Great stuff guys…

We are all human beings , and as such , we’ve already learned that “one size does not fit all” , specially when it comes to life style. So it’s great to learn about new options and think about possibilities you might not have considered - but you should always keep in mind that what’s right for them is not necessarily right for you.

You wrote, “Do you really believe that everyone would be best off be making their living off of blog advertisements, eBook sales, and paid product reviews?”

I think an even more salient question is, do you really believe that everyone, or even a reasonable number of people, could make a living that way?

Something most people tend to forget is that the value of advertising is in its ability to get people to buy things. Simply racking up pageviews is not enough.

If everyone quit their jobs and started hawking health pills and eBooks, who the hell would actually buy them? Where would the money to feed the system come from?

The guru life works for Pavlina and Ferriss because their approach is *rare* and they can make money off a legion of followers. But when everyone tries to be a guru, there’s no way even a small fraction will succeed.

The thing that worries me about his site is not necessarily that he gives his advice, as is his right, but that some younger people see this and think they don’t have to go to college, because they are special, and they will have just as great of a chance of succeeding as a college graduate. That’s just pure ignorance. Unfortunately I see it among some who follow Steve’s writing.

I tried to convince one person who had been thinking this way, explaining that at worst, going to college would be a safety net, in case his plans didn’t work out. He said I just didn’t understand.

The mindset of working for yourself has been around forever and is held by a small percentage of people. The self-development blogging community is a very small percentage of people and what portion of that community are anti-job.

1. There’s security in working for big companies that make money and aren’t likely to fail. This gives you room to make mistakes and learn from them in a safer environment that you will find when working on your own. This security is especially important for people with kids.

2. Working with different people is also a very important skill that can be learned. Virtually all students have almost no experience working with people who are older or have different skill levels. Learning how to deal with these types of people can be a big benefit when striking out on your own later.

3. Learning about an industry from the inside can be very important for later in life. You get to meet many people and see many jobs that are often opaque to someone outside the company or industry. Knowing how things work and who makes them work can be a big advantage later in life.

The anti-career advice of “you are a cog in a machine” is totally true, but sometimes being a cog isn’t bad. This is especially true for people who’s job isn’t their primary focus in life. For parents with kids, or people with medical conditions, or people who are active outside work, a traditional career, chosen well, can be a way to have security for themselves and their family while dealing with other issues.

One final point here is that the “traditional career” is pretty much dead. The security blanket from a big company isn’t nearly as big as it was back in the 1950s. Even a “careerist” needs to really look at themselves as a free-agent to some degree, because it’s unlikely that their job will remain stable and secure throughout their lifetime.

Only in Silicon Valley could Tech Entrepreneur be considered a “traditional” career, or maybe in MIT)

Ha! That is very true…