Reinventing yourself

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  • scrumhalfscrumhalf Frets: 11262
    Gassage said:
    I'm reinventing myself as a can of WD40.

    Then I can do virtually everything.
    But won't you spend a fair amount of time clutching at your straws? 
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  • SPECTRUM001SPECTRUM001 Frets: 1553
    I had a friend in the eighties that was constantly reinventing himself in a Billy Liar way. 

    He talked total rubbish and somehow got away with it via his natural charm. Actually he was a good grunge bassist and went out to LA quite a lot. Off on a tour, he gave me his washing up job in a Caribbean restaurant in Brixton on the understanding that I could be ‘anyone I wanted to be’. 11pm to 1am for £10 and a free meal. The staff were all sassy local girls and I was supposed to be an up and coming rock star. Ha - I never stood a chance !

    But I did learn from my pal that you should do more and think less. Prophetically and sadly he collapsed on stage and died not long after (it was as if he ‘knew’). 

    Sorry, that got a bit maudlin, but it does make me think about trying to value whatever I can. Has also made me a compulsive fibber !
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  • NeillNeill Frets: 941
    I've done it several times.  I had a very good position in local government, totally secure, index linked pension and all that, but after 25 years I wanted to see if I was capable of doing anything else so I packed in and got a job driving buses for a while. Then I met a guy who was in the carpet and upholstery cleaning game and he was about to leave the area so I sort of filled the gap, knowing nothing at all about the business.  Through that I got into flood damage work which is very lucrative but very depressing so I packed that in... 

    I should say that while all this was going on my wife was doing her thing too - I wasn't relying on a spouses steady income to pay the bills.

    I've done a few other things, anything really to keep the lights on.  I was also in a covers band which brought in a bit of cash. 

    Latest venture was running a bunkhouse/hostel for mountain enthusiasts up in the Cairngorms.  We're pretty much retired now.

    The way I look at it is, if you are white, middle class, and reasonably intelligent, all the cards are stacked in your favour, there are so many ways of making a living, and you might find something you really enjoy.  My happiest times were travelling around the countryside in my white van, I loved being a sole trader, it's not for everyone as the buck stops with you but I hated working for people I didn't respect which is the lot of many wage slaves.

     
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  • earwighoneyearwighoney Frets: 3491
    I want to change career I think. I'm tired and demoralised. 

    I literally have no idea what else I would do that would pay me the same, give me the job security and range of opportunities that I have now as well as the perks that I get. 

    It also saddens me that it's come to this, so because of that I'll probably stay and hope my industry and profression gets better. 
    A shame to hear. I hope things in your industry improve for you and your colleagues. 
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  • horsehorse Frets: 1563
    Neill said:
    I've done it several times.  I had a very good position in local government, totally secure, index linked pension and all that, but after 25 years I wanted to see if I was capable of doing anything else so I packed in and got a job driving buses for a while. Then I met a guy who was in the carpet and upholstery cleaning game and he was about to leave the area so I sort of filled the gap, knowing nothing at all about the business.  Through that I got into flood damage work which is very lucrative but very depressing so I packed that in... 

    I should say that while all this was going on my wife was doing her thing too - I wasn't relying on a spouses steady income to pay the bills.

    I've done a few other things, anything really to keep the lights on.  I was also in a covers band which brought in a bit of cash. 

    Latest venture was running a bunkhouse/hostel for mountain enthusiasts up in the Cairngorms.  We're pretty much retired now.

    The way I look at it is, if you are white, middle class, and reasonably intelligent, all the cards are stacked in your favour, there are so many ways of making a living, and you might find something you really enjoy.  My happiest times were travelling around the countryside in my white van, I loved being a sole trader, it's not for everyone as the buck stops with you but I hated working for people I didn't respect which is the lot of many wage slaves.

     
    That's cool. What age did you make the jump from local government, and was the bus driving something you thought of or just happened to see?
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  • TimmyOTimmyO Frets: 7350
    I want to change career I think. I'm tired and demoralised. 

    I literally have no idea what else I would do that would pay me the same, give me the job security and range of opportunities that I have now as well as the perks that I get. 


    Taken in light of the fact that having them now leaves you unhappy, what about all those things makes them important to maintain?
    Red ones are better. 
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  • My father in law was a builder, it was going well and he started his own firm. 
    Unfortunately, the market crashed so his business failed. Instead of going back to what he had been doing, he went to uni and did an physics and engineering degree at 40. From what my wife has said, there were some sticky times financially, but they came through it. 

    He then spent the next 25 years as an engineer working on water flow systems, earning more for a job he found intelectually stimulating (and less physically taxing). 
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  • NPPNPP Frets: 236
    edited April 2021
    I want to change career I think. I'm tired and demoralised. 

    I literally have no idea what else I would do that would pay me the same, give me the job security and range of opportunities that I have now as well as the perks that I get. 

    It also saddens me that it's come to this, so because of that I'll probably stay and hope my industry and profression gets better. 
    most of my colleagues feel that way (and so do I). No escape though except early retirement as we're all basically unemployable anywhere else. If my hands were forced by being made redundant I think I'd have to find something self-employed just to cover basic outgoings - wouldn't mind doing something unskilled but have started looking at law and accounting conversion courses and even train driving is an option I'm told.  

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  • horsehorse Frets: 1563
    I want to change career I think. I'm tired and demoralised. 

    I literally have no idea what else I would do that would pay me the same, give me the job security and range of opportunities that I have now as well as the perks that I get. 

    It also saddens me that it's come to this, so because of that I'll probably stay and hope my industry and profression gets better. 
     I think everyone would understand you feeling like that - can't imagine how challenging it must have been over the last 12 months
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  • Danny1969Danny1969 Frets: 10357
    horse said:
    Danny1969 said:
    I started out in the building trade, then had a decorating company, then a computer sales company, then a laptop parts sales and repairs company, then built a recording studio and ran that for 5 years. After that I  had a technical services company repairing all kinds of stuff. Then I was a full time muso for a couple of years,  then I designed some stuff and now sell that, as well as doing a fair amount of repairs for various other people. 

    Always try and do something you enjoy, fuck the money ... if you really enjoy your work you don't need a lot of money.  
    You're more multi-talented than me though!

    Am I right in thinking in "normal times" you make up a proportion of your income from gigging? I'm wondering if in future that's something I might do if I could - combining a less mentally taxing day job with playing keys for a wedding band maybe. No idea if that's feasible.
    Yeah in normal times I do make quite a bit  gigging. There is some well paid gigging work out there like wedding and corporate work and tribute. Generally these gig's will pay £200 ish a man for a 5 piece, so you can make an extra grand a month quite easily in the wedding / party season months ... then December is generally a good earn. I have quite a few mates who do a little bit of teaching during the day and then just gigs in the evening. They don't have any kind of normal job. Then again I have friends who work as chippies or bathroom fitters by day and then full on gig animals in the evenings. 
    Have to say though coming back from a London corp gig on a Thursday at 3:30am knowing you can just stay in bed till noon is amazing, coming back at that time knowing you have to be at a normal job by 8:30 is a bit of a bitch .... most of the work is Frid and Sat though so it's not too bad
    www.2020studios.co.uk 
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  • TeleMasterTeleMaster Frets: 10103
    TimmyO said:
    I want to change career I think. I'm tired and demoralised. 

    I literally have no idea what else I would do that would pay me the same, give me the job security and range of opportunities that I have now as well as the perks that I get. 


    Taken in light of the fact that having them now leaves you unhappy, what about all those things makes them important to maintain?
    Going somewhere else and being unhappy too and also not having them lol?
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  • NeillNeill Frets: 941
    horse said:
    Neill said:
    I've done it several times.  I had a very good position in local government, totally secure, index linked pension and all that, but after 25 years I wanted to see if I was capable of doing anything else so I packed in and got a job driving buses for a while. Then I met a guy who was in the carpet and upholstery cleaning game and he was about to leave the area so I sort of filled the gap, knowing nothing at all about the business.  Through that I got into flood damage work which is very lucrative but very depressing so I packed that in... 

    I should say that while all this was going on my wife was doing her thing too - I wasn't relying on a spouses steady income to pay the bills.

    I've done a few other things, anything really to keep the lights on.  I was also in a covers band which brought in a bit of cash. 

    Latest venture was running a bunkhouse/hostel for mountain enthusiasts up in the Cairngorms.  We're pretty much retired now.

    The way I look at it is, if you are white, middle class, and reasonably intelligent, all the cards are stacked in your favour, there are so many ways of making a living, and you might find something you really enjoy.  My happiest times were travelling around the countryside in my white van, I loved being a sole trader, it's not for everyone as the buck stops with you but I hated working for people I didn't respect which is the lot of many wage slaves.

     
    That's cool. What age did you make the jump from local government, and was the bus driving something you thought of or just happened to see?
    Don't laugh, but when I was a kid that's what I wanted to be  - a bus driver,  I was obsessed with them.  So I thought why not fulfil one at least one ambition..!

    But also these days it is a relatively easy thing to get into, most companies will put you through the course provided you work for them if/when you pass the test.  It's the same with HGV's, there is a nationwide shortage of drivers and it will probably get worse with Brexit.  

    It's a fact of the modern world,  gone are the days when you might expect to stay in the same line of work for 40 plus years, and future generations are probably going to work for longer than that.  Today's world of work is just so stressful.  I have two good friends who were GP's and they reckon that the working life of a doctor in the NHS today is about 25 years.  

    I have a young friend, about 25, and he's worked this out.  He's got a great job working for a consultancy firm but he's saving like mad and planning ahead for a complete change of direction when he's about 50.  I do feel for folk who have just been overtaken by events and are to some extent trapped, but then again I had to make some drastic lifestyle changes when I left my original career.   Like downsizing the house, going back to one car, giving up holidays etc but often these things are just compensations for a stressful work life.   
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  • The way to approach this is to establish who you really are. By this I mean what’s important to you,  how much your standard of living where you live and what you think people think about you means to you .

    Then work out how much you need to earn and where you want to be  to achieve this. I love where I live and sometimes have no idea how I’m going to pay the rates and mortgage let alone pay for a pension, but then I don’t have to answer to a boss and I’m happy. 

    Mine isn’t a lifestyle that can afford and pay for a nice car , a holiday or an immediate boiler repair , so if these things are important maybe stick with the devil you know.
    www.maltingsaudio.co.uk
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  • TimmyOTimmyO Frets: 7350
    The way to approach this is to establish who you really are. By this I mean what’s important to you,  how much your standard of living where you live and what you think people think about you means to you .


    ^ this

    Over a bunch of years doing consulting and coaching with "successful" people it almost always comes back to this - and unused the quotes because people's concept of successful changes significantly as a result of it. Not always in a hackneyed "money bad" way at all - but it's the specifics that help. 

    What do I want to do - Vs - Who do I want to be 
    and many variations thereon. 

    When the aims are around figuring this stuff out I circle around 3 overlapping ares of Values, Identity & Purpose. The start point is often to ask what do you want and what ARE you and what ARE YOU NOT willing to sacrifice to get it? 

    Digging around in the specifics of that and challenging the inevitable contradictions (either of language or principle) that come up helps. As does getting comfortable being uncomfortable when doing it. 

    It takes work to have a sudden insight 
    Red ones are better. 
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  • monquixotemonquixote Frets: 17485
    tFB Trader
    TimmyO said:
    The way to approach this is to establish who you really are. By this I mean what’s important to you,  how much your standard of living where you live and what you think people think about you means to you .


    ^ this

    Over a bunch of years doing consulting and coaching with "successful" people it almost always comes back to this - and unused the quotes because people's concept of successful changes significantly as a result of it. Not always in a hackneyed "money bad" way at all - but it's the specifics that help. 

    What do I want to do - Vs - Who do I want to be 
    and many variations thereon. 

    When the aims are around figuring this stuff out I circle around 3 overlapping ares of Values, Identity & Purpose. The start point is often to ask what do you want and what ARE you and what ARE YOU NOT willing to sacrifice to get it? 

    Digging around in the specifics of that and challenging the inevitable contradictions (either of language or principle) that come up helps. As does getting comfortable being uncomfortable when doing it. 

    It takes work to have a sudden insight 

    7 Habits is a good book for this kind of thing.
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  • hollywoodroxhollywoodrox Frets: 4085
    edited April 2021
    My love of eating animal flesh unfortunately negates me from becoming a Hare Krishna or Hindu 
      I like Buddhism but have a conflict with lack of a creator , I kinda believe that we are all the creator and are part of everything which kinda fits with their view in a way  so I’m kinda stuck half and half but nowhere in between . A  just Sleaze rock bum  but I find great peace in it 
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  • TimmyOTimmyO Frets: 7350
    TimmyO said:
    The way to approach this is to establish who you really are. By this I mean what’s important to you,  how much your standard of living where you live and what you think people think about you means to you .


    ^ this

    Over a bunch of years doing consulting and coaching with "successful" people it almost always comes back to this - and unused the quotes because people's concept of successful changes significantly as a result of it. Not always in a hackneyed "money bad" way at all - but it's the specifics that help. 

    What do I want to do - Vs - Who do I want to be 
    and many variations thereon. 

    When the aims are around figuring this stuff out I circle around 3 overlapping ares of Values, Identity & Purpose. The start point is often to ask what do you want and what ARE you and what ARE YOU NOT willing to sacrifice to get it? 

    Digging around in the specifics of that and challenging the inevitable contradictions (either of language or principle) that come up helps. As does getting comfortable being uncomfortable when doing it. 

    It takes work to have a sudden insight 

    7 Habits is a good book for this kind of thing.
    it's REALLY hard to do on yourself. When you're trying to "read your own label" it helps to have someone on the outside.

    But yes it's a really good book - overlooked these days but is more useful than most of these books 
    Red ones are better. 
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  • RolandRoland Frets: 8591
    The Jesuit exercise of “write your own obituary” is useful here
    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
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  • underdogunderdog Frets: 8334
    I spent my later teenage years getting qualified to be a sports instructor and lifeguard. Then after actually doing the job realising it was boring 90% of the time.

    At 21 I got a job working in IT, had zero experience (didn't even own a PC) but full training given. I then spent over a decade working various IT jobs and became the manager of a team in a multi national company.

    Which at 33 I was bored of, so the natural progression of course was to train as a body piercer and open a tattoo shop.

    Been at that for 10 years now, but since my father passing away in January I now spend more time being a farmer which I'm really enjoying, again no previous experience of it, steep learning curve, but rewarding.


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  • TimmyOTimmyO Frets: 7350
    edited April 2021
    Roland said:
    The Jesuit exercise of “write your own obituary” is useful here
    or write 2: the one you think a friend would write today, and the one you'd want them to write in 5 years if you spent those years as the person you want to be 
    Red ones are better. 
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