Approaching a day job as a paid mercenary can be an empowering perspective for those who are, or wish to be self-employed, but due to financial necessity, work in day jobs.
A mercenary is someone who is paid to do a job, often a project of a specified term. Once the job is done, the mercenary collects a paycheck and goes his own way.
Mercenaries know the value of the work they do. They take pride in their skills and expertise, but they’re not emotionally invested in their work. They’re good at what they do, but they do it primarily for a paycheck.
It isn’t necessary to feel like you’re “selling out” your dreams when you’re in a day job. In fact, paid mercenary work can be a viable step towards accomplishing your dreams and major life goals. As I discussed previously, it’s important to take care of your basic physical needs if you’re going to do creative, inspired work.
Paid mercenary work leaves a discrete boundary between you and your job, organization and boss that allows you to maintain your own autonomy and identity, while projecting a positive attitude of providing valuable services to your employer. It’s a contractual relationship that provides clear benefits to both parties, while establishing clear expectations and limiting future commitments.
As a paid mercenary, you’re not at your job for life. You’re there as a means to an end. It’s brutally selfish, but you’re doing good work for the benefit of your employer, and being compensated for it. There’s a very fine line between people who cling to a job for life because that’s the only way of making a living that they know, and people who work at a job as a means of putting food on the table while they work away at their dreams.
Structured the right way, paid mercenary work still leaves you with time, energy and the freedom to pursue your dreams while having the safety of a paycheck.
Here are some other reasons why it’s beneficial to approach your job as a paid mercenary:
1. A focus on providing value and earning income
A mercenary’s prime duty is to provide value to their employer. They may not particularly enjoy what they do, but their purpose is clear: trading their valuable services for money. They’re not there to schmooze, to get involved in company politics or to get promoted. They’re there to do their work and get paid, so they can focus on the other things on their plate.
2. Greater independence and autonomy
Mercenaries aren’t slaves. They’re a willing, voluntary accomplices in the achievement of a specific project. They bring their skills, expertise and focus to the table, and work on their terms, in their style. Because they see themselves as providers of valuable skills and resources, they’re more apt to negotiate wages, projects and working hours, and often are successful at doing so.
3. Non-attachment to the job and organization
Mercenaries don’t identify themselves with the organizations they work for. They don’t use the term “we” when discussing decisions or actions of the organization. They’re simply paid by the organization to do work for the organization. The mercenary and the organization remain two separate entities, and the relationship is more of a contract, as opposed to the takeover of of the mercenary’s free will by the organization.
4. Acknowledgement that the situation is temporary
A mercenary relationship generally isn’t permanent, nor is there the expectation of a long-term commitment. This also helps to add distance between mercenary and employer. When the project is complete, the mercenary moves on. That doesn’t rule out further projects with the same organization if both parties desire, but there’s no automatic expectation or commitment. There’s no guilt involved with being part of an organization with no intention to build a career there.
5. Exercising choice
The ability to exercise choice, to take on jobs only when they’re beneficial to the interests of the mercenary, sets the mercenary apart from a conscripted, lifelong slave. A mercenary doesn’t have to work a job, but they choose to when it’s a sensible option. If a job turns out to be unsuitable for whatever reason, the mercenary can choose to quit or take up a different job.
Attitude defines the mercenary
The mercenary is defined by his attitude and outlook. Most of the time, “mercenary” isn’t a title you’ll find inked on paper – I haven’t seen many organizations overtly recruiting a “paid mercenary”. 
In practice, real-life mercenaries apply to contract and fixed-term jobs, are placed through staffing agencies or headhunters, or negotiate directly with organizations for contract or consulting work.
Mercenaries are valuable to organizations because they possess a skill set that’s hard to come by, or they have an unusually strong work ethic, or both. Because they’re looking for temporary term work, they don’t create outstanding liabilities for the organizations that hire them.
A job can be selling-out, or it can be a conscious choice, a stepping stone to your goals, while leaving your autonomy and dignity intact. What attitude do you project towards your job?
Photo credit: Flickr
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