Just for fun I recently asked Erin, “Now that the kids are in summer school, don’t you think it’s about time you went out and got yourself a job? I hate seeing you wallow in unemployment for so long.”

She smiled and said, “Wow. I have been unemployed a really long time. That’s weird… I like it!”

Neither of us have had jobs since the ’90s (my only job was in 1992), so we’ve been self-employed for quite a while. In our household it’s a running joke for one of us to say to the other, “Maybe you should get a job, derelict!”

It’s like the scene in The Three Stooges where Moe tells Curly to get a job, and Curly backs away, saying, “No, please… not that! Anything but that!”

It’s funny that when people reach a certain age, such as after graduating college, they assume it’s time to go out and get a job. But like many things the masses do, just because everyone does it doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. In fact, if you’re reasonably intelligent, getting a job is one of the worst things you can do to support yourself. There are far better ways to make a living than selling yourself into indentured servitude.

Here are some reasons you should do everything in your power to avoid getting a job:

1. Income for dummies.

Getting a job and trading your time for money may seem like a good idea. There’s only one problem with it. It’s stupid! It’s the stupidest way you can possibly generate income! This is truly income for dummies.

Why is getting a job so dumb? Because you only get paid when you’re working. Don’t you see a problem with that, or have you been so thoroughly brainwashed into thinking it’s reasonable and intelligent to only earn income when you’re working? Have you never considered that it might be better to be paid even when you’re not working? Who taught you that you could only earn income while working? Some other brainwashed employee perhaps?

Don’t you think your life would be much easier if you got paid while you were eating, sleeping, and playing with the kids too? Why not get paid 24/7? Get paid whether you work or not. Don’t your plants grow even when you aren’t tending to them? Why not your bank account?

Who cares how many hours you work? Only a handful of people on this entire planet care how much time you spend at the office. Most of us won’t even notice whether you work 6 hours a week or 60. But if you have something of value to provide that matters to us, a number of us will be happy to pull out our wallets and pay you for it. We don’t care about your time — we only care enough to pay for the value we receive. Do you really care how long it took me to write this article? Would you pay me twice as much if it took me 6 hours vs. only 3?

Non-dummies often start out on the traditional income for dummies path. So don’t feel bad if you’re just now realizing you’ve been suckered. Non-dummies eventually realize that trading time for money is indeed extremely dumb and that there must be a better way. And of course there is a better way. The key is to de-couple your value from your time.

Smart people build systems that generate income 24/7, especially passive income. This can include starting a business, building a web site, becoming an investor, or generating royalty income from creative work. The system delivers the ongoing value to people and generates income from it, and once it’s in motion, it runs continuously whether you tend to it or not. From that moment on, the bulk of your time can be invested in increasing your income (by refining your system or spawning new ones) instead of merely maintaining your income.

This web site is an example of such a system. At the time of this writing, it generates about $9000 a month in income for me (update: $40,000 a month as of 10/31/06), and it isn’t my only income stream either. I write each article just once (fixed time investment), and people can extract value from them year after year. The web server delivers the value, and other systems (most of which I didn’t even build and don’t even understand) collect income and deposit it automatically into my bank account. It’s not perfectly passive, but I love writing and would do it for free anyway. But of course it cost me a lot of money to launch this business, right? Um, yeah, $9 is an awful lot these days (to register the domain name). Everything after that was profit.

Sure it takes some upfront time and effort to design and implement your own income-generating systems. But you don’t have to reinvent the wheel — feel free to use existing systems like ad networks and affiliate programs. Once you get going, you won’t have to work so many hours to support yourself. Wouldn’t it be nice to be out having dinner with your spouse, knowing that while you’re eating, you’re earning money? If you want to keep working long hours because you enjoy it, go right ahead. If you want to sit around doing nothing, feel free. As long as your system continues delivering value to others, you’ll keep getting paid whether you’re working or not.

Your local bookstore is filled with books containing workable systems others have already designed, tested, and debugged. Nobody is born knowing how to start a business or generate investment income, but you can easily learn it. How long it takes you to figure it out is irrelevant because the time is going to pass anyway. You might as well emerge at some future point as the owner of income-generating systems as opposed to a lifelong wage slave. This isn’t all or nothing. If your system only generates a few hundred dollars a month, that’s a significant step in the right direction.

2. Limited experience.

You might think it’s important to get a job to gain experience. But that’s like saying you should play golf to get experience playing golf. You gain experience from living, regardless of whether you have a job or not. A job only gives you experience at that job, but you gain ”experience” doing just about anything, so that’s no real benefit at all. Sit around doing nothing for a couple years, and you can call yourself an experienced meditator, philosopher, or politician.

The problem with getting experience from a job is that you usually just repeat the same limited experience over and over. You learn a lot in the beginning and then stagnate. This forces you to miss other experiences that would be much more valuable. And if your limited skill set ever becomes obsolete, then your experience won’t be worth squat. In fact, ask yourself what the experience you’re gaining right now will be worth in 20-30 years. Will your job even exist then?

Consider this. Which experience would you rather gain? The knowledge of how to do a specific job really well — one that you can only monetize by trading your time for money – or the knowledge of how to enjoy financial abundance for the rest of your life without ever needing a job again? Now I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have the latter experience. That seems a lot more useful in the real world, wouldn’t you say?

3. Lifelong domestication.

Getting a job is like enrolling in a human domestication program. You learn how to be a good pet.

Look around you. Really look. What do you see? Are these the surroundings of a free human being? Or are you living in a cage for unconscious animals? Have you fallen in love with the color beige?

How’s your obedience training coming along? Does your master reward your good behavior? Do you get disciplined if you fail to obey your master’s commands?

Is there any spark of free will left inside you? Or has your conditioning made you a pet for life?

Humans are not meant to be raised in cages. You poor thing…

4. Too many mouths to feed.

Employee income is the most heavily taxed there is. In the USA you can expect that about half your salary will go to taxes. The tax system is designed to disguise how much you’re really giving up because some of those taxes are paid by your employer, and some are deducted from your paycheck. But you can bet that from your employer’s perspective, all of those taxes are considered part of your pay, as well as any other compensation you receive such as benefits. Even the rent for the office space you consume is considered, so you must generate that much more value to cover it. You might feel supported by your corporate environment, but keep in mind that you’re the one paying for it.

Another chunk of your income goes to owners and investors. That’s a lot of mouths to feed.

It isn’t hard to understand why employees pay the most in taxes relative to their income. After all, who has more control over the tax system? Business owners and investors or employees?

You only get paid a fraction of the real value you generate. Your real salary may be more than triple what you’re paid, but most of that money you’ll never see. It goes straight into other people’s pockets.

What a generous person you are!

5. Way too risky.

Many employees believe getting a job is the safest and most secure way to support themselves.

Morons.

Social conditioning is amazing. It’s so good it can even make people believe the exact opposite of the truth.

Does putting yourself in a position where someone else can turn off all your income just by saying two words (”You’re fired”) sound like a safe and secure situation to you? Does having only one income stream honestly sound more secure than having 10?

The idea that a job is the most secure way to generate income is just silly. You can’t have security if you don’t have control, and employees have the least control of anyone. If you’re an employee, then your real job title should be professional gambler.

6. Having an evil bovine master.

When you run into an idiot in the entrepreneurial world, you can turn around and head the other way. When you run into an idiot in the corporate world, you have to turn around and say, “Sorry, boss.”

Did you know that the word boss comes from the Dutch word baas, which historically means master? Another meaning of the word boss is “a cow or bovine.” And in many video games, the boss is the evil dude that you have to kill at the end of a level.

So if your boss is really your evil bovine master, then what does that make you? Nothing but a turd in the herd.

Who’s your daddy?

7. Begging for money.

When you want to increase your income, do you have to sit up and beg your master for more money? Does it feel good to be thrown some extra Scooby Snacks now and then?

Or are you free to decide how much you get paid without needing anyone’s permission but your own?

If you have a business and one customer says “no” to you, you simply say “next.”

8. An inbred social life.

Many people treat their jobs as their primary social outlet. They hang out with the same people working in the same field. Such incestuous relations are social dead ends. An exciting day includes deep conversations about the company’s switch from Sparkletts to Arrowhead, the delay of Microsoft’s latest operating system, and the unexpected delivery of more Bic pens. Consider what it would be like to go outside and talk to strangers. Ooooh… scary! Better stay inside where it’s safe.

If one of your co-slaves gets sold to another master, do you lose a friend? If you work in a male-dominated field, does that mean you never get to talk to women above the rank of receptionist? Why not decide for yourself whom to socialize with instead of letting your master decide for you? Believe it or not, there are locations on this planet where free people congregate. Just be wary of those jobless folk — they’re a crazy bunch!

9. Loss of freedom.

It takes a lot of effort to tame a human being into an employee. The first thing you have to do is break the human’s independent will. A good way to do this is to give them a weighty policy manual filled with nonsensical rules and regulations. This leads the new employee to become more obedient, fearing that s/he could be disciplined at any minute for something incomprehensible. Thus, the employee will likely conclude it’s safest to simply obey the master’s commands without question. Stir in some office politics for good measure, and we’ve got a freshly minted mind slave.

As part of their obedience training, employees must be taught how to dress, talk, move, and so on. We can’t very well have employees thinking for themselves, now can we? That would ruin everything.

God forbid you should put a plant on your desk when it’s against the company policy. Oh no, it’s the end of the world! Cindy has a plant on her desk! Summon the enforcers! Send Cindy back for another round of sterility training!

Free human beings think such rules and regulations are silly of course. The only policy they need is: “Be smart. Be nice. Do what you love. Have fun.”

10. Becoming a coward.

Have you noticed that employed people have an almost endless capacity to whine about problems at their companies? But they don’t really want solutions – they just want to vent and make excuses why it’s all someone else’s fault. It’s as if getting a job somehow drains all the free will out of people and turns them into spineless cowards. If you can’t call your boss a jerk now and then without fear of getting fired, you’re no longer free. You’ve become your master’s property.

When you work around cowards all day long, don’t you think it’s going to rub off on you? Of course it will. It’s only a matter of time before you sacrifice the noblest parts of your humanity on the altar of fear: first courage… then honesty… then honor and integrity… and finally your independent will. You sold your humanity for nothing but an illusion. And now your greatest fear is discovering the truth of what you’ve become.

I don’t care how badly you’ve been beaten down. It is never too late to regain your courage. Never!

Still want a job?

If you’re currently a well-conditioned, well-behaved employee, your most likely reaction to the above will be defensiveness. It’s all part of the conditioning. But consider that if the above didn’t have a grain of truth to it, you wouldn’t have an emotional reaction at all. This is only a reminder of what you already know. You can deny your cage all you want, but the cage is still there. Perhaps this all happened so gradually that you never noticed it until now… like a lobster enjoying a nice warm bath.

If any of this makes you mad, that’s a step in the right direction. Anger is a higher level of consciousness than apathy, so it’s a lot better than being numb all the time. Any emotion — even confusion — is better than apathy. If you work through your feelings instead of repressing them, you’ll soon emerge on the doorstep of courage. And when that happens, you’ll have the will to actually do something about your situation and start living like the powerful human being you were meant to be instead of the domesticated pet you’ve been trained to be.

Happily jobless

What’s the alternative to getting a job? The alternative is to remain happily jobless for life and to generate income through other means. Realize that you earn income by providing value — not time – so find a way to provide your best value to others, and charge a fair price for it. One of the simplest and most accessible ways is to start your own business. Whatever work you’d otherwise do via employment, find a way to provide that same value directly to those who will benefit most from it. It takes a bit more time to get going, but your freedom is easily worth the initial investment of time and energy. Then you can buy your own Scooby Snacks for a change.

有一次，我故意問Erin，"現(xiàn)在孩子們都去夏令營了，難道你不覺得是時(shí)候去找個(gè)工作了么？你很久沒有工作過了，我看不下去你繼續(xù)墮落了。"

她笑了笑，"喔～ 我是很久沒有工作了。 但很奇怪……我喜歡這樣！"

我們倆自從90年代就沒有工作過了（我的唯一的工作是在92年)，成為自由職業(yè)者已經(jīng)很久了。在我們?nèi)粘Ｉ钪校覀兂３ｉ_對(duì)方玩笑，"喂，懶蟲！你應(yīng)該找個(gè)工作了！"

這很像《The Three Stooges》里面的場(chǎng)景。Moe讓Curly去找個(gè)工作，Curly卻說，"不，找啥都可以，就是不找工作！"

有意思的是，當(dāng)一個(gè)人到達(dá)某個(gè)階段的時(shí)候，比如大學(xué)畢業(yè)，他很自然的就認(rèn)為，該找個(gè)工作了。但正如人云亦云一樣，眾人都在說、在做的事情，并不見得就是對(duì)的。事實(shí)是，如果你是比較聰明的人，對(duì)于你來說，找個(gè)工作來謀生是最糟糕的辦法了。有很多更好的辦法可以謀生，為什么要簽一個(gè)賣身契！
你應(yīng)該做的，是竭盡所能的避免落入找工作這個(gè)怪圈，下面是十大理由：

一、賣苦力

找個(gè)工作，付出時(shí)間，換取收入?？雌饋砗苊?，但是其實(shí)蠢不可及。這純粹是賣苦力。

為什么找工作算是賣苦力？因?yàn)槟惚仨毟苫畈庞惺杖?。還沒有看到問題之所在？看來你早就被洗腦了，你認(rèn)為只有干活才拿錢天經(jīng)地義、合情合理。難道你就沒有想象過你不干活的時(shí)候也有人付錢給你么？誰告訴你只有干活才有錢拿？或許是其他早已被洗腦的員工？（譯者：更不用說加班都沒有加班費(fèi)的員工了）

試想一下，當(dāng)你吃飯、睡覺、和孩子一起玩耍的時(shí)候，有人付錢給你；24×7的時(shí)間，有人付錢給你；無論你是不是在工作，有人付錢給你。這樣生活豈不更輕松。你種的花花草草是不是在你沒有打理他們的時(shí)候，就不生長(zhǎng)了？你的銀行賬戶里面的錢為什么不能像花花草草一樣？

誰關(guān)心你的工作時(shí)間長(zhǎng)短呢？在這個(gè)星球上，只有很少數(shù)人會(huì)關(guān)心。我們大部分人不會(huì)注意到你一周工作6小時(shí)還是60小時(shí)。只要你可以給我們提供價(jià)值，讓我們?cè)敢馓脱Ｎ覀儾⒉辉诤跄愎ぷ髁硕嗑?，我們只在乎我們得到的東西值不值。你在乎我花了多久寫這篇文章么？（譯者：你在乎我花了多久翻譯這篇文章么？）如果我花了6個(gè)小時(shí)而不是僅僅3個(gè)小時(shí)，你會(huì)付雙倍的價(jià)錢么？

現(xiàn)在意識(shí)到問題之所在也不晚。聰明人有時(shí)候在開始階段也是賣苦力，但是他最終會(huì)認(rèn)識(shí)到用時(shí)間換取收入很不劃算，一定會(huì)有更好的辦法。當(dāng)然有更好的辦法，關(guān)鍵就是一定要把你的時(shí)間和價(jià)值分開。

聰明人建立一個(gè)可以24×7小時(shí)運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)的系統(tǒng)，尤其是那些被動(dòng)性收入，包括啟動(dòng)生意(starting a business)、建網(wǎng)站、成為投資人，或者從有創(chuàng)新性的工作中得到版權(quán)收入。這套系統(tǒng)不斷的給人提供價(jià)值，并獲利。它一旦啟動(dòng)，就持續(xù)運(yùn)作。不管你是不是在維護(hù)它。從這一時(shí)刻起，你的大部分時(shí)間又可以拿來投資于怎么增加你的收入（優(yōu)化系統(tǒng)或者再創(chuàng)建一個(gè)新的系統(tǒng)）而不是僅僅維持你的收入。

本網(wǎng)站( www.stevepavlina.com)就是這樣的一個(gè)系統(tǒng)。當(dāng)我在寫本文的時(shí)候，它每個(gè)月可以給我?guī)?,000美元的收入(更新：40,000每月 10/31/06)。這還不是我的唯一收入。每篇文章只需要寫一次（固定時(shí)間的投入），但是即使是多年以后，大家仍可以不斷的從中獲得價(jià)值。這個(gè)網(wǎng)站的系統(tǒng)傳遞了價(jià)值，而其他系統(tǒng)（大部分的系統(tǒng)我從來沒有簡(jiǎn)建立和了解過）幫我獲取了收入。這雖然不是完美的被動(dòng)性收入，但是我個(gè)人喜歡寫作，無論如何我愿意這樣免費(fèi)寫作。但是你可能想，啟動(dòng)這個(gè)系統(tǒng)花費(fèi)我不少銀子，對(duì)吧？嗯，是的，9美元注冊(cè)一個(gè)域名，在當(dāng)時(shí)真TMD貴。這個(gè)之后，就開始收益了。

當(dāng)然，在最開始，總需要花些時(shí)間來規(guī)劃和實(shí)施你自己的系統(tǒng)。但是你不需要重新發(fā)明輪子，很多已經(jīng)存在的系統(tǒng)，像網(wǎng)絡(luò)和輔助項(xiàng)目（affiliate programs），需要用就拿來用。一旦你進(jìn)入正軌，你不需要工作這么多小時(shí)來養(yǎng)活你自己。去和愛人共進(jìn)晚餐，當(dāng)你吃飯的時(shí)候，你仍然知道你的系統(tǒng)仍然在為你掙錢。難道這不是很美妙么？如果你就是喜歡長(zhǎng)時(shí)間工作，好吧，go ahead! 如你就是發(fā)呆、放空，隨你的便！只要你的系統(tǒng)不斷的在給其他人帶來價(jià)值，不管你是不是在工作，都有人給你付錢。

你周圍的書店里面充斥著介紹各種各樣可運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)的系統(tǒng)的書籍，這些系統(tǒng)都是經(jīng)過設(shè)計(jì)、測(cè)試并調(diào)試過的。沒有人生下來就知道怎么做生意或者投資，但是你可以很容易就學(xué)到這些。多久能學(xué)會(huì)這無關(guān)緊要，肯花時(shí)間肯定沒有問題。擺脫做一輩子的工作奴的命運(yùn)，變成自己系統(tǒng)的主人。這僅僅是剛開始。即使你的系統(tǒng)一個(gè)月只有幾百美元，這也是邁向正確方向的一大步。

二、經(jīng)驗(yàn)不足

或許你覺得找工作可以積累一下經(jīng)驗(yàn)。但其實(shí)這和學(xué)游泳必須去邊游邊學(xué)一樣。你的經(jīng)驗(yàn)來自生活，不管你有沒有工作。工作只能給你在這個(gè)工作上面的經(jīng)驗(yàn)，而人可以在任何事情上都獲得經(jīng)驗(yàn)，局限于工作一點(diǎn)好處都沒有。躺著什么都不干，多年以后，你可以叫自己是有經(jīng)驗(yàn)的沉思者、哲學(xué)家或者政治家。

從一份工作中積累經(jīng)驗(yàn)的問題在于，通常你只是在有限的經(jīng)驗(yàn)上面不斷的重復(fù)、重復(fù)、再重復(fù)。一開始你學(xué)到了很多東西，但很快你便停滯不前。這就讓你失去獲得了其他更有價(jià)值經(jīng)驗(yàn)的機(jī)會(huì)。而且一旦你那點(diǎn)經(jīng)驗(yàn)過時(shí)，那么就一文不值。你可以問問你自己，到現(xiàn)在為止，什么經(jīng)驗(yàn)可以在20-30年內(nèi)都不會(huì)過時(shí)。你的飯碗那個(gè)時(shí)候還保得住么？

不妨考慮一下，什么知識(shí)（經(jīng)驗(yàn)）是你最想得到的？是做某個(gè)單一的工作的知識(shí)——這些知識(shí)只能讓你拿寶貴的時(shí)間換金錢，還是知道怎么在一生中享受財(cái)務(wù)自由的知識(shí)——這些都不需要你去找一份工作。我不知道你怎么想，但是我肯定選擇后者。在現(xiàn)在這個(gè)時(shí)代，后者看起來更有用。你怎么想？

三、被禁錮一生

找工作就像把人當(dāng)家畜馴化一樣。你只是在學(xué)習(xí)怎么成為一個(gè)好寵物。

看看你的周圍，真的去看看。你看到什么了？到處都是自由的人么？你是不是像一個(gè)無意識(shí)的動(dòng)物一樣生活在籠子里面？Have you fallen in love with the color beige?(譯者：這句不明白）

你的馴養(yǎng)課程進(jìn)行的如何？你的主人因?yàn)槟懵犜挾?jiǎng)勵(lì)你了么？你因?yàn)闆]有聽從主人指令收到懲罰了么？

你內(nèi)心深處是否還有對(duì)自由意志的追求？或者環(huán)境已經(jīng)把你變成了一個(gè)寵物？

真可憐，人類從來不應(yīng)該被養(yǎng)在籠子里。
四、太多人分你的美羹

員工收入稅是最重的稅。在美國你可以看到你一半的收入都會(huì)變成稅收。稅收系統(tǒng)的設(shè)計(jì)使得你看不清楚你被剝奪了多少收入，因?yàn)槟遣糠质怯赡愕睦习逯苯痈顿~了（但其實(shí)是你的），而且有些稅是從你的薪水里面扣除。但是你可以從老板的角度分析一下這個(gè)問題，和你的津貼和所有福利一樣，這些稅當(dāng)然也是屬于員工的（員工來付賬），即使是你的辦公場(chǎng)所也一樣。你必須付出更多的價(jià)值來支撐這些開支。你或許覺得公司的環(huán)境可以給與你支持，但是不要忘了，你是買單者之一。

還有，你收入的另外一個(gè)大頭是老板們和投資人。有太多人想從你這里分一杯羹。

所以不難理解相對(duì)于員工的收入來說，為什么他們的稅那么重了。畢竟，想想誰在稅收系統(tǒng)上面更有控制權(quán)？是老板們和投資人，還是員工？

你只分到了一小杯羹。你的真實(shí)收入或許是你的工資的三倍都不止。但是你工資之外的那部分錢你永遠(yuǎn)也看不到，它直接進(jìn)入了其他人的腰包。

你太慷慨了?。ㄗg者：你太有才了）

五、工作的道路崎嶇

很多人相信找個(gè)工作是最安全的謀生手段。

一群弱智。

社會(huì)環(huán)境真的是很奇跡，它可以把白的變成黑的。

只要有人說一句話（"滾蛋"，亦或"你被解雇了"），你的所有收入就化為烏有。你覺得處在這樣一種境地安全么？只有一種收入來源會(huì)比有10種以上的收入來源有安全感么？

用一份工作來獲取所謂的安全感真的很蠢。如果主動(dòng)權(quán)不在你手里，你不可能安全。而員工恰恰是最沒有主動(dòng)權(quán)的。如果你是一個(gè)公司員工，那么你的職稱應(yīng)該叫"專業(yè)賭徒"。

六、可惡的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)

在當(dāng)家作主者的世界（entrepreneurial world，企業(yè)家的世界）里，如果你和某人不和，你只需要轉(zhuǎn)身，調(diào)頭。但是在公司里面，你必須低頭哈腰，"對(duì)不起哈，×總。"

你知道么？boss（老總、領(lǐng)導(dǎo)）一詞來自德語baas。它曾經(jīng)是"主人"的意思。另一個(gè)意思是"奶牛，遲鈍"(cow, bovine)。而在很多視頻游戲里面，boss就是最后過關(guān)的時(shí)候需要打的那個(gè)邪惡的花花公子。

那么如果你的老板真的非?？蓯海瑫?huì)把你整成——呃——牛群里面的一砣屎！

你媽貴姓？

七、嗟來之食

當(dāng)你想漲工資的時(shí)候，你是不是必須向你的主人搖尾乞憐？給你多喂一點(diǎn)飼料你覺得很爽么？

或者你不需要向任何人卑躬屈膝，你自己決定自己拿多少？如果你有自己的生意，而客戶對(duì)你說"不"，你只需要說"下一個(gè)"。

八、社會(huì)關(guān)系網(wǎng)

很多人把工作當(dāng)作他們的主要社會(huì)關(guān)系來源。他們和工作在一起的相同的人一起出沒。這種狹隘的關(guān)系（譯者：英文原文說"這種亂倫關(guān)系"）是一個(gè)死胡同。有意義的一天應(yīng)該是天文地理無所不談。從Sparkletts跳槽到Arrowhead啦(譯者：兩家瓶裝水公司)，微軟的最新操作系統(tǒng)又延期啦，隔壁鄰居的小孩的舅舅的那條狗又生啦，等等。(譯者：這句不知道有什么寓意, and the unexpected delivery of more Bic pens.) 想想走到馬路上和陌生人談話是什么樣子。哦……有點(diǎn)心慌！那也比窩在格子里面強(qiáng)！

如果你的奴隸同伴被賣給了另一個(gè)主人，你是不是失去一個(gè)好朋友？如果你工作在一個(gè)和尚班一樣的地方，是不是就意味著除了前臺(tái)是你唯一打交道的女性？（譯者：作者原文意思是，前臺(tái)是你能夠打交道的最高檔次的女性，這里的檔次rank，應(yīng)該是指外貌）為什么不讓你自己決定和哪些人打交道而是讓你的主人決定？信不信由你，這個(gè)星球上有一些地方，自由的人們聚集在一起。小心這幫人，他們很瘋狂。

九、沒有自由

把一個(gè)人馴化成員工需要很多功夫。而第一個(gè)需要做的就是破壞他自力更生的意志。一個(gè)好的辦法就是給他一堆制度手冊(cè)，里面寫滿荒謬的規(guī)章制度。這樣可以讓新員工擔(dān)驚受怕被懲罰而變得馴服。因而，員工就很容得出這樣的結(jié)論，照主人說的做就行了，這樣最安全。然后辦公室政治再推波助瀾，我們就馴服出一個(gè)新的奴隸了。

作為馴化課程的一部分，員工必須學(xué)習(xí)怎么穿衣、怎么說話、怎么行走等等。我們不能容忍有獨(dú)立思考的員工在公司，那樣會(huì)毀了一切。

老板禁止你把植物放在桌子上，因?yàn)檫`反了公司的制度。哦不，世界末日來了。Cindy桌子上面怎么會(huì)有！執(zhí)法人員在哪！立刻把Cindy拖走，重新馴化！

自由的人當(dāng)然認(rèn)為這種條款非?；闹?。他們的唯一條款就是：睿智、和藹，做我所想，享我所做。(Be smart. Be nice. Do what you love. Have fun.)

十、膽小怕事
不知道你是否注意到公司的員工總是永無止境的抱怨他們公司的問題。但是他們卻不真正的想要解決辦法。他們只是發(fā)泄一下，找借口證明這都是其他人的錯(cuò)。一份工作好像已經(jīng)消磨他們所有的意志，讓他們變得沒有一點(diǎn)骨氣，膽小怕事。如果你不敢打電話給老板罵他混蛋，并且不擔(dān)心被解雇，你就不是一個(gè)自由人。你已經(jīng)變成你主人的財(cái)產(chǎn)的一部分。

當(dāng)你整天和一群懦夫?yàn)槲椋悴挥X得這也會(huì)消磨你的意志么？當(dāng)然會(huì)。你會(huì)把你作為人類最高貴的品質(zhì)逐步的放到"恐懼"這個(gè)祭壇上，首先是勇氣、然后忠誠、榮譽(yù)、正直……最后是你的獨(dú)立意志。這只是早晚的事情。你出賣了你的人性，卻只得到了一個(gè)畫餅。而現(xiàn)在，你最大的恐懼就是揭開事實(shí)的真相。

我不在乎你被打擊成什么樣。拾起你的勇氣，亡羊補(bǔ)牢，為時(shí)未晚！

還想找工作么？

如果你現(xiàn)在是一個(gè)待遇很好、很守規(guī)矩的員工，你很有可能會(huì)對(duì)以上我所說的采取非常敵對(duì)的態(tài)度。這都是因?yàn)槟愕臈l件反射。但是想想如果以上說的不是事實(shí)，你根本不需要采取這種反應(yīng)。這只是提醒你一些你已經(jīng)知道的事情。你可以不相信有牢籠，但是牢籠仍在?；蛟S這一切都是逐步的、在你不易察覺的情況下發(fā)生的。就像溫水煮青蛙。

如果我說的任何事情都讓你覺得要發(fā)瘋，這是個(gè)好的現(xiàn)象。從意識(shí)角度看，憤怒起碼比冷漠好。憤怒比天天麻木不仁好。任何情感——即使是困惑——也比冷漠好。如果你釋放你的情感而不是壓抑他們，你很快就會(huì)獲得勇氣。到那時(shí)，你就會(huì)有愿望去實(shí)際做點(diǎn)什么來擺脫現(xiàn)在的處境，而開始真正活得像一個(gè)有能力的人而不是訓(xùn)練有素的寵物。

失業(yè)并快樂著

你不找工作那么應(yīng)該做什么呢？你應(yīng)該通過其他手段謀生，失業(yè)并快樂著。需要意識(shí)到你是通過提供價(jià)值來賺錢——而不是提供時(shí)間。找一個(gè)把你的最好的價(jià)值提供給他人的辦法，并給它定一個(gè)合理的價(jià)錢。最簡(jiǎn)單最可行的方式是做生意。不管做什么，找一個(gè)方案，可以直接把價(jià)值提供給最需要的人。這需要花點(diǎn)時(shí)間讓它運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)起來，但是為了你的自由，開始的那點(diǎn)時(shí)間和精力投資是很值得的。然后你可以自食其力了。