Re: Life Sucks, Then You Move On

[JoeRaisin <joeraisin2001@xxxxxxxxx>]

Jim wrote:
> On Dec 4, 2:10�pm, JoeRaisin <joeraisin2...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> Oh yeah... My NICET Certification is good to 2012 but how do I go about
>> getting and documenting recertification requirements? �That used to be
>> done by my supervisor and at the time I wasn't interested in the process
>> - I just filled out what they told me to fill out and went back to work.
>
> Someone else here will have to answer that, I don't have a clue.
>
>> Did I mention that I'm one of those guys who has never really wanted to
>> work for myself 'cause it scares the shit out of me...-
>
> You know what that reminds me of? A long time ago I hired a kid as a
> helper to run wires for me in this residential job that had some
> pretty tight attic crawl spaces. He had no experience but he was built
> slim and wanted the $10.00 an hour that I was offering. We get to the
> job and I take him up to the attic and show him what I want him to do.
> He's up in the attic on his belly and I'm down below snaking up. After
> about 15 20 minutes he's coming down the attic hatch all upset and
> really distressed. I ask him what's the matter. Almost in tears, he
> says ... I can't do this job. I gotta go home right now. I said,
> what's the matter. He says, I must be allergic to the insulation, I'm
> itching all over. I gotta go home!  I told him get the hell back up
> there EVERYBODY itches from insulation. I took some and rubbed it on
> my arm and said Wow, that shit itches like crazy. See how I ignore it?
> Now get back to work. You'll get over it in time.
>
> The moral of the story is ...... WHAT? do you think your the only one
> who'd ever been scared shitless to start their own business?
> EVERYBODY is afraid of what could happen if they fail. Just like war
> heros. They're no differen't than anyone else. They're afraid too.
> It's just that they get past the fear and do what has to be done,
> regardless of the possible consequences.
>
> I started my business when I had a chance to move ahead in the company
> I was working for at the time. I knew that if I stayed with them I'd
> probably be with them for a long, long time because I wouldn't be able
> to make the same money working for someone else and I'd be stuck
> working for them, whether I wanted to or not. . I was always the one
> who wanted to do things my way and did, much to the distress of my
> employers. But it turned out I was right more times than they liked to
> admit. Since no one in my family ever ran their own business, I had no
> idea that my attitude was one of the attributes that an entrepreneur
> needed, but I  decided to turn them down, quit and set the goal of
> getting 100 monitored accounts in one year. (actually I already had
> 35). I did it with a few to spare.  I often say that when I started on
> my own, so many years ago, that's when I learned to live on 4 or 5
> hours of sleep a night. Even if I was in bed for 8 hours, half the
> time my mind was racing 100 miles an hour trying to cover all the
> things I should be doing or didn't do and the possibility of failure
> and what the consequences would mean for me and my family and where
> was the money going to come from.............. I was just too damn
> stubborn to quit a let everyone see that I had failed at something. I
> worked hard, day and night, had a good work ethic, used common sense
> and picked and chose who to listen to and who not. It worked, and here
> I still am, 40 years later and still loving it .... every day.
>
> Once you're past the start up hurdles and you meet another
> entrepreneur, you begin to sense that feeling of camaraderie that we
> have. It's a great club to belong to. Put's you in a special category
> of people. Certainly, not everyone is cut out for it. You have to have
> some special attributes to do it. And by the way, keep in mind that
> when one door closes, another one has to open somewhere else. How you
> look at it is important. It's an opportunity to change your whole life
> but you have to commit to it and have the backing of your family too.
> Thanks to my wife who worked and also took care of and raised the kids
> during that time, it all turned out ok. Today I work only because I
> want to. I could have retired years ago, but this is mine. Something
> that I created, nurtured and made grow all by my will to succeed. I'm
> not the richest guy you know but you'd be hard put to find someone who
> enjoys what they do, more than me.
>
> By the way, I think that saying is true. Find what you like to do, do
> it and you'll never work a day in your life.
>
> Hope it works out for you too.

Don't get me wrong - I've never been one to allow fear to control me
when it was something I wanted or needed to do.

I'm afraid of heights but was always near the front of the line for the
rappelling tower or rock climb back in the 'Corps'.

I've been doing the Preventive maintenance work for that company for the
last three years and it was a rare week that I wasn't atop an extension
ladder or lift (boom lifts are an absolute E-ticket ride).

Part of me is excited about doing this.  It isn't what I wanted to do -
but now that the need is there I got to push on.

I've always felt that courage shows in different ways.  I spent twenty
years in the Marine Corp never ducking anything just because it scared
me.  Already mentioned my altitude issues...

Always felt the only way to be was to say - sure it's scary, but what
are you gonna do?  Stand up straight and wade in...

That said - I've also always felt very humbled by the cajones on you
guys who start small businesses...