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Post by enigma on Aug 25, 2016 19:30:16 GMT -5
1. Find landmark. 2. Find direction. Planning action without an outcome in mind doesn't make sense. What now? Why plan anything? Why not just watch and see what happens? Believe it or not, "you" have nothing to do with any of this. Something much bigger than "you" has everything under control. Relax and watch. 'The painter of the pictures will catch you if you fall.' |
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Post by laughter on Aug 25, 2016 19:35:30 GMT -5
Those are thoughts, but are they true? Can you know absolutely that they're true? If you love what you do, then work is not work; it's play, and it's almost never boring. The same thing applies to full-time jobs. A book about Warren Buffet was titled, "Tap-dancing through Life," to reflect his lifelong enjoyment of investing. People who enjoy what they do feel like they're dancing all the time. The task all of us face is finding something that makes us feel the same way. Some of us accidentally stumble into enjoyable work, and some of us actively seek it out by trying lots of different things until something clicks. One night at a party I asked people if their work corresponded with their college degree. There were three people who were working in a field that they had trained for, but everyone else in the room was doing work that was not directly related to their education or training. One guy got interested in growing bean sprouts. He started off growing them in a bathtub and selling small batches to local stores. Twenty years later he was selling bean sprouts all over the world and manufacturing huge machines that he had invented for mass-producing bean sprouts. Another guy liked to travel, so he worked at an unrelated job long enough to save some money and then he opened a travel business. Today he and his wife take people all over the world on eco-tours to the places that they, themselves, want to visit. I was trained in geology, but I got interested in architecture and construction, so I took a minimum wage job in construction in order to learn the trades from the ground up. Forty-three years later I still enjoy construction. If you work at something, and later lose interest in it, so what? Try something else. You're young and have no financial obligations, so why not try all kinds of different work? Keep your expenses low, live on less than you earn, and go have a blast! I have a friend who got tired of his job. He heard that cruise liners hire men to dance with single ladies, so he took dance lessons, and afterwards spent two years travelling around the world dancing with women and seeing the sights. The list of opportunities is endless. One approach is to meditate on the koan, "What does the body/mind enjoy doing?" Another approach is to just go do something and see what happens. Here's some food for thought: the following is a tiny list of things that I've been fanatically interested in at one time or another: Fossil collecting archaeology Geology building museum exhibits electronics coin collecting gymnastics abstract art sculpture furniture design chess poetry writing mountain climbing architecture construction Japanese landscape design rental management business investing finance economics politics dancing racing Porsche sales antique business producing educational videos Today, I still enjoy almost all of these things. What's on your list? LOL My list: Programming Math Goat farming Travelling Writing Archery Martial Arts Pharmacology Hiking Fishing Psychology Politics Medicine Electronics Robotics Drugs Computer generated Art Chemistry Physics Explosives Literature Meditation These are the things which had my interests and some still have once in a while. But I am rarely persistent enough to reach a "professional" level. Often understanding some basic concepts is enough and I move on. I doubt I could earn any money with those skills except maybe for three. Hopefully those are the three where the big bucks are: archery, goat farming and meditation.  |
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Post by stardustpilgrim on Aug 25, 2016 20:12:37 GMT -5
Being a jack of all trades and a master of none is another suitable approach. Find something that will allow you to earn some money, live frugally, and spend the rest of your time pursuing whatever interests you. That sounds like fun! Why be a professional? I know lots of professionals who would rather be doing something else, but they don't do something else because they're professional. LOL. You have lots of interests, so go where your interests lead you. 'Jack of all trades' has been my approach since leaving the electrical engineering field 25 years ago. It became clear that I enjoy new challenges and have trouble doing the same thing two days in a row, which makes me unsuitable for....well...almost everything.  I moved to Oregon, bought a house and remodeled it top to bottom, which was wacky fun. Did it a few more times before offering my services to others. Typically, I don't know what I'm going to be doing from one week to the next, and I love it. Cool, a while back I noted from a post you either did live or once lived in the NW (I think you didn't give an order of that and SW?). Way back about page 100 of the World thread I was going to reply to ZD about that area, maybe I'll finally get to it. I visited my oldest daughter in Jan. 2014, she was then living in Oak Harbor, Wash. I loved the area. Visited Vancouver, Canada and Portland, Oregon also while there. (I accidentally discovered the largest used book store in the USA is in Portland, spent some hours there). That's a preview to my future post. |
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Post by japhy on Aug 26, 2016 0:35:07 GMT -5
Being a jack of all trades and a master of none is another suitable approach. Find something that will allow you to earn some money, live frugally, and spend the rest of your time pursuing whatever interests you. That sounds like fun! Why be a professional? I know lots of professionals who would rather be doing something else, but they don't do something else because they're professional. LOL. You have lots of interests, so go where your interests lead you. It sounds lovely, like a live I would really want. Working 20-30 hours, not being paid to badly and following my interests the rest of the time. My problem is my interests usually last for a few months at most, so I am not sure if I can earn money with something that interests me, since earning money needs some long term commitment. Or maybe I can one day. But starting with something that is maybe not the ultimate fullfillment but leaves me some space sounds good now. You're young and have no financial obligations, so why not try all kinds of different work? Keep your expenses low, live on less than you earn, and go have a blast! I only partly agree. I don't need an expensive life and I have a friend who works 30h for minimum wage and feels like a prince beause he can buy what he wants. He likes good food and that's all he wants to buy :-D. But there are some finanial obligations I have and which might become more with time. There is someone I decided I need to take care of finanially for now. But: I don't know how to get there. Most companies who hire in my field want you for 40, 50 or maybe even 60 hours (I never saw a vacancy for a half time position). Taking a non qualified job, which doesn't really interest me, only beause they allow me to work less hours, seems stupid as well. |
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Post by japhy on Aug 26, 2016 0:41:34 GMT -5
'Jack of all trades' has been my approach since leaving the electrical engineering field 25 years ago. It became clear that I enjoy new challenges and have trouble doing the same thing two days in a row, which makes me unsuitable for....well...almost everything. I moved to Oregon, bought a house and remodeled it top to bottom, which was wacky fun. Did it a few more times before offering my services to others. Typically, I don't know what I'm going to be doing from one week to the next, and I love it. Sounds great. |
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Post by japhy on Aug 26, 2016 0:42:48 GMT -5
1. Find landmark. 2. Find direction. Planning action without an outcome in mind doesn't make sense. What now?  that depends. Would it be fair to say that your interest in this dialog is in how to go about choosing the next landmark or direction and figuring out an outcome around which to plan? Would it be fair to say that this dialog is part of how you're making that choice and defining that outcome? Probably. |
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Post by japhy on Aug 26, 2016 0:58:18 GMT -5
My list: Programming Math Goat farming Travelling Writing Archery Martial Arts Pharmacology Hiking Fishing Psychology Politics Medicine Electronics Robotics Drugs Computer generated Art Chemistry Physics Explosives Literature Meditation These are the things which had my interests and some still have once in a while. But I am rarely persistent enough to reach a "professional" level. Often understanding some basic concepts is enough and I move on. I doubt I could earn any money with those skills except maybe for three. Hopefully those are the three where the big bucks are: archery, goat farming and meditation. I really counted the goat farming. I "own" a small project in a "third world country" (haha I hate this term). Once I calculated that if the goats go into the hundreds there might start coming some serious money. But for now they are only 11. But who knows: reproduction is exponetial if resources are sufficient and my partner has a lot of land we can use. Plus the running costs are really low since they are freely greasing.(At least I thought so until there was an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in that area). Otherwise my programming skills and my math education might get me a job. (That are the magic 3.) |
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Post by laughter on Aug 26, 2016 17:12:11 GMT -5
that depends. Would it be fair to say that your interest in this dialog is in how to go about choosing the next landmark or direction and figuring out an outcome around which to plan? Would it be fair to say that this dialog is part of how you're making that choice and defining that outcome? Probably. Self-honesty is always refreshing, thanks for that. May I offer you one simple sentence of succinct advice? |
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Post by laughter on Aug 26, 2016 17:15:01 GMT -5
Hopefully those are the three where the big bucks are: archery, goat farming and meditation. I really counted the goat farming. I "own" a small project in a "third world country" (haha I hate this term). Once I calculated that if the goats go into the hundreds there might start coming some serious money. But for now they are only 11. But who knows: reproduction is exponetial if resources are sufficient and my partner has a lot of land we can use. Plus the running costs are really low since they are freely greasing.(At least I thought so until there was an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in that area). Otherwise my programming skills and my math education might get me a job. (That are the magic 3.) Ha! I had a feelin' about the goats! So is it that you've actually been to the project and spent time working there? Is your partner's land there or where you live? Had you any experience on the farm prior? So the Master's program is in software/engineering? Have you worked in the field for many years at this point yet? What are your 2nd thoughts about that based on, primarily? |
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Post by zendancer on Aug 27, 2016 7:41:14 GMT -5
Being a jack of all trades and a master of none is another suitable approach. Find something that will allow you to earn some money, live frugally, and spend the rest of your time pursuing whatever interests you. That sounds like fun! Why be a professional? I know lots of professionals who would rather be doing something else, but they don't do something else because they're professional. LOL. You have lots of interests, so go where your interests lead you. 'Jack of all trades' has been my approach since leaving the electrical engineering field 25 years ago. It became clear that I enjoy new challenges and have trouble doing the same thing two days in a row, which makes me unsuitable for....well...almost everything. I moved to Oregon, bought a house and remodeled it top to bottom, which was wacky fun. Did it a few more times before offering my services to others. Typically, I don't know what I'm going to be doing from one week to the next, and I love it. Yep, that's one of the main reasons that I, too, love construction so much; the work changes all the time. No chance of getting bored. LOL. I built my first home almost totally by myself (had to get some friends to help set one large window, and had to hire two guys to finish a concrete slab), and every day was a blast. If I got tired of laying stone or framing, I'd work on plumbing or electrical stuff or whatever else seemed interesting or fun. I lived in the shell of the structure while I worked on it (no rent!), and by the time I finished it, I had accumulated a lot of sweat equity. I picked up stone on the property for building the walls and fireplace, and bought scrap building materials for pennies on the dollar. Before I could finish the project I had to go to work to earn some money, but I continued to work on the house on weekends. Later, I built hundreds of homes and commercial buildings, but I continued to do the physical work that I found most enjoyable--foundation work, framing, laying hardwood flooring, etc. Any work that wasn't fun I subbed out to others. The only thing that would have made the work more fun (and more profitable) would have been a better understanding of finance and money, but that's a whole different story. haha |
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Post by zendancer on Aug 27, 2016 8:18:39 GMT -5
Japhy: You're smart and well-educated, so if you want to get free of the system to do your own thing (whatever that turns out to be), you need to start thinking like an entrepeneur and learning about business and money. There's a thread about these topics on the forum (started about five years ago if I remember correctly), and you might want to review that.
FWIW, I know someone who didn't want to work for other people. Her talents included voice, dance, and a business-oriented mind. When she got out of school, she started teaching dance and saving her money. As soon as she accumulated enough money, she bought a foreclosed home, rehabbed it, and sold it for a substantial profit. She did it a second time and made even more money. Then she started a band, and she taught all of the musicians to dance. This allowed her to both sing and dance with the band. Within one year the band was extremely popular, so she started a second band. Later she started a third band. While doing this, she took advantage of a big loophole in the American tax code. She bought an undervalued condo, fixed it up, lived in it for two years, and then sold it for a tax-free gain. As soon as she sold the first condo, she bought another undervalued condo and did the same thing again. She has never had to work for anyone other than herself, but that's because she has found ways to multiply her talents exponentially.
Warren Buffet, probably the most successful investor in the world, reads five newspapers every day and at least one non-fiction book every week. He does this just to stay abreast of what's happening throughout the world and to stimulate new investment ideas. I once worked for a guy who did the same sort of thing. One day he read an article about an upcoming ethylene glycol shortage in the newspaper. He realized that anti-freeze was going to go up in price in the near future, so he bought a ton of anti-freeze from local suppliers. Within two months the price began to rise, and that winter he made a killing re-selling the anti-freeze. The best investors think outside of the box and they think ahead. You're familiar with the economy of a third-world country. How can you leverage that knowledge to your benefit?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2016 9:02:05 GMT -5
Got some woohoo. Want more woohoo. That's the problem with woohoo.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2016 9:07:31 GMT -5
 drats! I bought at the top, and now I can't give this stuff away |
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Post by zendancer on Aug 27, 2016 10:08:53 GMT -5
drats! I bought at the top, and now I can't give this stuff away That's the inherent hazard when buying at the top! Haha. During the internet bubble I watched a stock (Citrix) go from $90 to $100/share in one day. The following day it went to $110. When it fell back to $90 a few days later, I thought, "Wow, what a deal!" I didn't know a thing about the stock except that it had been recommended by an economics professor. I bought a bunch of shares, and when it fell to $80/share, I bought even more. That's about when the bubble burst. It eventually bottomed out at about $6/share. Sometimes good lessons have to be learned the hard way! LOL |
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Post by enigma on Aug 27, 2016 10:14:30 GMT -5
My list: ProgrammingMathGoat farming Travelling Writing Archery Martial Arts Pharmacology Hiking Fishing Psychology Politics Medicine ElectronicsRoboticsDrugs Computer generated ArtChemistry Physics Explosives Literature Meditation These are the things which had my interests and some still have once in a while. But I am rarely persistent enough to reach a "professional" level. Often understanding some basic concepts is enough and I move on. I doubt I could earn any money with those skills except maybe for three. Hopefully those are the three where the big bucks are: archery, goat farming and meditation. Even more lucrative than goat farming (assuming that's possible) is designing computer games. |
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that depends. Would it be fair to say that your interest in this dialog is in how to go about choosing the next landmark or direction and figuring out an outcome around which to plan? Would it be fair to say that this dialog is part of how you're making that choice and defining that outcome?