So what's this post about anyway?
Heh's da deal.....
You gotta decide what kind of life you want....
What it looks like....
What it consists of.....
What you will do each day....
Who you will do it with....
Where you will be....
What you are trying to achieve....
What makes you happy....
How You can make that happen....
You have to visualize your Ideal Life.
Then assess where you are....
What your Life is like now....
And then figure out how to close the gap.
Make a Plan for taking your Life from Where It Is....
To WHERE YOU WANT IT TO BE!!!
This realization, transition, effort started for me when I left the employ of Dow Chemical in 2002..... so about 12 years ago.
At that point, I realized my life had changed and would never be the same.
I left the security of a long term corporate job and ventured out into the world of Contracting and other career paths.
Had a pretty good plan for transition and executed it....
Had to change it several times along the way....
But it was the right thing to do.
Was never happy doing the Dow gig....
Didn't fit in....
Didn't like the Cookie Cutter, must fit in a given mold way of dealing with people that most of Corporate America has.
Too much of a Rebel....
Outspoken....
Out of the Box thinker....
That makes stiff collared, corn cob up their ass people in a "safe" Corporate environment feel....
Uncomfortable, Threatened, Challenged....
People have a way of describing me in that context....
Intimidating....
Let me translate that for you....
Intimidating means.....
"You challenge Me, My Position and the System....
You make me feel uncomfortable....
Your energy, enthusiasm and drive to get to an endpoint...to solve problems.... to resolve conflict... to bring clarity quickly and efficiently make me feel less than what I want to be.....
You seem to know what you're talking about, have confidence in yourself and what you bring to the table....
And that bothers me....
So I'm gonna label you INTIMIDATING so I can try to thwart or control your efforts to make progress and make things better".
That's what INTIMIDATING means.
I finally realized that the DARK SIDE of Independent Contracting was the correct Career Path for me because I could make a difference on each project and effort I put my time into.
Less Wasted Time.... More Impact.... More Money.
Works for me.
So how does this little Walk through Wills Career Path tie into the concept of....
"Why do you do that? Because I can!!!"
Well - there's a lot of moving parts to that machine...
But lemme fill in a few more gaps with a list of items that transitioned me from Where I Was to Where I Wanted to Be:
- I have always been "Old School" in terms of dealing with my finances - don't spend a lot on luxury / discretionary items, keep and track a detailed budget, save more than most, don't take a lot of risks with my money, pay cash for everything.
- Realized with the recent ZIRP (Zero Interest Rate Policy) - courtesy of the Powers That Be - that I was never gonna have enough money to officially retire, i.e. never work.
- So set up my career for one of part time work (15 - 30 hours per week) doing Independent Contractor Work.... I am a Chemical Engineer by degree, worked at Dow Chemical for 18 years as an employee and 4 as a contractor, so have a pretty good storehouse of technical, functional and practical knowledge on how to do technical work and problem solving...... turns out that's a pretty valuable thing in this day and age where most people coming out of school only know how to get info off the Internet and post to a Social Network site. There's actually a demand out there for People like me who can Plan and Execute Work.... Imagine that. My favorite saying when dealing with this sort of opportunity is that "I make Order out of Chaos".
- So Work Less.... Make Enough Money to Pay my Bills (which ain't much cause I pay cash for everything - see #1)..... are you starting to detect a theme here? It's called Simplicity..... Decluttering of Life.... Picking a few things that are important to you and focusing on executing those few High Priority Items with Lazer Focus, Purpose and Consistency.
- Always knew it, but finally stopped fighting the concept that, for me, everything in Life..... Success, Happiness, Peace, Fulfillment.... is dependent on me being Healthy.... and not just Healthy.... but EXTREMELY FIT. I love to work out, to push myself to Mental, Emotional and Physical Limits... it is the Core of My Happiness and more importantly, it is the only way for me to be a Positive, Productive and Supportive Person to those I love. It is a way of being my best so I can be my best for others.... Probably the most important and fundamental element and critical Life Change I have incorporated in my Daily Mindset and Activities over the last few years.
- So I set up every element of my Lifestyle to support that Foundation Element of being Fit, Active, Working out.... Diet and Nutrition, Exercise, Recovery and Recuperation, Career and all other aspects of Life.
So when People ask me...
Why do you pay so much attention to your diet?
Why do you workout so hard? So much? So consistently? So many different types of workouts?
Why do you not work full time?
Why do you live your life like you do?
I simply say....
Because I can.
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