makes it hard to plan expenditures and savings. Well, the situation is remarkably different for top-rated Freelancers. Of course, you wouldn’t break out of the cocoon and turn into a top-rater overnight. Getting the first few projects could be a challenge. You might need to work at lower rates. But that’s just a passing phase. Reputation and credibility are the two magic words that define your success as a Freelancer.