- Jun 12, 2014
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Founding Member
How’s it feel knowing you got a fcked up wall behind that paint?
How’s it feel knowing you got a fcked up wall behind that paint?
Nice drywall repair Brad. I just noticed you have unusually short fingers. Have others mentioned this to you?
You nailed it, and its funny because I laugh at some of my pilot buddies who can't seem to figure out what to do in their off time so they wind up going into management or some other office job. You'd have to shoot me first. You can't put a price on having the time to do the fun things in life.@Zambo
Off topic, but relevant... you're project demonstrates everything I have tried to do in creating/running my own business and what I have hammered into all three of my kids...
My goal in life at age 30 was to have "control of my time." People make the mistake of thinking this means you have to be "rich" and it's all about money. Utterly and completely false. I know lots of people that make obscene amounts of money, but have little to no control over their time. I also know lots of business owners who have no control over their time because they are effectively their business.
When I decided I was getting out of the Army, my wife and I had serious discussions about how to get "control of our time," and we saw only two paths: 1) start my own business and build it up, or 2) become a firefighter (pilot wasn't an option really, but same exact principle). Why firefighter or pilot? Because you work your "shift," and then you are OFF. You only do overtime if you want, and you aren't doing paperwork/emails off the clock. I know lots of VERY wealthy firefighters (and pilots) because they had control of their time off and what they did with that time. Firefighter is also probably in general a more "secure" option than pilot, but look at Zambo... he's got control of his time. Mission Accomplished.
Yup... I am still very, very good friends with a big group of the guys that were in ROTC at UF when I was there. While they are 4 years younger than me (cuz of my enlisted time), I think of them as same age as me (and now that we are older, close enough!). Anyway, one of them did his 4 years, then went back to Boca to be a firefighter (his entire family is/was firefighters). He was, and is to this day, very, very smart about what he did in his time off and he resisted taking the Lieutenant test for decades (while maxing out all other skill sets for pay along the way) and has just now gone "corporate" to get max retirement pay. Any way, one of our other UF/ROTC friends married a smokin hot chick from Boca (they're divorced now) and she had a lot of smokin hot friends (some of whom were actually cool). I remember drinking with them one day in like 1995 and one of the smokin hot ones said, "I really like Mike, a lot, but I don't want the highlight of my year to be the annual fireman's ball." ... and the other girls laughed in agreement. I remember thinking what an idiot she was. Well, fast forward to 2020... Mike's near retirement at max pay, lives in a killer house on a canal in Boca, has two boats (one that he runs fishing charters from), and after slaying ass every night until 2015, finally settled down... with an age appropriate smokin hottie.You nailed it, and its funny because I laugh at some of my pilot buddies who can't seem to figure out what to do in their off time so they wind up going into management or some other office job. You'd have to shoot me first. You can't put a price on having the time to do the fun things in life.
@Zambo
When I decided I was getting out of the Army, my wife and I had serious discussions about how to get "control of our time," and we saw only two paths: 1) start my own business and build it up, or 2) become a firefighter (pilot wasn't an option really, but same exact principle). Why firefighter or pilot? Because you work your "shift," and then you are OFF. You only do overtime if you want, and you aren't doing paperwork/emails off the clock. I know lots of VERY wealthy firefighters (and pilots) because they had control of their time off and what they did with that time. Firefighter is also probably in general a more "secure" option than pilot, but look at Zambo... he's got control of his time. Mission Accomplished.
Yup, basically the same story as my buddy. His active duty time carried over as well, and yes, that's why he held off on the LT route until now. For side gigs, first thing he did on his old place in Boca was convert his garage into livable square footage and rented it out. Then ran his own lawn care service for years. Then got a rental property. Then, cuz he loved to fish, bought his fishing boat and ran charters during his time off... just kept maximizing his time off...DG, that's funny you mention this. I'm a retired professional firefighter (18 years on the Jacksonville FD). I graduated UF, didn't want a "real" job so I went to EMT school then the fire academy. I was in the Navy reserves at the time (enlisted), then went OCS w/ the CG. I was on active duty for a while, while the city held my job (and all my military leave time counted towards retirement). Anyhow, I'm about to turn 50 and will be collecting two pensions starting in September.... But one of my issues is "what to do w/ my time off". It's why I'll keep working until at least 55. As to your friend making LT, my life began to suck once I made LT on JFRD - which led me to pursue active duty opportunities w/ the CG.
Zambo, awesome project! Looks like a lot of fun!
So, as you know, for mental therapy and enjoyment, building my little models is my hobby... this morning, fukkin FATHER'S DAY!, my wife says, in a really nice way (seriously), "I get it, but I wish your hobby was gardening." I replied, "I wish your hobby was gardening." but in my head, I heard it as, "I wish your hobby was blow jobs"... in a really nice way of course.Besides the time off, I also enjoy the simplicity of just operating my machine to the best of my ability rather than sitting behind a desk crunching numbers, going to meetings, answering emails, etc. And I don't mean just pushing buttons and manipulating controls, but making operational decisions in real time and seeing the effects of those decisions play out in real time.
Yup, basically the same story as my buddy. His active duty time carried over as well, and yes, that's why he held off on the LT route until now. For side gigs, first thing he did on his old place in Boca was convert his garage into livable square footage and rented it out. Then ran his own lawn care service for years. Then got a rental property. Then, cuz he loved to fish, bought his fishing boat and ran charters during his time off... just kept maximizing his time off...
But here on gatorchatter, i've been informed by quad force that it is impossible for the little guy to get ahead. they educated me to this fact all day every day while posting here... all while my buddy was cutting grass...
I'd say 20% is a pretty healthy profit margin for almost any business.