We've got just a few more weeks left in our "The New Way To Work" Contest, and the submissions keep rolling in. This week, we’ve got a pair of very compelling blog posts from two very different people both embracing the New Way To Work. First, Gagan Biyani, a full-time consultant and part-time freelance writer from Chicago, had this to share about his experiences in launching a new startup and penetrating Silicon Valley with the help of contract professionals (from blog.udemy.com):

There just isn’t any doubt about it. Things are changing, and Udemy, a startup I’m co-founding, is as good example as any to embody that change. Folks like me don’t just quit their job, take out a loan and start a company anymore. Instead, we spend every free hour – every waking moment – working towards our dream. Success doesn’t just come with the 9-5 anymore, although some can said to a packed room at the Web 2.0 conference, if you want to pursue your passion, there are no excuses. You work 9-5 to support your family and yourself? No problem – “7 to 2 in the morning is plenty of time to do damage.” And here’s a little tidbit from the co-founders at Udemy: if you make a decent wage on your day job, pay someone else to work 9-5 on your dream.

Valerie Walker, a freelance marketing and technical writer, embraces the flip side of the New Way To Work – as a skilled freelance professional, you call the shots as your own boss (from valerie-walker.blogspot.com):

When you change from being an employee to a freelancer, you experience not only a renewed sense of control but also an actual improvement in the quality of your daily life in many respects. Instead of leaving your house at oh-dark-hundred for an hour-long commute (involving your choice of a trainload of loud-talking cell-phone addicts or drivers trained at the I-Drive-For-Maximum-Annoyance school), you can roll out of bed and fire up the laptop in your jams. Instead of spending the day working up a Vitamin D deficiency in a dark cubicle in a dirty city with nary a blade of grass in sight, with dinged furniture and a shabby chair, you can work in your bright living room and look out over forests, fields, and gardens, with your pets for company and the option to breath fresh air any time you want… As a freelancer, you can structure your work life in a way that is life-giving rather than spirit-sucking. And that is what's known as change for the better.

Don’t be shy – every story is unique, especially yours. Share your experiences with the world, and you could be featured on the Elance blog or win health insurance for one year or $10,000 in cash. Follow along on our Facebook Fan page or the Twitter hash tag #new_way_to_work, or keep your eye on the Elance blog for more.

Good luck!

Links:
Gagan Biyani - A New Way To Work
Valerie Walker - Freelance: The New Way To Work
Elance Blog - Contest: What Does "The New Way To Work" Mean To You?
Elance Blog - The New Way To Work Highlights Part 1
Elance Blog - The New Way To Work Highlight: Victor Cheng
Elance Blog - The New Way To Work Highlight: Qittle