Comments on: A Little Something For Everyone http://iluvjohn.com/2009/01/05/a-little-something-for-everyone/ Everything Cool Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:40:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: charlie http://iluvjohn.com/2009/01/05/a-little-something-for-everyone/#comment-26 charlie Wed, 07 Jan 2009 03:56:40 +0000 http://iluvjohn.com/?p=237#comment-26 To me, there was something very satisfying about running my own business for over 25 years. It could get real dicey when the projects were not lining up, and I had to "re-invent" myself - by learning another programming language, or another operating system, or other core products. For sure, there's nothing like "putting yourself through the changes" (as us hippies used to say), to add some spark to one's existence. Sadly, I didn't attend college - I want to do so when I retire, and can devote time and cycles to it. Let me kick out a couple of thoughts here, John. There is no substitute for education, but it doesn't have to be classroom taught or "book learning". Some of our greatest inventors were self taught. Many of us learn best by doing. Now we have the wealth of the Web and Wikis to fill your heads. A day doesn't pass that I don't look for somebody else's thoughts, or a coding fragment in one of several languages. There are some amazing books, too!. Be self-educated, whether you are college educated or not! Not many people work in the field in which they got their degree. And ask friends how many hours total they studied in their major in the four years of school - make them justify the number they pull from their, um, ear - the actual number is astonishingly small for most students. Classroom hours - a very small number, study hours might be a small number as well, if it's an "art" or pseudo-science. Running one's own biz used to be a skosh easier and a lot harder. It was easier because most of us could make a good living, drop the cash and receipts in a shoe box, and support the family. Medical was pretty easy to deal with, unless something big happened. Yikes - now it's not that easy. The govmutts are after you - most of us have paid our tax bill by the end of July - not so long ago our taxes (income, ss, sales, property taxes, licenses) were only 1/3 of our earnings. So that part is harder now. What is easier, is the tools we have to run our businesses. Most businesses need to keep track of income and expenses, as well as payables and receivables, and inventory. And then do taxes. And probably create estimates, and write letters and maybe proposals. Yikes -that was a huge amount of work, done on ledgers and typewriters or hand written, and there were no small-office copy machines, so you did everything with carbon paper, or you didn't have a copy. And a phone bill could easily be $400 a month if you made a few long-distance phone calls. A cross country phone call was a couple of bucks a minute during working hours. If that hadn't been fixed, think of a $4000 phone bill - my dad made a great living in late '50's - $10,000 per year. That's equivalent to $100,000 or more today. I've been an "instant expert" for a lot of years, trying to stay a few pages ahead of my competition, and I know you can do the same. It's somewhat easier, being an employee, and hoping you will continue to have a job at a good income, but the real satisfaction comes from steering your own course. Charlie To me, there was something very satisfying about running my own business for over 25 years. It could get real dicey when the projects were not lining up, and I had to “re-invent” myself - by learning another programming language, or another operating system, or other core products. For sure, there’s nothing like “putting yourself through the changes” (as us hippies used to say), to add some spark to one’s existence.

Sadly, I didn’t attend college - I want to do so when I retire, and can devote time and cycles to it.

Let me kick out a couple of thoughts here, John. There is no substitute for education, but it doesn’t have to be classroom taught or “book learning”. Some of our greatest inventors were self taught. Many of us learn best by doing. Now we have the wealth of the Web and Wikis to fill your heads. A day doesn’t pass that I don’t look for somebody else’s thoughts, or a coding fragment in one of several languages. There are some amazing books, too!. Be self-educated, whether you are college educated or not! Not many people work in the field in which they got their degree. And ask friends how many hours total they studied in their major in the four years of school - make them justify the number they pull from their, um, ear - the actual number is astonishingly small for most students. Classroom hours - a very small number, study hours might be a small number as well, if it’s an “art” or pseudo-science.

Running one’s own biz used to be a skosh easier and a lot harder. It was easier because most of us could make a good living, drop the cash and receipts in a shoe box, and support the family. Medical was pretty easy to deal with, unless something big happened. Yikes - now it’s not that easy. The govmutts are after you - most of us have paid our tax bill by the end of July - not so long ago our taxes (income, ss, sales, property taxes, licenses) were only 1/3 of our earnings.

So that part is harder now. What is easier, is the tools we have to run our businesses. Most businesses need to keep track of income and expenses, as well as payables and receivables, and inventory. And then do taxes. And probably create estimates, and write letters and maybe proposals. Yikes -that was a huge amount of work, done on ledgers and typewriters or hand written, and there were no small-office copy machines, so you did everything with carbon paper, or you didn’t have a copy.

And a phone bill could easily be $400 a month if you made a few long-distance phone calls. A cross country phone call was a couple of bucks a minute during working hours. If that hadn’t been fixed, think of a $4000 phone bill - my dad made a great living in late ’50’s - $10,000 per year. That’s equivalent to $100,000 or more today.

I’ve been an “instant expert” for a lot of years, trying to stay a few pages ahead of my competition, and I know you can do the same. It’s somewhat easier, being an employee, and hoping you will continue to have a job at a good income, but the real satisfaction comes from steering your own course.

Charlie

]]> By: rosscowar http://iluvjohn.com/2009/01/05/a-little-something-for-everyone/#comment-21 rosscowar Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:18:31 +0000 http://iluvjohn.com/?p=237#comment-21 i think ive talked to you personally before about this but ill share a little about my goals\dream job in life and why on here for anyone else interested in reading about it my dream job something i currently have plans and are working towards is becoming a teacher, im naturally gifted in mathematics (no i wont do your homework... for free...) and through my life thus far to this date, i have found no greater joy then teaching, simple things right now in my life, no audience in front of me yet, but on a person to person basis, friends, family members, coworkers strangers i always get a huge sense of pride if i can teach someone something, one complicated thing that ive taught a total of 12 people so far is the Rubiks® Cube, i learned it when I was 14, and taught many people how to do it, unfortunately I cant make money consistently doing that :) but with teaching mathematics in school i can make a living until im 80 if need be, its not a job that is physically demanding, the mental toll on the mind is not unbearable, and the feeling of satisfaction is limitless, when you see an adolescent boy or girls eyes light up, and you notice their brain opening to an entirely different world of thinking, and you are the sole cause of it, there cant be a better feeling then that, and I'll be able to do that on not the biggest scale but about in highschool with 6 different classes daily ill see the evolution of anywhere from 120 to 180 kids daily, and to me thats a life well spent :D an Einstein quote for those who care... “Only a life lived for others is a life worth while.” thats my two cents i think ive talked to you personally before about this but ill share a little about my goals\dream job in life and why on here for anyone else interested in reading about it

my dream job something i currently have plans and are working towards is becoming a teacher, im naturally gifted in mathematics (no i wont do your homework… for free…) and through my life thus far to this date, i have found no greater joy then teaching, simple things right now in my life, no audience in front of me yet, but on a person to person basis, friends, family members, coworkers strangers i always get a huge sense of pride if i can teach someone something, one complicated thing that ive taught a total of 12 people so far is the Rubiks® Cube, i learned it when I was 14, and taught many people how to do it, unfortunately I cant make money consistently doing that :) but with teaching mathematics in school i can make a living until im 80 if need be, its not a job that is physically demanding, the mental toll on the mind is not unbearable, and the feeling of satisfaction is limitless, when you see an adolescent boy or girls eyes light up, and you notice their brain opening to an entirely different world of thinking, and you are the sole cause of it, there cant be a better feeling then that, and I’ll be able to do that on not the biggest scale but about in highschool with 6 different classes daily ill see the evolution of anywhere from 120 to 180 kids daily, and to me thats a life well spent :D an Einstein quote for those who care…

“Only a life lived for others is a life worth while.”

thats my two cents

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