If you could do anything...Part 2
 

To add on to HurricaneHeather's thread.

Why are you not doing what you want right now? Triple gave some reasons. What about the rest of the people that posted?

James

I'm on the path to doing what I want to do.

I've started a company for writing this year and I'm also working my way up in a company that will allow me to use that. :shrug:

I think a lot of people are afraid to really be happy. :idk:

So a list of the all the excuses, huh? :lol:

I just sent my husband to school last year so he can follow his dreams. Now there are no jobs for him to have in that field since people keep crashing planes and shit. :rolleyes:

Plus, I have no idea what I would do if I could live my dream. I wouldn't work probably. :lol:

LOL. NO excuses. Real reasons why people can't.

What job did your husband go to school for?

If you don't really know what you want to do its really hard to give a reason why you can't do it.

James

Pilot. He has all the certifications, but since he has no experience and the airline industry has been in the crapper for such a long time, no one is moving up so all the entry level jobs are currently occupied by pilots who have been working for 2 or 3 years. It'll turn around eventually, but it sucks right now. :shrug:

I don't have a mini-sub.

And I live in the mountains.

Stupid mountains, they're crushing my dreams!

JC

Why not just write? I'm confused as to why you would need the process?

As for the thread, i'm learning a lot about following your heart and doing what matters in life. There are always compromises, it is my belief that everything as attainable if you can compromise.

The one thing I always wanted to do was be a military pilot. Unfortunately I was born with a heart murmur which automatically disqualifies me from joining the military. Im also 6'8" which disqualifies me from fitting in most cockpits :lol:.

So my backup plan was to become an Ocean Engineer and so far so good, I recently got a job offer to be a Test Engineer for the Naval Surface Warfare Centers.

See those are two good reasons.

And rather then cry about what you can't do your finding something else you might enjoy. :rockwoot: Are you going to take the job?

James

I got married young instead of going to vet school like I dreamed my entire life. All the years following I've fought to keep my head above bills, mortgage, car payments etc. I know all about living beyond ones means. I am just now, at almost 28 in a position to be able to go back to school and get into doing something I want, versus what I need to do to pay the bills.

Out of my three options I need to go to school for two of them. Each of them is $10000 or around there. So that is one thing I need. Thats not a big issue so thats not stopping anything.

If I go the firefighter route I have a couple of things to do besides get the money for training. I'm going to start on those because they will be good for me, firefighter or not.

James

Since you are able to do it now are you going to do it?

James

OH! I thought of one. I had a business selling chocolate favors when I was 20 and I loved the business side of it, just hated actually making those cute little favors. :lol:

If I could hire someone else to do the grunt work, I would want to do this again. I have been thinking about doing something like what I did, just on a simpler scale this year to make some more money around the holidays. If I can ever get settled enough to work on creating a website.

Yeah, I just have to pass security clearance check and the job is mine. :tremble:

My family was never able to afford much with my horrible medical bills growing up, so no school to learn how to do these things. I also was more mechanical in my inclination and did not get into woodwork and framing until my thirties. Now I am very happy with my job and its a solid foundation in the troubled economy, so no way I would abandon it now...but I still build and still have my cars on the side. Just because I am not living my dream does not mean I'm not happy.

Yep. Or something that equally speaks to my soul. I worked at a vet for awhile, its not something I could do as a standard type office thing, but to be able to do it on a charity level for shelters or my own I could see myself doing it.

Being happy is what its all about. It depends on someones dream but if they are happy in what they are doing they can do their dream as a hobby and switch to it full time later in life or after retirement if its something they really enjoy.

But if your not happy find a way to move into something you do. No amount of money is worth being unhappy with.

James

In short, I didn't go to school for marine biology or zoology. I probably SHOULD have (rather than psychology), but I didn't. And in truth, my dream jobs of working with and/or rescuing animals are sadly labors of love, and not typically something one could make a comfortable living at (I could be wrong about that, but as far as I can tell....)

my other passion (like Kell) is writing. I would love to eventually do freelace work, editorial type stuff. I used to do a lot of writing for a few websites, but got away from it for a few years. However, just last week I 'applied' to start writing for the local version of an online mag. I actually requested to write for their transportation: sportbikes section.. So i may just become a 'writer' one of these days afterall!

I think when the kids are grown, I want to open bar/grill with live music (talented people, not this crap they call music here in Upstate NY). I think we could do well if we are still here. I'd love to move down south again where it's cheaper to live, but not necessarily Nashville. It's getting stupid crime-wise there, so I'm thinking the "Land of Free Carry"...TEXAS, BABY!!

I'm an engineer. I hate engineering but there is nothing else I know how to do that pays more. I'm motivated by money. I'd shovel dog shit all day if it paid $200/hour.

Money is over rated. What I want is time and enough money to do the things I enjoy. Firefighting might be the career that can do that. I have to decide. My black ass burning in a fire is a drawback. Nothing is perfect.

James

I don't have the means, technical abilities or know the right people to do both build/race cars and bikes. And I don't have the genetics to be a professional bodybuilder.


However I'm pursuing BOTH as hobbies and am quite happy with it all.

Too old and too untrained to be an aerialist

Kinda like the path I went down. I just turned 30 when I got into PA school and was kinda frustrated getting a late start on things but first i couldnt do anything about whats already done and just kept going forward. I fell into a prety good gig now with the jobbie jobs so I will just keep at it.

Tom

200 an hr def isnt over rated :lol:

Tom

I'm working on it. I'm planning on going to work for a state after retiring from the military, several of them will give me retirement a few years sooner after 20 years active Federal service, so I'll be in my mid 50's and retired twice with enough money to open a bike shop or a bar.

My buddy is a firefighter. He almost never responds to fire calls. Most of what firefighter respond to these days is accident scenes.

Don't get the answers on the other thread confused with my real life. :lol: I love my career!! :) It's cakes and pies!!

well I didn't do my field of choice because my sig other said she wouldn't wait around for me if I was driving truck. Then we had a kid, no time for him if I'm gone all the time.

now days, I don't care if she waits, the kid graduated from high school and doesn't want me around anyway (:)) but now I find I've gotten used to being home and having my "play time"

I'm not a famous cook and no one will give me a show to review diners/drive ins/dives since it's already being done.

Cha-ching!!!! Yeh seriously that is a great plan, although I am working toward a very similar goal I do plan to take a few years off after I retire to travel. I got just over a decade to think about it, 2021 is approaching real fast. Once I do some traveling and see the world I was thinking about becoming a DMV picture guy taking headshots of all the kids who just got their liscense. I would make sure that they take the worst possible picture

so Flexin, your's and mine seemed very similar in the other thread. One big difference, I'm older and now look back and know how I should have done it.

I had planned to get out of the Army and go drive for Schneider, (one of the few co's doing training back then) for five years, then buy my own truck and start as leased driver, next step was to go owner operator then build up a business with a few more trucks.
As I was getting out, along came girlfriend, soon after we're pregnant. She doesn't want me gone and I have to be home for kid.

Now in my 40's I look back and wonder if I did right. Went to school (everyone said that was the thing to do) got an office job like I said I never would and I make a comfortable living. Problem is I'm miserable.

Two years ago I met a man who had done exactly as I planned to do. He in his 40's has more time then he knows what to do with. He has 15 trucks, all custom, with great drivers. He had a fantastic career driving and now simply manages the business. He is at home with his kids every day.

Not saying it would always work out that way, just that if you want to do it, do it when your young. That way as your kids get older you will be more seasoned in your profession and able to work in the time you need with them. If you fail you'll have time to recover and do something else.

in hind sight, I never should have let my dream go. Silly as it is I should have held on to it

or lock outs....





:scared:

200 at 8 hours a day, 5 days a week is a sweet life.

200 at 20 hours a day, 7 days a week means your trophy wife is living in your big ass house, swimming in your big ass swimming pool and being gang banged daily by the help. Thats a sweet life for the trophy wife but it would suck for you.

I realized about 4 years ago that money isn't everything. Right now I want good money and time to spend in doing things I love with family.

James

I have seen videos of a truck accident. The blast from that tanker blowing would be worse then burning if you were closes enough.

I was looking at pictures on the firefighter school site and they had a lot of training pics from car accidents.

How does he like it?

James

I went to college for 2 years, hated it. So I went to truck driving school, drove for CFI for 6 years, met the ex, bought a house, and quit driving.

Should have stayed in college, got the degree in botany and be playing with plants instead of shipping scripts to vets.

I've probably had 40 jobs in my life, but it has given me experiences that a safe job wouldn't have. I would have rather lived an interesting life than a safe, boring one.

:werd:

I'm broke most of the time, but never bored. :D

:lol:

I try to tell my husband that all the time. He was complaining about quitting his job and going to school, and I told him, 'if it wasn't this crazy idea it would have been another. We get bored too easy for the normal life we were leading before.'

He loves it. He has been doing it for about 5 years now.

They have awsome hours, good pay, and most of the time, they are watching movies in the firehouse.

Another good thing about a fireman, is you can setup a side business because you have so much free time.

if there's one thing my life has been it's "interesting" I have done every job known I think. some have been a blast and some not so much but yeah that part of my life I wouldn't change.

I had planned to go to law school, with the hopes of doing civil liberties work and possibly pursuing a bench somewhere, but i just got too burned out on school. So i took the path of least resistance, and ended up with a pretty decent job as jobs go... flexible schedule, i can show up in shorts and a t-shirt, don't have to talk to people, and i get paid well (for the area). Spending time/mental energy on my hobbies is far more appealing than busting my ass to try to improve my career situation.

Oh I am writing. ;) I want to do a lot of different types of writing and was also looking for a way to start my own business. So the two ideas came together and now that's my little project that I run on the side.

The "process" is just a means of keeping afloat until I get into corporate training. I've applied to so many corporate training jobs but I don't have the corporate experience. :idk: So I decided to go out and get the corporate experience with a company that will support the end goal. Lots of connections in this company! ;)

Haven't met a team owner who would drag me around the world on his dime. Still need to work on the skill levels too. By the time I'm ready to retire from this job, I might be able to live the dream.

I should know in days if I will have some of the money for Fire school. If I get that I'm in. I still need to find the rest of the money but I will be in for at least the first half anyway.

Did anyone else decide to do anything they talked about in this thread?

James

Kepp doing what I am doing. Govt jobs rock.
Go to work is shorts, tshirts and sandals, work my 35 hours a week and make good money doing it.

I have no practical experience outside of building my own motors for private use but if it paid enough, I'd love to build race motors. I've rebuilt lawn mower and 2 stroke engines quite a bit and I have assembled a V-8 engine before but I have no certification nor real world experience that would be required.

Yes, I'll be heading off to Montreal, to meet with representatives from Gauloises for a photography try-out at Assen this season. If it works out, I'll be on retainer and following the series for the next 5 years at a rate of €120K per year, plus expenses. There's a minimum dress code, so I'm being fitted for one of their white safety vests right now. I don't know how they can call it a safety vest though. Seems to me that these overly long sleeves and all of these straps could get stuck in something.

More on that later. They want me to come out with them to the bus now.

Holy Cow! Congrats....that is really awesome.

I still don't know what I want to do with my life. :lol: But, I am trying not to force myself to figure it out. That alone stresses me out.

For MotoGP?
:rockwoot:

Sorry folks. I thought that the long sleeves and straps would be a dead give-away :lol:

It's hard to tell a good straight jacket joke. :lol:

JC

my general goal, tentitevaly is to graduate before i turn 27, join the coast guard as an officer, get out with them paying a large chunk of my undergrad student loans, then joining the twra or *dnr after i get out and pretty much collecting two retirements and enjoying the outdoors

I think my problem was in even thinking that there was such a thing as a good straight jacket joke :lol:

When I was in high school my dream was of going into the medical field (forensic pathology or genetics). Forensics still fascinates me, but that dream hasn't so much faded as I kinda lost interest once I discovered helicopters. :lol:

So right now I'm studying for the AFAST and working on improving my PT score so I can be a little more competitive when I submit my Aviation Warrant Officer packet when I redeploy. My eyes aren't perfect, but my current prescription falls within the limits of the flight physical regulation, so it shouldn't be an issue. From what my boss back home (an aviation LTC) and her friend the state flight surgeon say, anything is waiverable. :lol:

I've wanted to be a helicopter pilot since my last deployment in '04... but my ex-husband always guilt-tripped me to keep me out of it ("I don't want you to be away from me for so long!"). Ironically, after we had kids (and things were going sour between us) all of a sudden he was completely supportive of me going to flight school. :skep:

Want to be come a lighting designer not just director.

I'm currently learning to be a crew chief and how to operate the lighting boards, designing and running the lighting for an opening act and running spot lights for Martina.

Money is never overrated when you have none......

I haven't joined the Peace Corps yet. That was a goal of mine before I ever had a degree. It will have to wait until my son is older but it will happen! :)

I want to get a masters in councelling, I have been hunting for the right program but haven't found it yet. I also love my current job and don't want to feel like I have to quit my job to make the new degree and expense worth it. I will do it someday when it feels right.

It sucks when you don't have any but on the other end there are more important things in life. Being happy is one of them.

James

Money is important if you don't have enough. Money is important if you have a lot. It isn't all that important when you have just enough, I've found.

Yea me too! I used to make really good money in sales but I was a nervous wreck that smoked and drank. Now I get up, do my work and come home with a clean conscience.

:lol

I believe that the job I'm looking at with Arctic Cat would be very close.
So... we shall see how it goes!



Good luck! I have thought about that for a long time, and will be submitting my warrant packet when I get off this deployment, but in the Maintenance field. Only birds in the state are Blackhawks, and I would need to get lasic first anyway...

Thanks!

Yeah, if the aviation thing doesn't go through, there are TONS of mobility warrant slots open (when we left for Iraq, there was ONE mobility warrant in the TXARNG... and he is in our unit :lol: ), and being an 88N I'm a shoe-in for that. It's just too bad I'm not actually doing 88N work on this deployment.

Is your eyesight worse than 20/50? If so, then yes, you'd have to get LASIK (or PRK... I think PRK is less invasive, but check with your state flight surgeon first as to which procedure would be more acceptable to their flight program), because I think that's one of those waiverable things (and there's a study that they're doing on pilots they accept who have had eye surgery). I'm no true expert on that, though... so check with the folks that know. I know I don't have to get surgery since my eyesight is within the 20/50 limits according to the reg for Class 1 flight physicals and it's correctable with glasses.

FAR worse than 20/50 :lol:

D'oh!! :lol:

I'd like to get eye surgery... I can see without my glasses, but reading signs without squinting gets real hard if they're more than 15 feet away. It sure would beat the $$$ I have to spend on prescriptions (especially prescription Oakleys!! I still need to order some VR28 and Persimmon lenses for range days.) But I was told to hold off on it because certain eye surgeries could completely preclude me from the flight program, versus getting accepted with my eyesight as-is.

Blade Free Lasik - FTW! I had it 3 weeks ago and it's the best money I've possibly ever spent on myself. Super easy and I'm very happy with the results.

I don't doubt it! Everyone I've talked to who has had eye surgery has said the same, regardless of the procedure.

I received and email today saying I was approved for the grant. So it looks like I'm in the school. I still need to get the other half but I'm in.

James

If I could do anything I'd sit on my ass all day and do nothing.

Could have sworn that was what youre already doing

Yeah, it pretty much is.

:lol

Now, if I could figure out how to do this from home I'd be set.

Work at home or do nothing at home

Correct.

Marko....what are you supposed to be doing? :skep:

Honestly, if there's no work than nothing. When there is work I shoot video.

You call this dance nothing? I'm offended. :skep:

Right now, it's my job.

right back atcha. ;)

Right now I have the lifestyle I want as a sales rep. I set my own hours/appointments and can take any amount of time I need for vacation/personal etc. as long as I am meeting my customer's needs and my numbers. Pay aint so bad either. The down side is that I put out a lot of "fires" and have people angry at me for things I have no control over (missing items, delays etc). The good news is I sell a product line (1.8million items) that every lab,manufacture in the world needs so I don't have to kiss too much ass like many sales reps do.

Do I love sales, no. I was trained as a scientist. Do I love science...thought I did till I realized I had to work my ass off for little/no recognition and pay.

No clue what my dream job would be.

Just had my first article accepted and have been asked to do another.

This kid just might end up a writer yet. ;)

I'm on the path... buying a house is in my imminent future... I'm starting a new job next week (15% pay increase :banana:)... got the love a beautiful woman... Now I just need a dog, gotta pay off my student loans, and learn how to weld.

So...

1) Buying a new house - only thing holding me back is waiting for tax returns to add to the down payment

2) Getting a dog - I want an American Bulldog or something similar... ONSSP wants a Golden Retreiver... We'll prolly end up with a Lab... Buying a house FIRST.

3) Studen loans - unless I win the lottery, I'll be paying on these for a WHILE.

4) Learning how to weld - it's an expense I cannot justify as of yet... if someone gave me a bunch of equipment and wanted to show me how to use it, I'd be down.

Is the welding something to enhance your career or just something you want to learn to do?

Just for fun... I'm pretty creative and I would like to build things...

Thats cool. As my garage/shop grows and comes together I could see adding that to my list of toys, but thats still a ways off.

I'm with ya. My old man actually has an old oxy-acetelene setup he offered to give me and show me how to use, but I'm an elitist prick(and lazy)... MIG FTMFW...

Yellow Lab FTW.