I am a person who was perpetually frustrated in the workplace, where my processes and methods were often misconstrued as disobedience, insubordination and insolence. It was very vexing, as I am extremely personable, effective, educated and well liked, especially by peers. Occasionally I would be reassigned to "special projects." In corporations, "special projects" is synonymous with "exit door."

Finally I set out on my own and within 24 months I had replaced my salary offering only the best of my talents to several employers while actually working for myself. When I worked for one place, there was often resentment that I seemed to "cherry pick" projects and avoided projects that had high likelihood of failure or that were going to be a long slog that I knew I lacked the patience for.

I found it remarkable that the same skills that have brought me fortune as a consultant were keeping my "steady job" in constant jeopardy.