Mark Cuban perfectly explained why most people are depressed at work

I have never, ever, liked having a “job”.

I like having money, that’s for sure.

But my interest in working for a boss begins and ends there.

Even when I had an exciting, high-profile career, I always had a dark cloud hanging over me.

Having to answer to another grown-up when it came to how I do my job or when I take my vacation time — it has always felt icky to me.

I know this doesn’t apply to everyone, but for those with authority issues and an entrepreneurial spirit like myself, having to answer to someone else is just grating.

It’s one of the reasons why — according to billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner and Shark Tank star Mark Cuban — most people are miserable at work.

And there’s only one solution.

A lack of control

Cuban had an interesting response in a wide-ranging interview with GQ magazine last week when a journalist asked if it’s perhaps human nature to be drawn to going to work.

Here’s what he said:

“No, no, no. I disagree completely. When you’re working for somebody, and you’re in that grind — and I was always really bad at this — you’re always obligated to somebody else.

“And that’s the difference. I’m obligated to nobody but myself.

“If I want to (develop entrepreneurial ideas), great, I can do that. I want to do nothing, great. I can be sitting on the beach.

“With your editors, publishers, they want you on a Zoom call, they want you in the meeting, you go to that meeting. For me, 99 percent of everything I do is via email.”

This is one of the points I made in my recent article about the 3 priceless gifts that having a passive income side hustle gives you.

The most important, in my opinion, is autonomy.

When you answer to others, you are, in a way, their prisoner.

Only when you answer to yourself are you truly free.

That’s what Cuban has, and what I want.

He continued:

“So I can be on the beach, it can be between Shark Tank pitches. It’s all how I define things. I can set the parameters. It’s not work, right? It’s picking and choosing exactly what I want to do.

“Now, if it was a situation where it’s like, I’m showing up at an office every day, I’m punching a clock, being told what to do? No. I’ve been through that.”

So, if you hate having to answer to others as much as Mark and I do — get to work building your own side project.

If you ask me, it’s the only escape from a controlled, unfulfilling life.

Are you the type of person who fits in well as an employee, or do you bristle at being told what to do? Let me know in the comments!