RE: Forget a Job - Pursue a Goal!
Hi there. This is definitely an inspirational message and one which I think is more possible now than when I was growing up. Before internet and all these advancements it was harder to go the entrepreneurial route. I also got my degrees and then wasn't able to get a job using any of the skills. I studied languages and linguistics because I loved them and it was only a few strokes of fate that meant I didn't end up becoming an academic. I studied things that you can only get a job teaching and researching. But I don't regret any of that because I pursued what I loved and I got scholarships, so I wasn't in near as much debt as some people are. I had around $9,000 left to pay off (from my undergrad) when I left my Ph.D. program after three years because I was disillusioned by a career in academe.
If I were starting now I would like to imagine I'd get involved in trading and affiliate marketing while I was still in high school, or at least by college. There are many reasons why I wanted to go to college, and I never was under the illusion that it would lead to a job. It was a form of self-enrichment and self-improvement for me that has made my life that much richer. But I wish I had been a bit more pragmatic when I was young and bought real estate sooner. I think if I knew at 20 what I know now that I would have retired in my 30s. I'm still catching up now, trying to become independent in my 40s.
Hello Clemdane,
Well I am not sorry that I spent so much time in school taking one course or another, going for different programs, because I like learning.
What I am regretting is the things I haven't done.
Right after high school I had started a small business, for example, and that brought me actually very big profits, in a short period of time, which I was not very surprised about, because I was expecting it after working on it like crazy and enjoying while doing it. I was still living at home and my father was stunned of the amount of money I brought in.
In less than a week I traveled thru several countries, met nice people and made connections for future business visits, I was physically tired, but mentally very excited.
Well he succeeded in convincing me that is too risky and it was just the luck of the beginner that was on my side, therefore I should stop right there before I loose everything. My intention was to re-invest 100% of the profits back in.
Indeed the risk was very high that all my work and money invested could've gone to zero, or it would go up ten times fold like it happened.
Not necessarily regretting that particular thing. What I will always regret is that I left myself influenced by people around me that the best thing to do is keep going to school and get a job, to have a stable income, in time I became docile... Nothing can be further from the truth, no job will give the satisfaction that I had for the short period of time doing what I wanted to and earning money at the same time.
Best is to follow your instincts, don't listen to anyone but yourself, if you are to enjoy life, and these days, yes there are more opportunities than there used to be, so the young people should take full advantage of them.
Yes, that is so very true. There will always be people who speak the voice of fear to you, and many of them really mean well and are speaking that way because they care about you. It's because they were raised with fear as well and it's what they know. They were told that if they take too many chances or step out of line they will lose everything and be a miserable failure. So they stopped taking risks. Now they are passing on the same advice. And you have to have a lot of strength to go with your own voice, especially at a young age and when there is already a bit of natural fear in you (normal to have fear when you are taking a risk.) The difference is that you don't need to give energy to that fear and build it up to the point where it now stops you from moving forward.
I had something similar, though it was actually the opposite - I had a chance to do my doctorate at Oxford University in exactly what I loved, but it was extremely unlikely I would get a job in it. However, it would have meant taking my skill, interest and education to the absolute highest level that I could, something that would have given me massive fulfillment. I would have had to take a chance on getting more scholarships to pay for two of the three years that I didn't have covered. I had a scholarship that could be extended for one more year. I could have asked my father if I could borrow from him if I had run out of money. But I talked with him at length and he convinced me that it made more sense and was more practical for me to go back to the States and get a degree from an American university. It's a long story, but it was the worst decision of my life. I went with fear. I didn't take the chance to reach the highest peak I wanted to climb. I let fear make me give up what I loved more than anything.
Indeed, fear when slowly creeps in, is the worst that can happen to anyone, because it is disguised as wisdom.