Being an employee is not a bad thing. Far fewer are cut out to be "the" owner of a business than aspire to be. Many dive into building a business and then find out they don't have the tools, time or "fire in the belly" that is required.

Congrats of finding your way to a Gulch and into the world of Objectivism. It's a big step for many of us. I seem to have been one my entire life, but never had a name for it. I remember reading Atlas Shrugged when I was in college in the early 70's - at least I recall checking it out at the library, but apart from a very slight comprehension of the books outline and the name John Galt, not much else remains.

So it was with great surprise and more than a little joy that I eagerly sat back one week a few years ago with the Audible version downloaded onto my Ipod, a full week of vacation and nothing else on my schedule. Surprise that there was so much more in that book than I remembered and joy in the reality that the values I had used to guide my life were reflected in the words I heard narrated to me.

The year was 2008, markets were crashing, my business which was built on people having disposable income was suffering, a new president was telling us all how he was going to spread our wealth around and I was one year away from spending a year and a half of my life fighting with the IRS over my tax returns - which were penny perfect.

For me, being re-exposed to the prose of AS strengthened me for the road ahead. The words of Francisco to Reardon when he tells Reardon that he was there "to give him the words he would need, for the time he would need them" were words I would soon find myself in need of.

And when the time came that I knew that my business had ceased to have the meaning for me that it once held, the time when I knew that the only way forward for me involved locking and closing my doors, selling the building and moving out my tools. Selling the building for $1 less than I had invested in it, just so that I'd not be forced to give one more dollar derived from the effort of my mind to a government that sees me as evil because I think I'm entitled to keep the reaping from the creativity of my mind.

In my case, I became what Ayn Rand called a striker. I no longer work for the benefit of those who seek to feed off my mind. I no longer produce the fruits of my mind for their gratification, only for mine. The handiwork I once made and sold, I now create (for I MUST create) and give/trade to friends for things I need that they create. For the things I must purchase, I earn the required money doing the least creative or inventive work possible.

For me, the adventure that is Objectivism came just in time.

Yet one more intelligent individual who came to Ayn Rand and Objectivism because they saw the movie(s). ICE, check out the kickstarter campaign we are currently in to be a part of making the final movie, "Who Is John Galt."

i'm very glad you discovered ayn rand and that you've found a partner that shares the same values. i wish you the best of luck and much success on your business.

You have a great story ICE. You are a success now and will continue to be a success. Please share more when you can.

You say you admit you're an employee as if that's a bad thing. It's only bad in my opinion if the word means you just show up and mindlessly wait to be told what to do. If you approach it with passion, produce real value, and ask your customer to pay you the going rate for what you provide, it makes no difference whether you own a business. Owning a business is not all it's cracked up to be. Creating businesses is great; it's just far from the only way to create value and earn honest money.