The Two Hats That Shaped My Life

Right now, I wear two hats every single day. One is the hat of the employee, the other is the hat of the employer. This is my reality, and learning to balance both has taught me lessons I never would have understood if I had only stayed on one side.

For most of my working life, I was an employee. Almost 22 years of routines, performance reviews, and monthly paychecks shaped how I thought about work. Twice I stepped out to freelance, but I always returned to the structure of employment. It felt safe, predictable, and clear.

Now, I run my own company. That means stepping fully into the employer mindset, where every choice carries weight. There is no one above me to make the final call. Every mistake is mine to own. But so is every achievement.

When I put on the employee hat, I still find myself thinking in tasks: just get the work done, follow the structure, deliver on expectations. When I switch into the employer hat, I cannot stop there. I have to think bigger. Which work actually matters? Where is the business heading? How do I make sure what I build today is sustainable tomorrow?

The truth is, wearing these two hats shows me the real gap between execution and creation.

With the employee hat, my focus is on what needs to be done today. I am thinking about tasks, deadlines, and making sure the work is completed well. It is a mindset built on stability and structure, where responsibility is tied to outputs that fit into a larger framework.

With the employer hat, my thinking stretches further. I have to ask bigger questions: What direction is the business moving toward? Which decisions matter most for long-term sustainability? How do I balance risk with opportunity? Here, responsibility is not just about finishing the work but about shaping the system itself, making choices that will impact people, projects, and outcomes beyond today.

This is the gap between execution and creation. One mindset looks inward at performance, effort, and contribution. The other looks outward at vision, growth, and the future that does not exist yet but has to be built. One keeps me secure within someone else’s structure, the other requires me to build and carry a structure of my own.

That difference is what challenges me the most, but it is also what makes this shift meaningful.

It is not easy to unlearn 22 years of being an employee. There are still moments I find myself waiting for permission or reaching for stability. But now, I remind myself: I am the one setting the direction. I am both worker and builder, and living with these two hats is shaping who I am becoming.