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Ok OP, I'll bite... I initially had humble beginnings. I lived at home through college (though not in a basement, our home was only 1 story) due to financial reasons and went to school while holding a part time minimum wage job in IT I got through my university. I thought I was a special snowflake because I ended up going to college on scholarship and felt like people were going to just throw jobs at me. I blew my money partying with friends and going out on dates, never saving a dime. I also picked up the bad habit of playing MMOs in college thanks to a couple girls I dated that were into Everquest and Dark Age of Camelot. Luckily I did keep my grades up because I had the pressure of keeping my scholarship eligibility valid. Upon graduating with a degree in computer science, I thought I was on top of the world and folks were just going to throw jobs at me! Alas, there were no jobs to go around. Then poo poo hit the fan in 2001 when my parents and I got all laid off around Christmas with the economic downturn. I went from spending money like water to having nothing, racking up credit card debt and playing MMOs all day for cheap entertainment. After 2 years of unsuccessfully trying to find steady work, reality finally hit me that I needed to change. I wanted to do something that I liked and growing up I always had this fantasy of being the town doctor. I had taken a temporary sales job in the interim to put food on the table. When I shared this with my boss at the time, he laughed and then said "You're too stupid to be a doctor, get back to dialing for dollars, that's your purpose in life." That made me angry, but rather than lashing out I decided to reevaluate my life and get motivated again. I still remember the breaking point: I was playing EQ at 1:25am, our raid had wiped in a zone called Ssraeshza Temple, knowing I had to work at 7am later that morning. I was dreading going into work sleep-deprived to make a series of telemarketing calls that I knew people hated me for. I thought to myself, "Why am I doing this? My life is going nowhere." Over the next 6 months I got my poo poo together, studied hard, took the MCAT and went to medical school all on government loans. My goony rear end almost failed out of the first semester of med school due to World of Warcraft. Thankfully, one of my study partners shook some sense into me and got me to cut the cord. After ditching WoW and getting back to studying, I was able to recover my grades nicely. I ended up dating my study partner for the remainder of my 2 pre-clinical years and went on to graduate with honors. Thankfully, she also encouraged me to dream big again rather than just chase money. This saved me from going into a sub-specialty I would have disliked. A long residency (with 100 hour work weeks and 30 hour shifts) and additional fellowship later, I now practice and teach medicine. I also managed to use my computer science degree in my sub-specialty. I have a ton of student loan debt still however I found a job that will allow for public student loan forgiveness in 6 more years as well as a pension. Now I am married with a roof over my head and have a wonderful 1 year old daughter. I also started a successful side business last that is now profitable after one year in my spare time just by reading business books. I hired my father to work with me because he believed in me when no one else did. To summarize: People care about what you can "do," not just what you look like on paper. If you want to go from Goon to Great, get off your rear end and go "do" something constructive. Pick up a book and read. Learn a new skill. Remember that any skills you pick up are useful (Including sales experience!). Get out there and meet new people. Network with others. If you don't like where you are, take steps to change it. Life answers to those who take action. Don't be afraid to fail because I learned life's biggest lessons from my failures. Take chances however be smart about it and do your due diligence before jumping in with both feet. As someone else put so eloquently, "The harder I work, the luckier I get!" Find something you enjoy doing but know it is okay to do something you do not like temporarily to put food on the table. Just don't lose your vision. Some of the happiest people I have met aren't rich or have a prestigious job, rather they are content with who they are and where they are at. If you meet someone like this, bask in their presence. Make a point to treat everyone with kindness and dignity, even when they do not reciprocate. Not just because it may benefit you some time later but because it is the right thing to do.  The sticky threads in BFC are a wealth of solid information for adult finances. Learn to live on less than you make. I wish I had known all that back when I was 21! There's my 2 cents. On that note, I need to get off my fat goony rear end as these weights aren't going to lift themselves 
Richlove fucked around with this message at 02:31 on Aug 22, 2016 |
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Aug 22, 2016 02:26
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 21:19 |
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