Diet is one thing I need to focus on a lot. I tend to eat when I'm bored or tired and at work I'm bored sometimes and tired a lot. I also snack in the middle of the night. I'll wake up at midnight and look for something sweet and sugary.
I've been experimenting with more salads at work, which has helped my satiety. One of the issues is that I think I have an addiction to sugar. When I get in those bored or tired phases, I look for a quick shot of energy, which ends up being sugar or processed carbs.
Sorry. I will be able to retire in 20 years with a full pension at the age of 55. They estimate that my pension would be in the area of $6,000 per month. I can vest in 7 years and then if I leave after that and after I turn the age of 50, the pension will be around $3,000 per month. But....that's 7 more years to tolerate. I'm struggling with the thought of that. There is so much going on that I can't even post it here. I would need a therapy session to get through it all. haha
Well Inspire, I've given this a lot of thought. I am going to take you on a ride you won't forget, so fasten your seat belt. Here we go.
You are at a VERY important crossroads in your life. I know that because I was there, and I made a leap of faith. And it worked out great - not. I wish everything had a happy ending, but it doesn't always work that way. I hope I can help you with some things to think about.
First of all, have you heard the term golden handcuffs? It's a deal so good that you have to take it, even if you don't want to. I think your situation falls into that category. There are reasons for a deal being that good. Bads ones - and that's why they have to sweeten the pot with something too good to ignore.
You have a great asset which you have to decide how to use. Time. You have a LOT of it. Enough for at least two more careers, in fact. Let's pause and think about what you have to trade here. Time, or, put in more stark terms - your life. And even starker than that: your happiness. It is clear your job is robbing you of, let's say for dramatic effect, your soul. Now let's look at possibilities of what could go right, and what could go wrong. First, my wife put in 30 years in a very good company. She, and a lot of other people, got a raw deal. The company declared bankruptcy - laid her off - and now, the one thing she has to show for a huge part of her life, which is her pension, has been turned over to a government agency because the company can no longer maintain it. Hmmmm. She did her part - but what happened to her "deal" that she bargained and worked for? Robbed.
Let's take another situation. My wife just found out that her former supervisor, who did not get laid off, and was making more money than she ever did - died. Ow. The deal he had never came to be either.
So let's pause here for a thought...
Pretty sobering thought isn't it? That certainly happened to my wife and her supervisor. After everything was all said and done, they didn't get their part of the bargain. That happens a lot.
Let me touch on my life briefly. I have been an expert in THREE careers. All of them have gone down the tubes in one way or another. It wasn't my fault, nor was I stabbed in the back. It was simply due to things changing. Things can change a lot. Especially over the 20 year period you are contemplating.
I am now focusing strictly on building my own dreams - and they are going to be on a SHORT timeline to success. I have seen too many things evaporate over time. My plans are going to be successful in three years or less. I have them stacked in a certain order. One will fund another larger one, and so on. With the power and knowledge we have at our disposal through the internet, there has NEVER been a better time to be in some sort of business. But it's a two edged sword. What we can learn and achieve in a short time can also turn against us and produce fearful competition almost overnight.
Here's another take on this subject. I am a careful person, and more conservative than most people. I don't take stupid chances - I don't rely on luck any more than I have to - and I study and plan as much as possible. I cannot afford to make stupid mistakes. Very few people can.
So my advice to you would be to wade into a "plan of success" slowly. Never bet the rent, as the saying goes. Never put in more than you can afford to lose. It will take longer, but you will survive and be stronger. But the rule of scale is that you have to get big fast to be successful and profitable. There are ways to do that without being rash. The first business I built I was making more in one day than I was in my regular job working all week. I didn't quit my regular job, by the way. I kept it and doubled my income. That's not adventuresome, but it is smart. I tried to expand by hiring other people, but it didn't work out. Fine - it was profitable for what it was. You can do something along those lines. Don't bet the rent - at least not at first...
This could be a book, of course, but I'm trying to just "hit the high spots." If you need an idea of what to do I have three basic suggestions. First, find out what YOU don't like that you could change, and there is your project. If you don't like it, a lot of other people probably don't either. Secondly, you can buy lots of books on Amazon.com on how to start a business, or how to make money. They are loaded with ideas. Ideas are not hard to come by. They're everywhere. Thirdly, you could find something around you that could be greatly improved on. You don't have to be the first in anything. It is far more important to be the best. I have a friend that has a small hole in the wall restaurant that ONLY serves breakfast. He doesn't want it to get bigger until what he has so far is paid for - and that's working great for him. It will get bigger some day soon. He serves a damn good breakfast, and his customers love him. It's a side gig. He is planning on doing the exact same thing in a nearby town. Now he will have two side gigs. Side gigs, by the way, that he can't be screwed out of, like my wife and her supervisor were.
I have a few of my own side gigs. Too many, in fact. I have a very fertile mind, and a long list of things I want to do. I need to tame things down and concentrate on what I can do really good right now - which I am working on doing exactly that.
Here's another thought for you to ponder: It's not what we do in life that we regret: it's what we didn't do.
You might not be able to jump into something full speed, and that's par for the course for a LOT of people. But don't use that as an excuse. I do want you to highly VALUE what you are bargaining for over the next 20 years. That's your life, and your happiness. If worse comes to worse, and your dream just CAN'T work out the way you want it to, then reinvent it. How about a partnership? Find a way!
Coming here was an important step. You need some input to think things over. Think things over for a while. Don't hurry. Let your thoughts develop. A rose takes a long time to bloom and you can't force it.
You will find an answer, my friend. It might not be what you think it will be today - it may change. Or you may change your attitude and decide your job really isn't so bad. Whatever happens will be the result of your careful analysis, and that will make it the RIGHT choice for you. That's all that matters in the end - what is RIGHT for you. Keep an open mind because your dream might not work out - or your job may not look so bad right now after you think about it - but allow yourself to change your mind. The ONE and only thing I know for certain, and I have the scars to prove it - is that nothing stays the same. Don't bank on something happening if it's out of your control (MJ hammered that concept in his book, The Millionaire Fastlane - which you NEED to reread every so often). Expect the best, but prepare for the worst.
And, always dream big!
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