I probably shouldn't tell you this, especially if you are about to leave for work or if you are sitting in your cubicle after having slept for only a few hours last night. But you are working for the government right now instead of working for yourself. I know this sounds weird and rather depressing, but the first few hours that you spend at work every day are not spent to build a better life for yourself and your family. You are not buying freedom in the form of early retirement, paying for your kid's college, or even working to pay off that hefty cable bill.