- Jun 12, 2014
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Yes, they’re called Spice of Life flavor.cheetos are good though yo. They got these fire ones now
Advice for a disenchanted public school teacher
- Thread starter Born2beagator
- Start date
- Jul 29, 2014
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The jalapeno flavored ones are the bomb...cheetos are good though yo. They got these fire ones now
- Jul 15, 2014
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I'm putting this here, and it's based on a conversation @backstop13 and I had in the chat box several years ago (probably 5+ years ago easily). This isn't just for @Born2beagator , but for anyone that wants to make change in their life, but especially when it comes to career/life path decisions. They take us out of our comfort zone, and ultimately, that decision is directly tied to ones "risk tolerance." People talk about the "willing/unwilling vs. able/unable" paradigm. In my experience, most people start out by saying "I am WILLING, but UNABLE" to do something. I have found over the years that that is utter BS... the vast majority of people are ABLE, but UNWILLING to do what it takes to make that change, and that is due to having a low tolerance for risk (whether they want to admit it or not). That was the nature of my conversation with Backstop... it was a great conversation (IMHO) and I think he would say so too... in the end, he agreed that he was in fact ABLE to do what we discussed, but due to his personal risk tolerance being low at that time (wife, kids, mortgage, other bills... but almost everyone has those), he was UNWILLING to make the change. And that is FINE. It is "normal" in that that is exactly where 90%+ of the American population is (I don't say "world population," because there are people willing to risk their and their families lives to cross oceans to South America and then walk to the United States to start over with NOTHING). My only "beef" at that time and still today (and the genesis of that chat) was with the board "libs" (and we had enough of them at that time) who decried the American dream as dead, the game was rigged, that there was no way to break out anymore.... and they would chalk anyone's success at breaking free as nothing other than "luck"... it REALLY pissed me off and still does. It is a bullshcit excuse people use to cover their own life choices/lack of risk tolerance. I have always taught/told my kids this about life: "When you are confronted with something you don't like, you can either do something about it, or if you don't, then just shut up and take it, don't bitch about it, it's your choice!"
That's where you are at right now Born... you are confronted with something you don't like. Either do something about it, or shut up and take it, but quit bitching about it. That said, it is allowable to bitch here, it's what we do, just as long as you admit to yourself that the reason you are bitching is because you are UNWILLING to make a change in your life, not because you are UNABLE. You've been given plenty of GOOD options, including remaining in teaching if you truly like teaching, just not where you are at geographically now. It's time to look at the man in the mirror and decide if you are going to make that change.
The conversation Backstop and I had was because he wanted change, but "couldn't." He expressed an interest in possibly flipping houses, but said he "couldn't" financially and would need an investor (another VERY common, VERY BS excuse to mask low risk tolerance). So I ran him through this abbreviated version of the conversation (my questions in "", his basic answers follow):
OK, because I obviously plagiarized the crap out of him, full credit to Michael Jackson!
That's where you are at right now Born... you are confronted with something you don't like. Either do something about it, or shut up and take it, but quit bitching about it. That said, it is allowable to bitch here, it's what we do, just as long as you admit to yourself that the reason you are bitching is because you are UNWILLING to make a change in your life, not because you are UNABLE. You've been given plenty of GOOD options, including remaining in teaching if you truly like teaching, just not where you are at geographically now. It's time to look at the man in the mirror and decide if you are going to make that change.
The conversation Backstop and I had was because he wanted change, but "couldn't." He expressed an interest in possibly flipping houses, but said he "couldn't" financially and would need an investor (another VERY common, VERY BS excuse to mask low risk tolerance). So I ran him through this abbreviated version of the conversation (my questions in "", his basic answers follow):
- "Are you willing to put in 2-3 hours per night after work and possibly after family is in bed, and 6-8 hours on weekends to get started?" Yes! But I don't have the necessary funding and would need an investor!
- "OK, now in your head, add up all the available credit you have on your credit cards." OK.
- "Now, how much equity do you have in your home." OK.
- "If that adds up to at least $75K, you have more than enough to flip a house." OK, it does.
- "Now, are you willing to max out those credit cards and take out a HELOC to flip your first house with a goal of just break even to learn... not even make a profit?" (after long pause) No.
- "Then the issue is that your risk tolerance is too low. You are ABLE, but UNWILLING." Damn, you're right.
- Research for 2-3 hours a night (hell, even 1 hour) school districts around the country that align with your view/politics?
- Are you willing to take a couple of trips to a couple of the places to see them for yourself/possibly even meet a principal/administrator?
- Willing to do something similar to those two bullets for any other potential career field (or training/schooling necessary)?
OK, because I obviously plagiarized the crap out of him, full credit to Michael Jackson!
- Jul 29, 2014
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So much to unpack here, Deet. I honestly was going to make fun of you because at first you went on and on without proper paragraphs....which is usually me(lack of formal education for me).
But overall you speak the truth and I'm guilty as charged above. Not sure why as I've achieved some things in my life that no one in my position should have...Executive Chef at the most prestigious Country Club in central(and perhaps all of Florida) at the age of 30...without a formal culinary education. I literally cooked for and rubbed elbows with the likes of Shaq, Mark O'Meara, Payne Stewart(nicest guy you'd ever meet) John Daley, Michael Eisner and celebrities like Arnold, Sly, Melanie Griffith, Michael Jordan(great golfer but terrible poker player). Lou Holtz(prick). These people invited me to sit down and drink wine and BS with them and many of these same members had me come to their personal houses(3-10 million dollar homes) to prepare private dinners with their closest associates and families.
Sounds great, right? Well, it was until the pressure of ALWAYS outdoing yourself becomes a 7 day a week/70-80 hour bitch that finds you absolutely hating people around you(staff of 25 mostly idiots) and a dozen other back stabbing/brown nosing jealous members of club management always trying to find a flaw in your department. 2 years of that and it probably took 10-15 years off my life, was the downfall of my marriage and made me think one thousand times before ever seriously committing to ANYTHING work or career related...
Be careful what you wish for UNTIL you know yourself....Me I've discovered that I hate people one on one. I also hate strees that other people create. I hate making decisions. In other words I'm a better soldier than General. I've also found that if you're OK with yourself you'll find something that makes you happy...at least for a while. Then move on if you need to.
- Jun 11, 2014
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These are great posts by deet and crete.
I want to add that if you do decide to make a change, NEVER be afraid to ask questions. Use the resources around you. If you get into business you can learn a lot just by knowing your competitors...figure out what they do that works and find a way to do it better (even if it's just from a customer service standpoint) smarter, more efficiently (or affordable) that still achieves the goal.
Lastly, even though we all fuch with each other here, there is an absolute wealth of knowledge, sometimes in very different areas, that you can glean information/knowledge from.
Don't be afraid to use it!
I want to add that if you do decide to make a change, NEVER be afraid to ask questions. Use the resources around you. If you get into business you can learn a lot just by knowing your competitors...figure out what they do that works and find a way to do it better (even if it's just from a customer service standpoint) smarter, more efficiently (or affordable) that still achieves the goal.
Lastly, even though we all fuch with each other here, there is an absolute wealth of knowledge, sometimes in very different areas, that you can glean information/knowledge from.
Don't be afraid to use it!
- Sep 7, 2014
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for the record, I went back to UF and got my MBA. Switched careers from Aero Engineering to business making about 30k more a year. Engineering made me super risk averse, so the flipping thing wasn't probably going to be in the cards for me. But I found what worked for me and my family,
Biggest issue is now I'm too busy to have time to hang out with all you degenerates anymore... @Detroitgator never bothered to inform me of that part
Biggest issue is now I'm too busy to have time to hang out with all you degenerates anymore... @Detroitgator never bothered to inform me of that part
- Jul 29, 2014
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Sometimes taking the time to see what won't work for you is in fact part of the path that leads you to what will work for you.... sometimes the timing is just not right at that time in your life.
In my "search" 15-20 years ago I acquired 3 different licenses, 2 of which I never made use of and the other sparingly mostly because of the need for a steady/secure paycheck....As it turns out two of them I never used back then ended up being in the area that I currently work in for the last 10 years...RE....Now I may be required to obtain yet another license due to a massive out of state business opportunity being presented to our family business...
The fact that you have an Engineerinng background(planning and figuring things out) and now a business background(marketing, budgeting and planning) may in fact make you a great "flipper" when the market is more favorable....in other words sometimes you just never know where things lead you but if your eyes are open.....opportuninty meets luck.
- Jul 15, 2014
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Glad to hear it! Glad you bet on yourself and made a change! It’s the same thing.for the record, I went back to UF and got my MBA. Switched careers from Aero Engineering to business making about 30k more a year. Engineering made me super risk averse, so the flipping thing wasn't probably going to be in the cards for me. But I found what worked for me and my family,
Biggest issue is now I'm too busy to have time to hang out with all you degenerates anymore... @Detroitgator never bothered to inform me of that part
- Jun 11, 2014
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- Jul 15, 2014
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Agreed on all, and to build off of what you said...
When my kids were in HS getting ready to go to college/think about majors, I pushed this idea on them: It's OK to have an idea of what you think you want to do career/job wise, but don't get locked in idea wise with a narrow scope/vision in front of you, rather, do the following:
- Build (and always keep building) your skill set (mainly, at least get a degree that gives you a skill/is readily useful to others in terms of getting hired).
- Network, network, network. I don't mean in the douchebag way, but build as many meaningful relationships, especially with older people (the people you want to become) as you can.
- Keep your field of vision/scope for opportunity WIDE.
I'm still talking to you @backstop13 !!! Don't ever let the Ice Cream Shop dream die!!!!
- Jun 12, 2014
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One of my favorite sayings...."Luck" is when preparation meets opportunity. Opportunities come along all the time, people just don't realize it because they aren't prepared to take advantage when it does happen.
As for picking the path that works for you, I completely agree that you have to be honest with yourself about what you're willing to do and what you're not willing to do. I have quite a few friends who were on the same track as me in the Marines, flying jets around and wondering what we were going to do when we got out of the service. Knowing myself the way I do, I knew that getting a job flying civilian planes around was going to be right in my personal wheelhouse, because at heart I just like to play around and have fun. My job allows me so much schedule freedom and more importantly, freedom from constant responsibility that I can't imagine doing anything else.
Only "problem" if you want to call it that is that there is a pretty obvious ceiling to my earnings potential. Sometimes, just for a second, I see one of my buddies who decided to get into finance or start a business etc and there is a tiny bit of regret as I see how much money they have made doing something other than flying planes. But then I also look at how much work they had to do and how much risk they had to take, and how f'n busy they are all the time and I'm at total peace with my station in life.
Its also important to remember that no matter how much money you make, there are people out there who make a lot less and are completely happy. I meet them all the time. Wrapping your head around what's important and filtering out what's not important is the key, at least if your goal is to be happy and satisfied. Which I think is a good goal to have. Some people, no matter how much stuff they have, will never be happy. As long as they know there is some other dude somewhere else on the planet that has more stuff, they will always be miserable.
- Jul 29, 2014
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I'm probably not the person who should be laughing at this since I'm basically on my 3rd at bat....
- Jul 15, 2014
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You only gotta bat .333 to be a winner/superstar/millionaire in the big leagues!I'm probably not the person who should be laughing at this since I'm basically on my 3rd at bat....
(but you gotta at least bat .250 in the post-season to be "the best team in baseball")
- Jul 29, 2014
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I won't lie and say there aren't times I wonder "what could have been" but I learned after my culinary career that I had limited abilities at handling constant stress. Fast forward through several stints in sales and I learned I don't exactly handle rejection very well either and tire quickly of other peoples problems....although I did quite well at inside selling positions where I had a regular customer base.....
Outside sales was a complete disaster and I was lucky to not end up getting fired for being home in my boxers before noon almost everyday watching Sportscenter or banging my new girlfriend....it was 100% cold calling on businesses...f vck me....nothing worse than getting a door slammed in your face 10 times before 11AM....But I took that as a message that I might not be wired to start a new business since it would require patience and rejection to get it established.
- Jul 15, 2014
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Yup... we've discussed this many time before... when I decided to hang up the spurs with the Army, "control of my time" (or at least as much as possible) was my goal. The two paths I considered? 1) Fireman, or 2) start my own business.
- Jun 11, 2014
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It's also important to remember that OLD people usually have MORE money too...
Weird but that was the age demographic I did best with in my time spent in sales.
- Sep 7, 2014
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Damnit Dude, old people man, think OLD PEOPLE....@Detroitgator today's America can't handle the racist Ice Cream shop
- Jun 11, 2014
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